Olivia Smith (Senior VP) of BKV, Inc. headed up a six month study on what charities are doing in email. Smith shared many of her findings during a session at the DMANF Conference in New York on August 25th.  It was quite fascinating and Smith told me they will be releasing a white paper on the study.

I want to touch on a couple of their findings here.  First a bit about their methodology as I understand it from Smith’s presentation:

Goal was to observe the emails from 100 charities of various sizes over 6 months

Their selection criteria included charities with the ability to accept donations online; and the ability to EASILY register/subscribe online to a newsletter or email updates.  This second criterion to “easily subscribe” eliminated 25 charities. That’s lesson number ONE – make it easy for prospects and donors to sign-up for your email communications.

Therefore 75 charities were chosen (none of which were clients of BKV, Inc.), in eight verticals: advocacy, animal, sponsorship, children, environmental, health, human services, and international. 

A $10 online donation was made with each charity with one email address.  And with a different email address than that used for the donation, Smith registered online with the same 75 charities.  Then the emails began to flow.

Over the course of six months she received 1546 emails as a result of the $10 donation; and she receive another 1583 emails by simply subscribing.

Want to stand out from the crowd?  Karen says . . .

Send BOTH a thank you email for online donations, and a thank you letter or card in the mail.  Why?  Because in Smith’s study only a handful of charities did this.

I was surprised by this – but maybe I shouldn’t have been – and also disappointed.  With the mountains of studies and proof that donors respond more often when communicated with across multiple channels . . . why not start off right by saying thank you online and offline?  Begin your relationship with a strong positive first impression through warm cultivation and gratitude.

Lesson number TWO – thank online donors in two ways: Online and offline. 

Welcome everyone and share more about what you do

Smith received more “welcome” messages when she subscribed than from her donations.  The welcome messages told more of “here’s what we do” and “how you can help.”

Surely the charities don’t assume that just become someone makes a $10 online donation, that donor knows everything about the charity! 

This is another MAJOR cultivation opportunity missed by too many charities.  Brand new online donors as well as non-donor email subscribers need to be welcomed to your nonprofit. 

Share success stories in your welcome that highlight in a simple “show and tell” fashion each of your programs.  Briefly introduce planned giving.  Share all the ways they can be involved and where to find you (e.g., social media, send them to your YouTube page, events, newsletters, etc.). 

Lesson number THREE – welcome everyone.  Don’t discriminate.

I could go on and on about this revealing study, but I’ll save the rest for another day.  Meanwhile I’ve given you three lessons on improving relationships with your supporters . . . three opportunities for your charity.  And they’re all comparatively easy to implement.

Yes, yet another study on what boomers and seniors are doing online was released.  Specifically it addresses how they’re using social media. 

The primary finding is that “…social networking use among those ages 50 and older nearly doubled over the past year.”  They’re getting into the groove with networking sites. This is from a study by the Pew Research Center (“Older Adults and Social Media).

In fact among those ages 50-64 that are online, nearly half (47%) use social networking sites (an 88% increase).  And for those users over the age of 65, one in four (26%) are socializing online (a 100% increase over the previous year).

Significance to Nonprofits

Seniors (over the age of 65) comprise the vast majority of donors for the vast majority of charities.   

Boomers also ought to be a target market that charities are reaching out to.  This group is worthy of much attention and cultivating so they too become a major segment of your donor pool . . . so they’re already supporting you in one way or another before they reach age 65.

And if these two groups are using more social media then this is where you can find them.  Go where the people are.

1 - Start now to expand your donor profile to include the “young donors age 45-55.”  Reach out to them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to name a few.  Have a presence on these networks and seek out those who fit your target donor profile.

2 – If most of your donors are over 65, keep your website design simple.  Minimize the raz-a-ma-taz, flash, etc. This drags site loading to a death crawl.

This is always good advice but the Pew research found that “seniors over 65 are among those least likely to have high-speed Internet access at home — less than one-third of them have broadband.”

