Megan points us to an interesting article on the NonProfit Times website — Social Networks Are Red Hot, Web Sites Are Diddlysquat. Great article. You should check it out. Here’s one takeaway….
Beware the siren song of social media.
In NO WAY am I encouraging you to ignore social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a whole host of others). BUT what I am saying is that there is grave danger in focusing on social media AT THE EXPENSE of your core web presence — i.e. your website. It’s so easy to be lured by the excitement of social media. You might ask, “Why should I spend time on my boring website when I can really engage people with Facebook/Twitter/[fill in the blank]?” And that’s just the problem — most organizational websites are boring and un-engaging! The solution to boring and un-engaging websites is to create interesting and engaging websites. Easier said than done, I know. Too often we’re tempted to leave that boring website behind and jump into social media as the solution. The problem with this solution is that good use of social media will increasingly drive traffic back to your website. That’s right, your exciting social media tactics will drive traffic to your boring website. Thus you still have the problem of a boring website! It’s hard work to create an engaging and interesting website. And it’s never done. But it’s worth it.