Using Social Networks for Fundraising

David Lamb, Senior Consultant, Target Analytics USING SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR FUNDRAISING WHAT ARE SOCIAL NETWORKS? Users create public profiles  Discover others with similar interests or backgrounds  Create an online network of “friends” or colleagues  Web 2.0  SOME DIFFERENCES IN TACTICS Web 1.0 Brand in control One way / Delivering a message Repeating the message Focused on the brand Educating Web 2.0 Audience in control Two way / Being a part of a conversation Adapting the message/ beta Focused on the audience / Adding value Influencing, involving Organization Creates Content User created content / Co-creation Source: Slide 10 from "What's Next In Media?" by Neil Perkin Obtained from Leveraging Social Media for Fundraising Success by Michael Ames http://www.slideshare.net/mikeyames/leveraging-social-media-for-fundraising-success SOCIAL NETWORK SITES  Most popular    Philanthropy Specific     Facebook: sharing friends and profiles MySpace: sharing friends and profiles – slightly more corporate feel than Facebook Bebo: sharing friends and profiles LinkedIn and Plaxo: more professional networking Twitter: instant messaging YouTube: video/media sharing Flickr: photo sharing Second Life: 3-D simulated world similar to the Sim’s.            Special Purpose  Sixdegrees.org Change.org YourCause.com BringLight.com FirstGiving.com Yahoo for Good NetworkForGood.org ammado.com zazengo.com Razoo.com socialvibe.com   FACEBOOK DEMOGRAPHICS (1/2009)        Has more than 42 million active users – over 200 million visitors Claims to be the 4th most-trafficked website in the world More than half of Facebook users are not in college The fastest growing demographic is those 35 years old and older 25-34 year old demographic doubles every 6 months Largest age group is 18-24 The site is in more than 20 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Russian and Korean MYSPACE DEMOGRAPHICS Claims to be the country’s most trafficked site on the Internet  85% of MySpace users are of voting age (18 or older)  1 in 4 Americans is on MySpace, in the UK it’s as common to have a MySpace as it is to own a dog  44% of users are between the ages of 18 and 34  23% of users are over 34  DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS Facebook MySpace Source: www.quantcast.com DEMOGRAPHIC COMPARISONS SOCIAL NETWORKING DEMOGRAPHICS “On a per capita basis, MySpace has 4% more women visiting its site than Facebook. Facebook users tend to be more affluent, with its users skewing towards households earning over $60,000 per year, while MySpace users skew toward lower income levels, with 12% more of its users earning under $60,000 per year. Using the psychographic system Mosaic to track U.S. Internet users, it's clear that there's a class distinction between users of the two social networks. Facebook's most predominant group of visitors in Mosaic is "affluent suburbia," a group that Mosaic describes as "the wealthiest households in the U.S., living in exclusive suburban neighborhoods enjoying the best that life has to offer." The predominant group for MySpace, on the other hand, is "struggling societies," or households that are primarily single parent, single income, raising families on lower incomes and tight budgets. “ Source: www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1675244,00.html 10/24/2007 WHY SHOULD NONPROFITS GET INVOLVED?  People give to people If I’m in your network, and I let you know about the nonprofit I care about, word can spread like a virus  People are more motivated to give if asked by a friend   Qualities of a donor Ability  Interest  Linkage  Diversify your constituency  Engage your constituency  Don’t expect to raise a lot of money right away  APPLICATIONS FOR NONPROFITS  Promote specific actions or causes to peer invitations to get involved  Click a button to add name to a list of supporters  User adds your “badge” or logo to his/her site  Peer  Get constituent feedback  Blessing and a curse  Encourages a personal relationship to the nonprofit  Researching VIPs, major gift prospects, & others SPECIAL FACEBOOK FEATURES TO CONSIDER Groups *  Causes - applications that allow Facebook members to…  Create a cause site  Invite friends to join the cause  Make donations to the cause   Must go to a 501(c)3 org  Donations are processed by the application  Badges – an icon that links back to your website or Facebook page LINKEDIN FEATURES Lots of professional information – self reported  LinkedIn Groups help constituents connect with each other  OBAMA’S DOMINANCE OF WEB 2.0 His Facebook page has over 3 million friends  His MySpace page has over 900K friends  Fundraising success   January 2008, raised $32 MM, $28 MM of which was raised online  Of the $28MM, 90% of the donations were under $100 STORIES FROM THE FIELD  Humane Society of the US MySpace, Facebook  Raised $5,000 in 1st 3 months of Facebook presence via the Causes applet  Uses  American Cancer Society  Conducted an annual virtual Relay for Life on Second Life since 2004  Raised about $5k in 2004; $38K in 2006; $100K in 2007; over $200,000 in 2008 12 FOR 12K 12 months  12 charities  1200 people  $10/person/month  $12,000/charity  12 FOR 12K TWESTIVAL: TWITTER PHILANTHROPY Started when Twitterers in the UK decided to meet in person in Fall of 2008  Social event tied in with fundraising for a homeless shelter  What if this happened in many cities?  10,000+ people in 202 cities met on 2/12/09  Raised $250,000 for charity:water  MORE ON TWITTER  Info about swine flu is spreading on Twitter faster than the virus itself emergency alert service followers went from a few thousand to over 40,000  Twitter itself is becoming a news channel  CDC’s  Lance Armstrong has 745,656 followers APPLICATIONS FOR PROSPECT RESEARCH  Users create their own profiles which may include Interests  Affiliations  Professional information  Many profiles are “private”, some are open to public view  Specialized search:  Twitter Search  LinkedIn Search   Caveat emptor SIGNS THAT SOCIAL NETWORKING ISN’T FOR YOU       You’re still trying to get a handle on your basic software infrastructure Your target audiences aren’t using social networking You don’t have time to experiment with something that might not work You don’t have a high tolerance for things that don’t always work like they should You aren’t ready to invest in gaining a real understanding of the medium You want to maintain firm control of your brand and message Source: www.fundraising123.org/article/should-your-organization-use-social-networking-sites HOW TO GET STARTED  Make sure Web 1.0 is working online giving tools  Clear, simple, attractive web site  Simple  Start small – set simple goals  Raise awareness of a particular issue or cause  Increase your constituency size by 10%  Engage a younger constituency  Raise funds for a hot issue HOW TO GET STARTED Assign a champion and give that person the time to interact with the network  Encourage staff members to create profiles and interact with the network  Consider a multi-site strategy  Facebook  Twitter  YouTube  Flickr  Second Life  KEYS TO SUCCESS Keep your site current  Change content continuously  Twitter and blog posts  Status updates  Pictures & videos  Be interactive and responsive  Don’t make fundraising the primary focus  Inform  Engage  Inspire   Focus on issues, not your organization