Using Social Networks for Fundraising

1
Using Social Networks for Fundraising

• David Lamb, Senior Consultant, Target Analytics

2
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

3
Some differences in tactics

• Web 1.0
• Brand in control
• One way / Delivering a message
• Repeating the message
• Focused on the brand
• Educating
• Organization Creates Content

• 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
• 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/leveragin
g-social-media-for-fundraising-success
4
social network Sites

• Most popular
• 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
• Special Purpose
• YouTube video/media sharing
• Flickr photo sharing
• Second Life 3-D simulated world similar to the
  Sims.

• Philanthropy Specific
• Sixdegrees.org
• Change.org
• YourCause.com
• BringLight.com
• FirstGiving.com
• Yahoo for Good
• NetworkForGood.org
• ammado.com
• zazengo.com
• Razoo.com
• socialvibe.com

5
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

6
MySpace demographics

• Claims to be the countrys 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 its 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

7
Demographic Comparisons
Facebook
MySpace
Source www.quantcast.com
8
Demographic Comparisons
9
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
10
Why should nonprofits get involved?

• People give to people
• If Im 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
• Dont expect to raise a lot of money right away

11
Applications for Nonprofits

• Promote specific actions or causes
• Peer 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
• Get constituent feedback
• Blessing and a curse
• Encourages a personal relationship to the
  nonprofit
• Researching VIPs, major gift prospects, others

12
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

13
LinkedIn Features

• Lots of professional information self reported
• LinkedIn Groups help constituents connect with
  each other

14
Obamas 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

15
Stories from the field

• Humane Society of the US
• Uses MySpace, Facebook
• Raised 5,000 in 1st 3 months of Facebook
  presence via the Causes applet
• 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

16
12 for 12K

• 12 months
• 12 charities
• 1200 people
• 10/person/month
• 12,000/charity

17
12 for 12K
18
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 charitywater

19
More on Twitter

• Info about swine flu is spreading on Twitter
  faster than the virus itself
• CDCs emergency alert service followers went from
  a few thousand to over 40,000
• Twitter itself is becoming a news channel
• Lance Armstrong has 745,656 followers

20
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

21
Signs that Social networking isnt for you

• Youre still trying to get a handle on your basic
  software infrastructure
• Your target audiences arent using social
  networking
• You dont have time to experiment with something
  that might not work
• You dont have a high tolerance for things that
  dont always work like they should
• You arent 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
22
How to get started

• Make sure Web 1.0 is working
• Simple online giving tools
• Clear, simple, attractive web site
• 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

23
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

24
Keys to success

• Keep your site current
• Change content continuously
• Twitter and blog posts
• Status updates
• Pictures videos
• Be interactive and responsive
• Dont make fundraising the primary focus
• Inform
• Engage
• Inspire
• Focus on issues, not your organization