Make it easy for web visitors to enlarge font size

Also have a way for web visitors to increase the size of the font.  Make this prominent and EASY to find.  The graphic to the left illustrates what I mean.

3 – Email is a great way to communicate with seniors and boomers.  60% of boomer Internet users send or receive email; and this is true for 55% of seniors.

4 – Consider online ads (i.e., Google Display ads) to reach those who visit other types of websites. For example: A very large segment of web users also get their news online (42% boomers, 34% seniors), do banking online (22% boomers, 19% seniors), and fewer use online classifieds (6% boomers, 5% seniors).

Why boomers & seniors use social media

Knowledge of your target audience is priceless.  Knowing why boomers and seniors are using social media will help you tailor your communications so they resonate with the readers.

According to Pew research, the three primary reasons are these:

1 – Connections with friends and colleagues from their past can “…provide a powerful support network when people near retirement or embark on a new career.” 

Takeaway: If you’re on the staff of a membership association, how might you use this knowledge to attract more members?  How might you tap into the experience and knowledge of these people to educate and train more of your younger members?

2 – “Older adults are more likely to be living with a chronic disease.  Those living with these diseases are more likely to reach out for support online.”  Blogging and online health forums or listservs are popular with some people coping with a serious illness.

Takeaway: How might this knowledge help your health or disease research charity grow?  Can they find you and the help they need on social sites?  Are you giving them the web communication channels they want?

3 – “Social media bridges generational gaps . . . these social spaces pool together users from very different parts of people’s lives and provide the opportunity to share skills across generational divides.”

Takeaway: Similar to #2, health charities can also reach out to younger age groups who may have parents or grandparents suffering from a chronic disease.  They may well want to support a charity that’s helping a family member.   And there are many types of nonprofits that can use this generational diversity to their advantage.

Proceed with a Plan

But I don’t want you to blindly dive head first into the deep water.  You might drown.  What I mean is that without a nonprofit social media plan you could easily use precious resources inefficiently.

Therefore, first have a plan on how you’ll integrate social media into your fundraising and marketing strategy, and know what you want it to do for your nonprofit.

With your plan in place . . . here’s one idea on how to leverage your time and the content you create: Add a blog to your static website. No one needs to know it’s a blog (have your web designer create a header that matches the rest of your site). 

But it’s a super easy and fast way to add content – to keep your website fresh.  And if it’s not “obvious” that it’s a blog then you won’t feel burdened to update it every other day or so. 

The advantage is that each time you add a success story from the field to your website (i.e., the blog), you can have it automatically update your Facebook page. 

More detailed results from the study

• One in five (20%) online adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up from 10% one year ago.

• Among adults ages 65 and older, 13% log on to social networking sites on a typical day, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.

• One in ten Internet users ages 50 and older now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves or see updates about others.

As the study says, they’re using these sites to connect with old friends, keep in touch with family (especially those far away including nieces, nephews, and grandkids), building networks for finding jobs and furthering their careers, and to keep current on events.

Boomers and seniors are groovin’ online.  More and more are expanding their online use every day.  Go where the people are.  Integrate your fundraising and marketing plans to include social media.  But do this wisely.  Do this with a plan.

Sample Email Format

1 – Salutation.  A warm, personalized greeting.  If your audience is all seniors (over age 65), it’s probably best to use “Dear” in the greeting.

2 – Insert a click-able graphic or video in the upper right-hand corner below your header.  Ideally have a call-to-action within the graphic and not merely a cute picture.  Remember that many people won’t see the graphic unless they “click to download” it.  So don’t depend on the picture. 

    Also, when you create the code for the graphic I recommend you add the “Alt Tag.”  This allows you to describe the graphic with a call-to-action and these words will show even when the picture doesn’t. For example the “Alt Tag” could read: Send petition to Senator Doe

3 – The first paragraph is your lead. Make it short, sweet and to the point. In fact, your offer and call-to-action should be here and contained within anchor text hyperlink.  Ideally send people to a unique landing page when they click your hyperlinks.

