July 21: How Can You Measure the Value of Social Networking?

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is holding another in its series of free online discussions on social networking. This time their guest will be social media guru Beth Kanter (you may know Beth from her eponymous Beth's Blog — and if you don't, you should). 

What: What's the Payoff? How Charities Can Figure Out How Much Time and Money to Invest in Social Networking

When: Tuesday, July 21, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

How Much: Free

Where: online at http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/07/payoff/chat.php3

Description:

Nonprofit workers are spending an increasing amount of time building relationships with supporters on social-networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook, on blogs, and in virtual worlds like Second Life.

But as they devote more time and money to such activities, they often do so without a clear understanding of what they are getting out of these tools.

Many are not sure how to measure the value of these interactions. Should they focus on dollars raised, number of online "friends," mentions on blogs, or visitors to their websites?

Beth Kanter has been studying how nonprofit groups measure the return on investment in online social networks and has written extensively about the topic on her popular blog, Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media. She will take your questions on the topic during a live, online discussion on Tuesday, July 21.

It looks like an especially useful discussion to help prioritize how to use your staff's resources to get the biggest return on your social networking investments.