The growth of social networking has played a huge role in raising awareness of the big issues that face us globally. As more and more of the developing world comes online, this is a medium that will only grow in relevance for development.

Because of the viral nature of social networking and, as GreaterGood SA founder Tamzin Ractliffe maintains: “we believe what others we know, like or respect stand for”, it has proved to be a particularly useful tool for non-profits and causes. It is a democratic medium – easily, and cheaply, accessible to both non profits and ordinary people. And it cuts out the middle man: no journalist, politician, fundraiser or slick advertising creative getting between you and the message.

The easy part

For a relatively small cost, non profits are able to create a considerable presence and help a large number of people understand the issues on the ground where they live. Even in South Africa, where only a small percentage of the population has access to high-speed internet, the race is on for causes to get a social networking presence or face being left behind.

But raising awareness is the easy part. It is far harder to turn awareness into action or, indeed, real change.

Is the world a better place?

Here in South Africa, a great deal of effort has been put into raising awareness of HIV and AIDS in the hopes that it will change behaviour and so reduce infection rates. It hasn’t. South Africa currently has the fourth highest HIV prevalence in the world, with an estimated 5.7 million people currently living with HIV and AIDS.

And I was recently struck by a news item about a couple of young Americans who were producing films about child soldiers in the Congo to raise awareness about the issue. While their efforts were unquestionably noble, no amount of public outrage about the plight of child soldiers has actually reduced the number of child soldiers in the Congo. Unless awareness-raising is followed up with considerable funding, a clear and effective strategy and the political will to end the practice altogether, it remains a ‘feel good’ but ultimately futile exercise.

To quote a very useful research publication by Spitfire Strategies and the Communications Leadership Institute, The Activation Point: “If knowledge alone was enough to inspire action, the world would already be a better place.”

Inspiring action

One of the hardest lessons we have learnt running our public campaigns and initiatives is how hard it is, even with a mountain of media coverage and a solid social network following, to get people to actually commit their hard-earned money or precious time to a cause. People are happy to follow you on Facebook, spread the message about your work and write encouraging posts about what you do but far less eager to actually do something about it.

The question remains: how do we inspire action rather than simply raise awareness?

I believe the answer is less about the exciting possibilities of new media and more about old fashioned relationship-building. Back to the fundraising basics, as it were. You make a connection – through social networking, your website, the media – and set about building trust and commitment over time. It is a slow process, where you need to communicate regularly, constantly drive people to your site and encourage them to interact with you directly. Then you need to keep in touch with them and share the real impact you have achieved.

As the development sector, we also need to start communicating with more authority and urgency. Too often, causes slip into begging mode, using what has been called ‘poverty porn’ to guilt the public into action: big-eyed African children staring balefully at the camera.

It rarely works because it offers no hope of a real solution.

Investing in social change

What does work is having a solid proposition that becomes more of an ‘investment’ than a donation. For a donor investing in social change, with tangible results, is far more positive and activating than donating to a hopeless case. The SA Social Investment Exchange (SASIX), started by GreaterGood in 2006, is an example of how this can work. The listed projects are presented as investments with primarily social returns on the investment.

The Exchange provides an online space for the old-fashioned relationship building to happen, one investor at a time. It may not be quick or viral or sexy but it works. More importantly, it delivers real change on the ground.

Sophie is Head of Communications GreaterGood South Africa.