4 - In the next few paragraphs (one, two or three short ones), state your case.  What’s in it for your reader?  Why should they respond?  What difference will they make by responding?  Here and everywhere use donor-centric copy.

5 – Insert your second hyperlink.  It might be a stand alone link centered on the line. Or it may be within the paragraph(s) where you state your  case for responding.

6 – Briefly reinforce your case.

7 – Closing.  Quick summary of most important point and what you want the reader to do.  It’s paramount for you to be CLEAR.  Be redundant.  Keep it simple and spell it out.

8 – Signature.  This matches the from line. 

9 – P.S. is where you tie it all together in a sentence or two.  What impact the reader will have by responding, the offer and call-to-action, and your appreciation for all their support.  Include a 3rd hyperlink to your unique landing page.

That’s a template for your emails.  Remember not to get long-winded either.  Brevity and clarity are essential in nonprofit email marketing.  I believe you’ll also find it useful to read another post I wrote, 7 guidelines for emails readers respond to  . . .  along with, How to write email subject lines.

Would you produce a direct mail campaign on a whim?  Would you just “try it” to see what happens?  Or would you plan it carefully as part of an overall fundraising and marketing strategy?

I believe your answer is that you would plan it carefully as part of an overall strategy.

So why do so many nonprofits and for-profit companies venture into social media without a strategy?  This is the on-target question raised by Steve Richards in Econsultancy’s Digital Marketing Blog post, “Why you need a social media strategy, not a Facebook strategy.”

Richards’ point is that almost no one would experiment like this offline.  So why be so haphazard with social media?  To quote Richards,

“The paradox is that most of these same companies would not undertake offline marketing activities on a whim, but carefully plan their campaigns to the smallest detail. They are scrupulous about targeting their direct response campaigns, and every word of a print advertisement is carefully chosen.”

Even other online channels such as email and pay-per-click are done with care and a thought-out strategy.  This is in contrast to social media which is often viewed as “an add-on that we get to whenever we have a few extra minutes.” 

Yikes.  That’s risky.

To paraphrase Richards and to put this in context of the nonprofit sector:  “And when I say social media activities, I mean a structured, organised set of activities, which bring your social media strategy to life. It’s not about being on Facebook, or having a Twitter account, or creating a YouTube channel. Social media isn’t a set of platforms; it’s an attitude towards engaging with prospects, donors, and members in an open, honest way, and it has to be properly co-ordinated . . . “

Technology and new tools are great. I mean that. We simply need to be careful not to be dazzled by the shiny new toy.  We need to be careful not to start playing with the new toy without first reading the instructions and understanding how it works.  Or rather, without first understanding how social media fits in with your overall fundraising and marketing strategy, goals, and objectives. Including, what you specifically want to achieve with social media that contributes to your overall strategy.

Here are some points to consider as you develop your social media strategy:

- Who are you targeting?

- Where’s the best place(s) to find them? Which social media platforms are most relevant for your audience?

- Perhaps you’re also trying to expand your audience into a broader cross section of people.  That’s fine. But again, have a plan and choose social media platforms that match your target.

- What types of messages will resonate with your audience and inspire them to respond?

- Social media is a great way to drive traffic to your website. What will you have them do when they get there?

- Social media is also a way to monitor what’s being said about your nonprofit.

- How can social media build upon and compliment everything else you’re doing?  How can these platforms reinforce your other channels?

- Will you use social media to raise awareness, raise funds, cultivate donors and members, share news, market events, praise donors and volunteers, acquire more supporters, etc.?

- What are you striving for through social media?  And what is the sequence of steps you must guide them (i.e., donors, prospects, advocates, members, etc.) through to reach your goal?

Bottom line: Without a social media strategy how will you ever know if you accomplished your goal?  How will you know if your efforts have been worthwhile?

