Using Twitter in Non-Profits

In her June 2, 2010 blog post on tips for writing Twitter and Facebook updates (http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2010/06/02/tips-for-writing-facebook-and-twitter-updates/), Kivi Leroux Miller makes observations and points that directly relate to the idea of social capital. Miller notes that nonprofit social media includes three general options -- that is, trying to make people do something, think something, or feel something. The latter two portions of the trio -- think something and feel something -- relate directly to the idea of gaining social capital. In order to gain social capital, you want to interact and engage with someone, ideally in a way that benefits them. According to Miller, when you get someone to think something, you are "sharing something helpful or educating them." Miller also states that when you get someone to feel something, you are "building rapport" that results in some type of emotion. Both of these elements primarily benefit the other person in the interaction, thereby qualifying as ways of earning social capital. Once you have that social capital, you may want to withdraw some of it by promoting your service or organization and getting someone to do something -- "calling them to some kind of action," as Miller puts it.