Using Social Media to Increase Donations

Using Social Media to IncreaseDonationsC-CRM18Lara BrownSenior Marketing ManagerSage Nonprofit Solutions

Online giving and social media usage is exploding• Online giving – 140 large nonprofits surveyed raised a combined $1.2 billion in online donations in 2010 compared to $887 million in 2009. That’s an increase of 35%!*• Facebook – There are > 500 million active Facebook users. 50% log on to Facebook on any given day. Largest growth is 35+, with 55+ growing at 922%.• Twitter – Users now send a billion Tweets every 8 days—by comparison, it took 3 years, 2 months, and 1 day to reach the first billion Tweets.• YouTube – 179 million people watch video online, 77% on YouTube * The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

How does social media promote online giving?• Contributes to each stage of the giving cycle• Keeps donors engaged online• Expands your audience• Promotes advocacy• Builds stronger ties with donors• Mobilizes supporters• Taps into human nature

Social media enables each stage of the giving cycle Aware Advocate Respond Donate

StrangersFundraisers Friends Donors Source: Seth Godin, Flipping the Funnel

Social media helps keep donors engaged online• It’s far cheaper to retain a donor then recruit a new one• Engaged donors are more valuable: – Donate more often with larger donations – Take more actions: volunteering, recruiting donors, attending events – Tell more people about your organization – Fundraise on your behalf, if you enable them to

Social media taps into the human need to feel:• Connected with others• In the know• Heard and understood• Recognized

Listen Participate Measure Evaluate

Listen before you participate“It’s about conversations, and the best communicators start as the best listeners.”Brian Solis, Social Media Manifesto

Tips on Listening• Don’t just listen on your own social properties. – Go where conversations are already taking place and be a part of them, commenting on blogs and Facebook posts, Tweets• Subscribe to RSS feeds and use Google Reader to manage and categorize them by area of interest• Track what other successful, like-missioned organizations are doing so you can leverage it

Tips on participating• Be a human• Make it personal• Use conversational language• Keep it jargon free• Show your passionAbove all, be authentic!

You can’t manage it if you can’t measure it• Establish goals and metrics and re-evaluate them – Number of social mentions – Increase in Facebook likes and Twitter followers – You Tube video views – Blog comments – Increased traffic to your web site – Influence (Klout score)• Social media measurement tools – www.socialmention.com – www.tweetreach.com – www.search.twitter.com

Who can name at least 6 of these social mediaproperties?

Best practices for social media success• Social media is about strategy, not tools – Understand where it fits within your mission, goals, audience – Integrate it with other online and offline strategies and tactics• On Facebook, focus efforts on your page• Drive traffic back to your core web site• Make it easy for supporters give and get involved• Develop content to keep donors engaged

Social media is about strategy, not tools• How does social media fit within your mission, strategy and goals?• How can you integrate social media with existing online and offline strategies and tactics?

Focus on your Facebook page• Gives you the greatest return.• Nonprofits raised $3 Million on Facebook Causes in 2008, but at an estimated cost of $300 Million to sector.• Livestrong raised an average of only $.13 per member.

Drive traffic from social properties to your core web site• When people want to learn about a cause they go the charity’s Web site• Your website and email is still where you see the majority of engagement. Offline Social Email Properties Core Website

What people want to know when they get to your website*100% 90% 80% 80% 74% 71% 70% 60% 50% 43% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Impact Success Stories Details About the Financial Organization Accountability* Source: Community Web 2.0

Make it easy for them once they get there• Simplify donation pages – No need to sell them at that point – Reduce the number of clicks – Don’t send them off to a third-party site to donate• Everyone is a potential advocate – Give them multiple ways to get involved (register, subscribe) – Make sure they have the tools to share your story – Lower the barrier to entry for people to engage with you.• Allow them to give in context – Provide donation forms on every page with high-value content• Ask! For time, for money, to share your story

What the Jazz Foundation is doing right• Explain their mission• Provide case studies• Offer multiple ways to get involved• Make it easy (minimize clicks)• Show a progress bar• Stay on website instead of going to another site to give• Enabling sharing (share this page, embed the form)• Giving in context

http://www.jazzfoundation.org

Soft ask:Low barrier toentry

Good content should accompany every givingopportunity• Assign resources• Do a content audit• Create an editorial calendar – Include holidays and events to spark ideas• Make and upload video

Video is a great way to show it, not tell it• Easy to create and upload• Share your story• Include a call-to-action at the end and point it to your site with supporting content.• Keep videos short (1-2 min), focused, authentic, use humor• Get free YouTube account: youtube.com/nonprofit – Benefits include ability to add a call-to-action overlay on your video.

Common fears around social media• Lack of internal resources/time/budget – There is cost associated with it• Lack of knowledge/expertise – Deputize someone in your organization – Familiarize yourself with the tools• No guidelines in place – Create a policy, there are many examples online

Common fears around social media• Lack of support by leadership – Start small, show results• Not convinced about the value/ROI – Will need time to prove out• Losing control of the conversation – Create a plan to respond to negative comments/PR like the Bronx Zoo

Questions to ponder• Where does social media fit within your mission, strategy, goals and audience?• How can you integrate social media with existing strategies, campaigns and tactics?• Are you driving email and social media users to your website?• Does your website make it easy for visitors to take action?• Do you have existing content you can leverage for videos / blogs?• Are fears about social media keeping you from getting started?

Contact Me• Lara Brown• lara.brown@sage.com• Twitter: @laraeliz

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Using Social Media to Increase Donations

by Sage Nonprofit Solutions on Jul 18, 2011

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Using Social Media to Increase Donations — Presentation Transcript