Is social media engagement a stop on the road to financial support?

For several years now the ongoing subject in so many fundraising circles that I am fortunate enough to participate in has been how to engage our prospects/constituents through social media. As more organizations have successfully accomplished that, the struggle for another major outcome is coming to the fore: How do we monetize these connections. I hypothesize that you can't. At least not directly. And here is why: The best social media engagement through a page or organizational site works kind of like a coffee house. By that I mean that you are hosting the conversations and may pass in and out of them but you are not the driver of the conversations. Think about if you go into your local coffee house - you may chat with the barista when you order your drink, and maybe even while you wait for it to be made but once that is complete, you spend your time with the folks who you are talking with/there to see or on the way out, not hanging with the staff. Your Social Media sites are kind of similar, hopefully you are occasionally steering the direction of the conversations going on but allowing the visitors to have their own say and conversations, many of which have nothing to do with you other than your name on the wall. The one area where this analogy breaks down is the coffee - entrance to the coffee house is free, just like your page but folks coming to your page are there for the conversation and don't expect to pay while folks in the coffee house expect to pay for the coffee. That distinction is what makes monetizing the social media presence so difficult. So should we quit? Absolutely not. The long term value of social media engagement seems like it should only continue to grow. Your gift planning folks 50 years from now would shoot you for even thinking about it. But right now, those alumni only engaged through this arena really are not even warm prospects as a result. Those that are donors will remain so and they are your key to reaching those who are not...