Today in Seth Godin’s blog, Accept all substitutes, he points out the folly of driving people to competitor’s sites. 

One of Godin’s examples was news websites.  They drive readers to free sites by requiring payment.  And it is very easy to find a substitute for paid news.

His point was that the Internet has contributed to more available substitutes.  Godin ended by saying, “That means you have to work far harder to create work that can’t easily be replaced.”

How easy is it for donors to find substitutes for what your charity does?

I’m betting it’s quite easy.  There are very few charities that are truly unique.  Not only that but search engines and sites like GuideStar make it easy to find charities with similar missions.

What drives donors to choose a substitute for your charity?  What drives them to give generously to someone else? 

Read the list below carefully.  If your charity is guilty of any of this then you’re driving donors to your competitors.  You’re driving them to give to a charity other than yours.

• Us, us, wow look at us. See how great we are and all the wondrous things we’ve done. (Self-centered messages like this drive supporters away – both online and offline.)
• It’s obvious what we do.  Why should we spell it out?
• We don’t want to give donors choices on how they give.  It’s easiest for us if we only allow credit card payments.
• Our website is organized based on how our charity is organized.  We don’t worry about usability.
• We don’t want donors calling and emailing us all the time.  We have too much work to do raising funds and executing our mission.  That’s why we only have a “contact form” on our website.
• Donor cultivation is satisfied by sending a thank you letter within a month or so of receiving the donation.
• We leverage our content by taking our direct mail letters and duplicating them in our emails and on the website.
• Every communication includes a hard ask for a gift.
• That’s not jargon!  Those terms are relevant to our work.  Donors need to get smarter.
• The need to give to our charity is obvious.  We don’t need to spell everything out and write all those stories. 

That’s not an exhaustive list.  But hopefully you get the idea on what NOT to do. 

Conversely . . . To attract and retain loyal donors you must do more than the bare minimum.  You must give them an exceptional experience.  You must communicate with them as they wish.  Give choices.  Make everything easy for your supporters.  Show how they make a difference.  Appreciate each person as an individual.

If you don’t, your donors will easily find a substitute charity that does all this and probably more.  As Godin says, “You need to work far harder…” to give donors and supporters an exceptional experience “…that can’t easily be replaced.”

For several reasons, I believe Goodwill has a good thing going on their ”Donate Movement” website. 

 What first caught my attention was the calculator which you’ll see when you visit the site.  When I find clever tools, ideas, devices or games on nonprofit websites that compliment and enhance their mission, as well as get people engaged, I highlight them on this blog.

Here are the good things I found on the Goodwill website:

1 – Engagement device.  The “calculator” gets them involved.  And more importantly, clearly shows how their donation helps.  Donors instantly see how they can make a difference.

2 – Clever take-off on the famous recycle symbol.  Pulls in a larger audience.  People who may not make this connection on their own: My donation of clothing to Goodwill helps the environment.  Less stuff going into landfills.

 3- Encourages participation and SUPPORT on many levels. 

• Social media communities – invites people to add the “Donate” symbol on their Facebook and Twitter profiles; and to tell friends about the “Donate Movement.”
• Bloggers – invites bloggers to show their support for the needy in their community, and their desire to protect the environment.  Just blog about the “Donate Movement” and display the “Donate” symbol.  On the page dedicated to how bloggers can help, Goodwill also provides the banners – with html coding to copy and paste – that will attract attention, and shows that the blogger is on the team. 
• De-clutter and donate – Goodwill has teamed with Lorie Marrero (best-selling author of The Clutter Diet).  Marrero is also the Donate Movement’s ambassador.  So as they encourage all of us to de-clutter our homes and eliminate the stress that can cause … Goodwill and Marrero point out how this also makes a difference in our community and helps create a healthier planet. Simply donate gently used clothing and household items to Goodwill a few times this year.
• Calculate impact of your donation – In more than one place on the website, there are links to the page with the calculator that I mentioned above.  Goodwill invites donors to “see the real world impact your donations have on the people in your community and your local environment.”  For example:  One pair of jeans can provide someone in your community with about 10 minutes of resume preparation services.

