New Study Results: How Nonprofits Are (and Are Not) Using Social Media
September 28th, 2009
Faced with the reality of shrinking budgets and fewer grant opportunities, many nonprofits– rather “social profits”– are turning to new web-based technologies to help out.
New technologies offer opportunities for online fundraising, publicity, participation in policy debate, and perhaps most importantly—and opportunity to deepen community engagement and social impact.
A new Hatcher Group report surveyed 30 organizations to see how they’re using social media and what their experiences have been. All respondents reported currently using some form of social media, and most intend to ramp up their efforts next year.
Key findings:
Blogs. Blogs have offered a good ROI for nonprofits. Nearly 100 million Americans read blogs at least once a month, and effective outreach can take less than 2 hours per week.
- 83% of the organizations reach out to bloggers, but only 30% do so frequently
- 88% reported being cited in blogs as a result of their outreach
- 16% of organizations were invited to submit guest posts
- 93% of the organizations monitor references to their organization or issues in the blogosphere
Facebook. Facebook is popular among nonprofits and with good reason: More than 200 million users, 50% of whom sign in every day; users become fans of causes (4 million per day) offering free visibility and endorsements for nonprofits; nonprofits have collectively raised more than $10 million through Facebook.
- 60% of the groups are currently on Facebook
- Facebook was used by respondents to generate record event turnout using Facebook’s event invites, raise money, and promote fundraising events
Twitter. Twitter was less popular among nonprofits, used by only 24% of respondents. Those who did use it found it effective for disseminating news, promoting reports, and building connections with other organizations.
Conclusions? While we know that social media offers excellent opportunities for nonprofits, many are still not using it to its full capacity. Those who are using it are ahead of the curve and already seeing the returns. For those who aren’t—it’s time to start!
For tips on how to develop effective social media outreach, view our strategic communications blog posts and tweets.
Posted by Elizabeth Beachy, Upleaf Co-Founder
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