The document outlines a social media plan for the Alpine Learning Group. Research showed that donation searches increase in September, indicating campaigns could start earlier. Videos are influential for donations - 57% of viewers donate within 24 hours. The plan aims to increase Facebook likes by 8% and YouTube views by 16% in 3 months. Tactics include spotlighting a "Social Media Student of the Week" on Twitter to put faces to the organization, sharing YouTube links across platforms, encouraging parents to like Facebook posts, using HootSuite for scheduled posts, and running an emotional donation campaign from September through the holidays emphasizing the organization's expertise in autism education.

1. A Social Media Plan
The Alpine Learning Group
Erin Lenz - June 1, 2015
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2. Research
I have conducted research to find out how people are donating to organizations, why
are they donating, and what is it thats influencing them to donate. These studies were
conducted during the years 2013-2014. What I have found is that people are not just thinking
about donations during the holiday seasons, the idea of giving is at the top of their minds
way before that. Google did a study that found an uptick in donation searches by 30% in
September, as opposed to just the usual uptick in November. This is important for the Alpine
Learning Group because this means a campaign for donations can be created and released
earlier than planned, and may possibly be more successful.
Organizations are diversifying themselves through the mobile and digital world.
Donors are more likely to use online resources, such as social media and videos, to learn
more about the cause. People donate to other people, not to organizations. Putting the face to
the name of the organization is crucial for the Alpine Learning Group. 79% of donors
surveyed by Google said that video ads and video segments were the most influential and
useful way for them to learn about different organizations. 57% of those donated to that
organization within 24 hours of viewing a video ad or segment. Seeing these statistics, this
means the Alpine Learning Group’s YouTube Channel is a great resource for bringing in
donors digitally. Utilizing video advertisements through YouTube may be beneficial to the
Alpine Learning Group, but perhaps looking into better promoting the videos that the
organization produces and posts themselves should be the first step.
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3. Looking at individual social media platforms, the statistics are promising. A study
showed that for every 1,000 e-mail subscribers that organizations have, 149 of those are
Facebook “likers” and 53 are Twitter followers. Organizations that work closely with children
are more successful at sparking an online conversation for their cause on social media as
compared to other types of organizations. Facebook seems to be the most successful platform
for receiving donations. In a regular peer-to-
peer fundraising campaign, 15-18% of the
donations came from Facebook. Twitter also
has a lot of potential for Alpine Learning
Group as well, this graphic describes
fundraising success with and without twitter:
I think it may be best to focus attention on the social media accounts that are currently
active and make those more successful, before branching out to Instagram and other
platforms. Utilizing what Alpine Learning Group already has and making it better will help
the organization immensely.
Measurable Goals
a) Increase Facebook likes by 8% over the course of 3 months (1,000 Likes between June-
August)
b) Increase views of YouTube videos from 4,184 to 5,000 views in total over a 3 month period
(June-August)
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4. c) Utilize Twitter and increase followers from 19 to 50 over the next 3 months (June-August)
d) Increase donations during the school fiscal year (September-June)
Proposed Tactics
a) Select a student to be the “Social Media Student of the Week” and have them
document their success on twitter Monday-Friday. Develop an easily trackable hashtag
, such as #ALGSocialStudent, and use it in the posts daily. At the end of the week, the
student as well as followers will see their documented success being showcased in a
large platform. It will put the face to the name for the donors, and encourage them to
help with your cause. Making this a weekly series will encourage people to follow the
account so they can keep up with the success of the students. This can also be executed
across multiple social media platforms, linking all of your sites together.
b) Sharing the links to YouTube videos on other platforms will encourage a larger
audience to click on them and view them.
c) Encourage parents of students to “Like” Alpine Learning Group on Facebook through
Newsletters, and flyers sent home with students.
d) Develop HootSuite to share postings to multiple social media platforms at scheduled
times to ensure that all posts are being seen by followers.
e) Creating a social media campaign that will bring in donations beginning in September,
and continue on throughout the school year. Emphasize this campaign around the
holidays.
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5. f) Use campaigns to emphasize that Alpine Learning Group is the expert in education for
children with autism. Your above and beyond care for these children should be known
and recognized, bringing that into the campaign will create an emotional connection
with donors.
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