4 – Simple language, stories, and examples of how supporters can help, and how we can make a difference in other people’s lives.  This includes photos and stories of people who received help from Goodwill – mission beneficiaries. 

 Keep up the good work, Goodwill.

Today I focus on three common problems I see in tweets by charities.  The reason I’m devoting so much time to these problems is this: I believe your nonprofit won’t experience the full benefit of Twitter as a social media community until these are corrected.

To help illustrate each of the three problems, you’ll see actual tweets by charities that I found on Twitter.  Unfortunately there is an abundance of examples to choose from.  Here we go . . .

1 – Tweet is too long.  A fundamental concept of social media is “sharing the content.”  You want your Twitter followers to retweet your messages.  You want them (i.e., donors, prospects, volunteers, advocates, etc.) to share your tweets with their personal network.

     To maximize how often this is done, you must make it easy for them to retweet.  For those tweets you consider most important, and that you really hope get retweeted . . . follow this advice on how to make it easier for your followers. 

     When a follower clicks the “RT” (retweet) button, the new message shouldn’t exceed 140 characters.  We shouldn’t have to spend our valuable time editing your original tweet in order to make it 140 characters or less.

     Example of a “problem” tweet I saw on Twitter
     Orig tweet = 138 characters

Go to Stacks Restaurant Tonite!There is a kick off dinner at Stacks at 7 pm. If you cannot make tomorrow evening,… http://fb.me/CZ9g89Gm

     I hit ‘RT’ and now it’s 157 characters 

RT @jubileecenter: Go to Stacks Restaurant Tonite!There is a kick off dinner at Stacks at 7 pm. If you cannot make tomorrow evening,… http://fb.me/CZ9g89Gm

     This means I have to spend time editing. Some people do this well.  Others may delete a keyword or hashtag you don’t want to lose.  Therefore, your original tweet (assuming you want people to retweet and share) must leave room for the “RT @yourname: “  In the example above, that means: 140 – 19 = 121 characters.  In other words, Jubilee Center writes tweets 121 characters long or less.

     2 More Examples of “problem” tweets I pulled off of Twitter
     Charity’s tweet = 132 characters

Watch video of survivor and former patient Stephanie Hosford give words of courage from the All-Star 5k Fun Run http://bit.ly/dyMlST

     Retweet = 148 characters (This charity’s tweet should be 124 or less)

RT @cityofhope: Watch video of survivor and former patient Stephanie Hosford give words of courage from the All-Star 5k Fun Run http://bit.ly/dyMlST

      Charity’s tweet = 124 characters

Mission-Orphanage for 200 girls in India-we hv land desire,faith,belief,purpose,& children 2 start http://twitpic.com/24g6ms

      Retweet = 145 characters (This charity’s tweet should be 119 or less)

RT @mission4orphans: Mission-Orphanage for 200 girls in India-we hv land desire,faith,belief,purpose,& children 2 start http://twitpic.com/24g6ms

2 – No clear benefit to the reader, to the follower of your tweets.  Your Twitter content must be engaging, interesting, answer reader/donor questions, share nuggets of information, entice us to read more, and so on. 

       Let’s look at three examples:

       a – The tweet below resembles a personal tweet; an individual sending a tweet out to friends and inviting them to dinner.  However, it is from @jubileecenter.  But unless EVERYONE already knows exactly what Jubilee Center is talking about, this tweet falls on deaf ears.  Only mild curiosity will get someone to click.  That’s not all.  When you click on the link you don’t learn anything new about the event. 

