Did you know that 53% of donors lapse because of poor donor communication? Though social media usage has become pervasive among nonprofits, it is still used primarily for promotion. Those organizations who are utilizing networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to show authentic and personalized appreciation to supporters are reaping the benefits of increased engagement and donor loyalty. This session will help you discover how to maximize your nonprofit’s social media accounts through thankfulness, instead of promotion. We will examine real-life examples of effective social media usage from organizations large and small, as well as the latest research into what works and what doesn’t. Learning Outcomes: Discover time-honored gift acknowledgement techniques that translate perfectly to social media Learn how to formulate a relevant social content strategy for your organization Understand data-driven best practices in timing, format and style of social posts across all networks

1. Share The Love
using social media to engage donors
Steven Shattuck

2. About Steven »
@StevenShattuck
Chief Engagement Officer, Bloomerang
Co-founder/ED, Launch Cause
Contributor: Fundraising Principles and
Practice: Second Edition
Member: Fundraising Effectiveness
Project (FEP) Project Work Group, AFP
Center for Fundraising Innovation (CFI)
Fun facts:
• 1st job: producing fundraising videos
• prefers tea to coffee
• allergic to rhubarb
• won the David Letterman scholarship

3. Learning objectives »
@StevenShattuck
• Understand the root causes of donor attrition and
how that can inform a social media content strategy
• Learn how to formulate a relevant social content
strategy for your organization
• Understand data-driven best practices in timing,
format and style of social posts across all networks

4. @StevenShattuck
the content problem

5. The Rule of Thirds »
• 33% your content
• 33% other's content
• 33% conversation
@StevenShattuck

6. 80/20 Rule »
• 80% not about you
• 20% about you
@StevenShattuck

7. These frameworks
aren’t ideal for nonprofits.
@StevenShattuck

8. The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck

9. 1.Appreciation
2.Advocacy
3.Appeals
The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck

10. The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck
• Appreciation: say thank you
• Advocacy: report on outcomes
• Appeals: ask for help

11. The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck
1.Appreciation
2.Advocacy
3.Appeals

12. Appreciation is the key to donor retention.
@StevenShattuck

13. @StevenShattuck
Donor retention »
Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project http://afpfep.org
45.5% 31.8% 64% 90+%

14. Donor retention over a decade »
@StevenShattuck

15. Donor Attrition Over Five Years
# of
Donors
Attrition
Rate
Donors
Remaining
After 1
Year
Donors
Remaining
After 2
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 3
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 4
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 5
Years
1,000 20% 800 640 512 410 328
1,000 40% 600 360 216 130 78
1,000 60% 400 160 64 26 10
So what?
@StevenShattuck
https://bloomerang.co/resources/guides/donor-retention-math-made-simple/

16. Donor retention math »
@StevenShattuck
https://bloomerang.co/resources/guides/donor-retention-math-made-simple/

17. @StevenShattuck
Why do donors leave?

18. @StevenShattuck
• 2001 study by
Adrian Sargeant
• Survey to lapsed donors of
10 major U.S.-based
nonprofits
• Respondents were asked to
check each reason for
stopping their contributions
Why nonprofit donors leave »
http://www.campbellrinker.com/Managing_donor_defection.pdf

19. @StevenShattuck
• 5% - thought charity did not need them
• 8% - no info on how monies were used
• 9% - no memory of supporting
• 13% - never got thanked for donating
• 16% - death
• 18% - poor service or communication
• 36% - others more deserving
• 54% - could no longer afford
Why nonprofit donors leave »
http://www.campbellrinker.com/Managing_donor_defection.pdf

20. @StevenShattuck
Why do donors stay?

21. @StevenShattuck
• 2011 study
• Survey of 1,200 recent (last 12 months), frequent (more
than 2 gifts to cause based charities) donors from over
250 nonprofit organizations
• Donors were given a list of 32 reasons why they might
continue giving
• Asked to rank them by order of importance
Key drivers of donor commitment »
http://www.thedonorvoice.com/national-donor-commitment-study-and-proof-of-link-between-donor-attitudes-and-behavior/

22. @StevenShattuck
Key drivers of donor commitment »
1. Donor perceives organization produces outcomes
2. Donor knows what to expect with each interaction
3. Donor receives a timely thank you
4. Donor receives opportunities to make views known
5. Donor feels like they’re part of an important cause
6. Donor feels his or her involvement is appreciated
7. Donor receives info showing who is being helped
http://www.thedonorvoice.com/national-donor-commitment-study-and-proof-of-link-between-donor-attitudes-and-behavior/

23. 1.Appreciation
2.Advocacy
3.Appeals
The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck

24. appreciation

25. Why appreciation »
@StevenShattuck
• Appreciation boosts retention
• “Appreciation” posts get the
most engagement
• People like to put their
philanthropy on display
• Creates “FOMO” that generates
further action

26. @StevenShattuck
Anatomy of a sharer »
http://www.slideshare.net/socialogilvy/why-do-people-share-on-social-media-global-survey-results

