We’re still a long ways from making social media work. Beyond political campaigns, most online fundraising doesn’t seem to work without a strong earned media component.
Hence the reasons why political types and people who jump in front of the train (petitions and such) seem to catch the wave. It’s not just building the storefront either… Obama spent nearly $800,000 priming the pump with online banner ads while using both earned media and an aggressive e-mail strategy (76 e-mails in 28 days???) to committed activists, only to watch his e-mail subscribers drop off the map dramatically.
Obviously there’s great potential online, but how do you reach those online donors without burning out your base? For smaller campaigns, this will continue to be a problem, whereas smaller organizations with brand names to protect will not be able to counter burnout with positive earned media.
Campaigns will have to find a way to take care of their e-mail subscribers by using information, inside baseball, and opportunities for activism. Organizations willing to use online fundraising may find out that in the end… campaigns or single initiatives will be the trick to riding the online fundraising wave.
Burnout seems to be the watchword. Moments of brilliance seem to be the key to the “money bomb”; more tactics than strategy.