Go to Stacks Restaurant Tonite!There is a kick off dinner at Stacks at 7 pm. If you cannot make tomorrow evening,… http://fb.me/CZ9g89Gm

      b – In the tweet below from @mercycorps … Why would I care about this person taking at least 45 minutes to drive out of some city on the Central Plateau?  How does asking donors to read chit-chat build a stronger relationship with them?  In my opinion, a charity must share valuable content even in Twitter and other social media sites.  What follows isn’t an example of value-added content and that’s why I don’t care for it:

On the road to Central Plateau. Driving for 45 minutes and still not out of the city. (LH)  

     c -  Don’t make me work to figure out what you’re talking about.  Granted, with 140 characters – and less – it is challenging to write a coherent, benefit-ridden tweet. But it can be done.  First the “problem” tweet from @mission4orphans,   

Mission-Orphanage for 200 girls in India-we hv land desire,faith,belief,purpose,& children 2 start http://twitpic.com/24g6ms 

     I took their tweet and rewrote it as an example of one way to rephrase it that shares how donors can help.  And it’s only 117 characters so it can be retweeted without editing…  

Please help bring care, love, safety, and schooling to 200 girls in India w/new orphanage – http://twitpic.com/24g6ms

3 – Make the landing page worthwhile.  IF you’re going to include a link, then make it worth our while to click the link.  In the two examples above from the Jubilee Center and Mission for Orphans, both links go to pages with zero new information.  No additional clarification on the message; how to respond; why I should do anything at all; etc.  I know this sounds harsh, but it is such an IMPORTANT point!

     To strengthen relationships with your followers, take care that you do NOT waste their time.  Share something of value on the landing pages.

      In the @mission4orphans example, I was expecting to read about the new orphanage when I went to the landing page.  Tell me about the project, its status, the plans, more details on how the 200 girls will have far better lives, how I can make a difference as a donor, etc.

Recap: To get more benefit from your social media efforts on Twitter,

 1 – Make it easy for followers to retweet. Craft a shorter tweet that accommodates the automatic text added when tweeters click “RT”.  At least do this for those tweets with especially important messages that you really hope people will retweet for you.

 2 – Have a benefit in the tweet.  Give me a nugget right then, or tell me what nuggets I’ll get if you have a link for me to click.

 3 – Make sure your landing page adds value.  Give me NEW information. Help me understand more of what you need or how I can help you.  

When you do all of these consistently, I believe you’ll see more of your tweets retweeted.  I believe you’ll see more clicks on your links.  And therefore the “social” aspect of Twitter will work to benefit your charity.

Can you imagine sending out a direct mail campaign without any way for people to respond? Well I received such a package (I’ll share the details shortly).

The cost of not carefully and repeatedly proofing your work is costly.  And that’s why proofing is so  important.

Build redundancy into your system.  Have checklists and several people (including vendors) proof your work.  This applies to email, newsletters, your website, press releases, and everything you publish. 

Again, this deserves careful attention because the odds are we’ve all done it:  Sent something out (print or electronic) and missed a big mistake.

Sometimes it’s a typo. Or it could be how something is printed. Or perhaps a primary element of the package is eliminated. Another possibility is a very confusing order/reply device.

The package I received at my home fits into this last category. I won’t mention the nonprofit organization. I will say it has been around since the late 1800’s and is internationally known. Anyway, I received an invitation to renew my membership for another year.

Problem was that although the letter copy promised it, there was no return envelope provided. Nor was there any information in the package on who to mail my reply card back to – no address or contact information. Therefore I really couldn’t reply without  spending a chunk of effort and extra time researching their website for the needed info.

Oops. Now that was a significant proofing mistake! 

A lot of hard work and revenue can be lost from a snafus like this.  What’s more, it’s scary how easy it is to overlook a mistake.  We see what we expect to see as we review our work.

Again, develop a system with many people proofing that involves some who aren’t at all familiar with the package.

The subject line often controls whether your email is read and/or opened. So it’s vital that you write a great email subject line. 

