Boasting over 900 million active users, Facebook has become an incredibly valuable tool for nonprofits, helping to reach and engage in dialogue with supporters, as well as build awareness for important causes. But now that Facebook has gone public, what kind of impact will this have on the many nonprofits that have come to rely on the social network as a primary source of readership and connection?
Raising $16 billion, Facebook has become the largest company to go public in the U.S. While Facebook may have beat Google's initial share sale by over $10 billion, the company should take a cue from its competition when it comes to nonprofits. Unlike Google, which awards thousands of dollars of free advertising to nonprofit organizations through its Google Grant Program, Facebook only offers one kind of advertising option: paid. By not providing any kind of monetary aid or discount program, nonprofits are either forced to compete with companies that have bigger ad budgets (as in $10 million bigger), or are unable to afford any kind of paid advertising, which significantly limits the ability for nonprofits to reach users, and potential new supporters.
Facebook IPO - What changes can we expect?
This issue will only be intensified now that Facebook has gone public, as it will have to justify its huge offering price by providing substantial returns for its shareholders. The increased pressure to create new streams of revenue is going to result in a huge push towards advertising - impacting both the look of Facebook and how users interact.
As Facebook is seen as a legitimate advertising outlet, more businesses will be integrating Facebook Ads into their overall marketing strategy, therefore adding even more companies that nonprofits must compete with.
In addition, Facebook's IPO will mean less organic traction:
With a greater focus on ads, it will become increasingly more challenging for brand managers to fuel organic growth. Valuable, engaging content will always be vital, but without content working hand-in-hand with Facebook advertising, your brand will be unable to keep up in the social space.
What does this mean for nonprofits? Essentially, that without having the funds to advertise, nonprofits won't stand a chance at spreading awareness and support within Facebook's new sphere.
Take a Cue From Google - Give us Free Advertising
Facebook isn't a complete villain - the company has donated resources and money to charities and with its successful IPO creating a thousand or more new millionaires, there's a good chance that a portion of that wealth will be put towards giving back to the community.
Even Zuckerberg himself encourages giving back, saying, "With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts."
However, while money is always appreciated, it doesn't last. Remember that old proverb, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime?" Well, taking that to heart, Facebook could really help make a difference by creating a new platform that allows nonprofits to advertise for free on its site.
And it's not like Facebook has to recreate the wheel here. Google has created a simple and effective way for nonprofits to receive free advertising through Google Grants - nonprofit organizations apply, Google reviews the application and once accepted, $10,000 a month is credited to their Google AdWords account. Just like Google AdWords, Facebook's ad platform is already completely self-service. The ads are created and managed by the user and are approved by an automated service, meaning that creating a program like Google Grants wouldn't require Facebook to hire any additional staff.
Bottom line, all Facebook has to do to is simply institute a Nonprofits Program where organizations apply for membership, Facebook accepts, and voila - the nonprofit now has a budget to spend on advertising. With this free advertising, support and awareness for hundreds of good causes can spread across the digital social network, leading to increased action and change in the real world. Now that would be something to "like."