27. Appreciation via social media »
• Use social media to publicly thank supporters!
‣ donors
‣ volunteers
‣ staff/board members
‣ other advocates/vendors
• Why?
‣ they will engage with/share the post
‣ increases visibility of future posts
@StevenShattuck

28. Appreciation »
@StevenShattuck

29. Appreciation »
@StevenShattuck

30. Appreciation »
@StevenShattuck
Volunteers are 10x
more likely to donate
to your charity than
non-volunteers!
http://www.fidelitycharitable.org/docs/
Volunteerism-Charitable-Giving-2009-
Executive-Summary.pdf

31. @StevenShattuck
https://twitter.com/GivingtoPurdue/status/725288948117942273

32. @StevenShattuck

33. Appreciation »
@StevenShattuck

34. @StevenShattuck

35. @StevenShattuck

36. How to know who to thank? »
@StevenShattuck
• Look to see if you have interacted with this
person before
• Ask for Twitter username on donation form
• “Would you like to remain anonymous in
agency publications?” Yes/No
• Encourage donor to take the first step

37. Confirmation page »
@StevenShattuck

38. Confirmation page »
@StevenShattuck

39. 1. Appreciation
2. Advocacy
3. Appeals
The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck
Gets the most engagement!
https://blog.bufferapp.com/facebook-news-feed-algorithm

40. Facebook algorithm factors »
• Posts with lots of comments
• Posts with lots of likes
• Post types that users seem to prefer more than
others (e.g., photo, video, or status update)
• Posts that receive a high volume of likes, comments,
or shares in a short time
• Posts that tag other pages within the text
• Posts that are liked or commented on by one’s friends
• Posts from pages that one interacts with often
@StevenShattuck

41. Appreciation opportunities »
• Volunteers on-site
• Unique donation
• A major gift
• In-kind help from a for-profit vendor/sponsor
• P2P fundraiser milestones
@StevenShattuck

42. Appreciation - do’s and don’ts »
• Look for opportunities to show appreciation
• Make it easy for donors to talk about their giving
• from the brand + from employees
• Get the donor/volunteer’s permission
• Make thank you’s visual
• Never an untagged post
• Track donor’s social media accounts in database
@StevenShattuck

43. 1. Appreciation
2. Advocacy
3. Appeals
The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck
Now it’s time for conversions!

44. Come up with 3 ideas for an appreciation post

45. advocacy

46. @StevenShattuck
Key drivers of donor commitment »
1. Donor perceives organization produces outcomes
2. Donor knows what to expect with each interaction
3. Donor receives a timely thank you
4. Donor receives opportunities to make views known
5. Donor feels like they’re part of an important cause
6. Donor feels his or her involvement is appreciated
7. Donor receives info showing who is being helped
http://www.thedonorvoice.com/national-donor-commitment-study-and-proof-of-link-between-donor-attitudes-and-behavior/

47. @StevenShattuck

48. @StevenShattuck

49. @StevenShattuck

50. @StevenShattuck

51. @StevenShattuck

52. @StevenShattuck

53. @StevenShattuck

54. Advocacy tips »
• Think like a journalist
• Keep your cell phone (camera) with you
• Tell others to keep an eye out
• Highlight service recipients and employees
@StevenShattuck

55. Come up with 3 ideas for an advocacy post

56. appeals

57. Appeals »
• Use social media to ask for help!
‣ be visual
‣ be specific
‣ give specific action steps
• Involve others!
‣ identify influencers
‣ make it fun
@StevenShattuck

58. @StevenShattuck

59. Appeals »
@StevenShattuck

60. Appeals »
@StevenShattuck

61. Appeals »
http://socialmediatoday.com/sashattuck/2431046/how-college-used-social-media-raise-465k-one-day
@StevenShattuck

62. Appeals »
http://socialmediatoday.com/sashattuck/2053261/how-nonprofit-raised-41k-twitter-24-hours-without-trying
@StevenShattuck

65. Come up with 3 ideas for an appeals post

66. Appreciation - 70%
Advocacy - 20%
Appeals - 10%
The “Three As” »
@StevenShattuck
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/nonprofit-three-as-social-media-ht

67. How often should you post? »
@StevenShattuck

68. • Facebook: when you have something to say
• Twitter: when you have something to say
• Instagram: when you have something to say
• LinkedIn: when you have something to say
How often should you post? »
@StevenShattuck

69. Takeaways »
• Balance: avoid too much self-promotion
• Visual: photos/videos perform very well
• Be personal: address people individually (tag them)
• Ask: permission before publicly acknowledging gifts
• you don’t have to divulge gift amount!
• Track: supporter social media accounts in your database
• Teamwork: get your employees to create/share content
• Measure and adjust: don’t post what hasn’t worked!
@StevenShattuck

70. @StevenShattuck
https://bloomerang.co/resources
•Nonprofit Wrap-Up
•Bloomerang TV
•Bloomies
•eBooks
•Daily blog post
•Weekly webinars
•Templates
•Guides

71. Free eBook »
@StevenShattuck
http://bit.ly/bloomerang-social
Questions?
steven.shattuck@bloomerang.co
@StevenShattuck