Inspire Case Study: Coordinating an Inspire community with Facebook
The Situation
The National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) had an active Facebook page and wanted to also have a more secure and vibrant online community for its members. The NCCC is a California-based grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to serving women with, or at risk for, cervical cancer and HPV disease.
Facebook, according to NCCC co-founder Alan Kaye, didn't nearly have the level or feeling of privacy that he wanted for online discussions of NCCC members. "For many women," Kaye said, "discussing cervical cancer and HPV can be difficult because of issues of stigma. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about HPV, and getting people to connect online for in-depth and frank discussions, that's not something easily done on Facebook."
But still, Kaye, overseeing a small staff to manage the NCCC, didn't want to confuse NCCC members and create considerable additional work in managing multiple social media platforms.
The Solution
Kaye worked with Inspire to create the National Cervical Cancer and HPV Coalition Support Community. The goal was to provide a safe place for women and their caregivers to communicate about their cervical cancer and other HPV-related issues in a manner that encourages emotional support.
From its launch, Kaye saw the level of discussion and engagement surpass that of the NCCC's Facebook page. "We saw and continue to see a deeper level of intimacy and detail in the community on Inspire," he noted. Kaye and his team are able to manage the Inspire and Facebook communities easily, developing different advocacy messages for both groups when appropriate. Also, Kaye drives traffic to and from the communities, to ensure that members of one group know about the other. "Having members belong to multiple online groups deepens the connection to the NCCC, and gives members more resources and potential connections with others," Kaye explained.
As for the Facebook page, Kaye noted, "It is certainly a key part of our social media strategy. Facebook is ubiquitous. What's great is that with the community on Inspire, it's not an either-or proposition."
In learning more about Inspire, Kaye even became an investor several years ago. "I'm a customer and an investor," he noted.
About Inspire
With more than 80 partnerships with leading national patient advocacy organizations, Inspire (www.inspire.com) creates and manages secure online communities, organized by medical condition, such as the National Cervical Cancer and HPV Support Community (www.inspire.com/groups/national-cervical-cancer-coalition/). Inspire communities are moderated, secure, and free to nonprofits. Inspire communities give nonprofits a turnkey social media platform for messaging, fundraising and more. Contact Danielle Leach, Inspire's Director of Partnerships, at danielle@inspire.com, to learn how your association can benefit from this free service.