And just how do you do that?  Glad you asked.

Subject lines aren’t easy to write, especially if you have to write them over and over again.  Nonetheless, these four guidelines will help you learn how to write email subject lines that inspire more people to read your emails. 

1 – Short works. Two or three words are best.  If you absolutely need more, make the first two words the most relevant to the reader.  Make them the words with the greatest punch.  And remember, most email software only displays the first 30-40 characters of a subject line.

Yawn: Confirmation of your donation to Acme Charity
Pizzazz: Thank you

2 – Urgency.  Give them a reason to read it NOW.

Environmental Charity
Yawn: Urban sprawl driving away birds
Pizzazz: Birds disappeared

Relief Charity
Yawn: We need your help to aid flood victims
Pizzazz: Homes Destroyed – Families Homeless

3 – Emotional appeal.  Even analytical types like me have to admit humans make decisions based on at least some emotion.  So include words and phrases that stir emotions whenever possible. 

       Also, consider an email subject line that either moves the reader “toward passion” or “away from pain.” 

      Looking back on the previous pizzazz example, possible emotions evoked include compassion, sympathy, and curiosity.  And it moves the reader toward the desire to help: Homes Destroyed – Families Homeless

4 – Clear offer.  What is the main benefit the reader receives in your email? 

Association
Yawn: Everything in our bookstore on sale this month
Pizzazz: Book Sale July Only

I’ll grant that all four characteristics may not be part of every email subject line.  But #1 and #2 ought to be, and #3 is hot on their heels in importance.  A lot depends on what you’re writing about in the body of the email. 

Bottom line: Following these guidelines results in more emails read.  And they can’t respond to your call to action if they don’t read it.  It begins with the all-important email subject line.

The second annual “Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report” was just released.  This study of how nonprofits use commercial social networks also compares usage changes from year to year.  It is a joint effort by NTEN, ThePort Network, and Common Knowledge.

Overall more and more nonprofits are using social networks. A quick snapshot of what the study shows is as follows:

• 86% of nonprofits surveyed use Facebook. This is a growth of 16%.  However, the average community size shrank in the past year from 5,391 members to 2,440.  The three groups that are the biggest users of Facebook are international groups (97%), environmental and animal welfare (91%), and the arts and culture nonprofits (89%).
• Twitter saw more growth – 38% – than Facebook. The result is that about 60% of those surveyed are using Twitter.  Another area of growth is the average community size which increased dramatically from 286 followers to 1,792.  Twitter gained more nonprofit tweeters and the nonprofits on Twitter gained more followers.
• LinkedIn remained essentially the same in terms of the number of nonprofits using it – 33.1%.  The biggest users of this social network are associations (65% use it) and higher education (45% use it).  This makes sense because LinkedIn is predominately a business-to-business network.
• YouTube saw a tiny bit of growth with 48.1% of nonprofits taking advantage of this social media network.
• The social network that is rapidly falling off the nonprofit radar screen is MySpace.  It suffered a 45% drop in popularity with only 14.4% of nonprofits using it in 2010.

How are nonprofits using commercial social networks?  The number one purpose or role is for marketing.  92.5% said that promoting their brand, programs, events or services is the most popular role for social networks within their organization.  Second in line is fundraising at 45.9%.

In my opinion cultivation ought to be high on the list of uses.  Perhaps some nonprofits lump this in with marketing.  Click  here to read more ideas on how else to use social networks.

One result I found interesting was the comparitive growth between Facebook and Twitter.  While both gained nonprofit users . . . the average community size shrank dramatically on Facebook and grew by leaps and bounds on Twitter.  I can’t help but wonder if some of the changes Facebook has made in the past year contributed to the decline.  I say this because many changes have been unpopular with users, made it more complicated to use, and generally muddied the water for a lot of users. 

Did Facebook drive away users?  And did this impact the average community size for nonprofits?  Maybe so.

You can download a free copy by clicking this hypertext link: Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report