Everybody’s Doing It...Social Media, That Is: But is it Right for Your NFP?

I don't mean to sound like your Mother but, if everyone was jumping off of a cliff would you do it too? Despite all the hype suggesting otherwise, social media isn’t for everyone. Just like you would for any new strategic initiative, you should carefully think through whether it is a ‘fit’ with your organization. I see the decision framed around three central questions...

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Canadian NFP’s and Social Media…So What’s the Deal?

Social media is definitely the buzzword that’s on everybody’s lips these days.  The increased transparency, the relationship-building potential and the new levels of engagement it enables are just a few of the potentially powerful assets that can make this a great tool for not-for-profit organizations.

While there is something of a glut out there right now in the way of blog posts, articles, tips and other advice by an increasing number of social media ‘gurus’ about the merits, challenges and opportunities of social media,  there isn’t a whole lot of data about what not-for-profits are actually doing in this relatively new arena.

For this reason, we decided to use social media as the topic for our inaugural NFP Pulse survey.  Following are some of the high level findings of what 81 Canadian not-for-profits are doing in this rapidly evolving environment.*  We will discuss the results in greater depth over the coming weeks.

We'd also like to extend a big thank you to those of you who participated in this survey.  Please keep an eye on your inbox over the next couple of days for a link to the participant copy of the results and feel free to contact us if for some reason you haven’t received it.

Do Canadian Not-for-Profits Use Social Media?

They sure do!  86% percent of the organizations surveyed indicated that they currently have a social media presence or expect to have one within the next three years.  So whether or not you feel social media is a topic that has been beaten to death in recent months, evolving trends in this area is certainly something that NFP’s should be keeping an eye on.

Why Do Not-for-Profits Use Social Media?

Communication, communication, communication!  Opening up the lines of communication between the not-for-profit and its stakeholders is the top reason why 89% of participants use social media. 

I can’t say this comes as much of a surprise…at least not to me. If you read our October post on Member Needs and Satisfaction, you might remember that members’ sense of ‘being heard’ by their association and their ability to influence the association agenda are key drivers of member satisfaction for ARC clients.  The level of member satisfaction with the effectiveness and openness of an association’s communications tends to be directly correlated to satisfaction in these (and other) other areas.  It makes sense that many not-for-profits would jump on an opportunity to improve in this key area.

Our member needs and satisfaction research has also shown that networking opportunities is more often than not a key reason why members join associations in the first place.  With this in mind, it also makes sense that providing a forum for members to network with each other and/or with other stakeholder groups was also cited as a top reason for participants’ use of social media. 

Promoting the association or cause to different stakeholder groups was also a top tier reason for using this medium.  The huge potential reach of this medium, along with the low (perceived) cost of social media relative to other marketing outlets are likely some of the contributing factors behind this trend.

What Social Media Tools Are NFP’s Using?

In-line with the importance of networking and relationship building to so many not-for-profits, social networking applications are by far the most popular type of tool being used by participants.  In fact, 9 out every 10 respondents who are currently using social media tools indicated that they use at least one application within this category.  Blogs and e-commerce are also fairly common, with just under one half of those actively using social media claiming to use these types of tools.  In contrast, Wikis and Mashups were at the bottom of the list, each used by approximately 10% of active users.  It will be interesting to see whether this ‘social media mix’ will change as social media continues to evolve and becomes more entrenched in the way not-for-profits operate.

Of the different applications available, Facebook has a big lead over other common applications, with 86% of participants currently or planning to use it for their organizations.  Also popular is YouTube (66%) followed fairly closely by Twitter (61%).  LinkedIn was also frequently cited as an application many participants currently or plan to use.

What Metrics Do NFP’s Use to Gauge Social Media Success?

For over 1/3 of active NFP’s surveyed…none at all!  Despite all the buzz online, at conferences and by consultants about the importance of putting metrics in place, a significant portion of active NFP’s surveyed do not currently have any measures to gauge whether or not their social media initiatives are successful or not.  I like to think of myself as a strategic thinker, and I have to say this one stings a bit.  Seriously… No metrics?  None at all?   The horror!  All I can say is that as social media becomes more mainstream and association staff are pressured to justify the increasing time and money being spent on social media to board members, this number should contract…I can only hope…

Among participants that do have measures in place, analytics that include measuring hits to the organization website, blog or other application, and online buzz (comments, blog postings, etc., about the organization) are most commonly used to gauge the success of their social media initiatives.

So what do you think?  Are these results as you would have expected or is there anything here that surprises you?  Does your organization’s experience with social media jive with what we’ve found?  I’d love to hear what you have to say.

 Stay tuned for more posts to come that dig deeper in to these results and look at topics such as:

• Who is the intended audience of NFP social media?
• What are some of the challenges of creating and maintaining a social media presence?
• What are some of the lessons participants have learned along the way?

*About this research:

This first edition of the Not-for-Profit Pulse focuses on social media use among Canadian not-for-profit organizations. The sample for this survey comprises a total of 81 Canadian not-for-profit organizations with representation from industry/trade, professional, charity and special interest groups. It is important to note that the results of this survey reflect the responses from those surveyed only and are not necessarily representative of the entire Canadian not-for-profit sector.  More about this ongoing initiative can be found here.

Association Execs Excited About Social Media...But Some Still Holding Back

 I’m just back into the groove after a whirlwind visit to Toronto for last weeks’ CSAE Conference and Tradeshow.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by – it was a great show and I was thrilled to meet up with a number of clients - past, present and future.

Not surprisingly, social media was the 'belle of the ball' at this conference.  Whether CSAE association executives are using it or not in their own organizations, just about everybody seemed to be talking about it.

Twitter was abuzz with comments from attendees about the future of the association sector and some of the 'big ideas' people were taking home with them.  Here are a few of my favourite CSAE-related tweets:

“What is an association these days? Does it require dues or just community?”

 “I learned that this biz is still all about face to face relationships”

“As hard as it is with all social media you have to listen before you talk”

“I think assns should use SM if members benefit...increased connections to each other, way to voice ideas to assn, etc.”

“What if soctech has no direct measurable ROI 4 our assns but it builds our capacity to change the world...should we still use it?”

“Assns r struggling w/creating vibrant conversational ecologies in virtual space w/o adjusting old assn paradigm.”

“Social media can be as open or closed as u want”

“The future of associating is mobile”

“Social media, communication and innovation are priorities for associations in 2010”

“Absolutely and profoundly disagree that the assn biz model is fine”

There was definitely a dominant current of excitement over the possibilities of social media and how associations can use it to stand apart from the increasing amount of 'noise' competing for members' attention...But a lot of the people who stopped by to chat with us also still have a lot of questions, concerns and reservations about this growing phenomena. 

From concerns that their blog will turn into an out-of-control forum where members do nothing but complain about the association’s shortcomings to worries over whether there will soon be legal ramifications to what is being posted online through their organization, it was clear that many associations are still holding back. 

Several people also worried about jumping onto the social media bandwagon just because everybody else is doing it, without first making sure that it 'fit' with their association vision, mission, strategy and membership.

Most common of all, however, was the sense of overwhelment felt by many of the executive directors and senior staff we spoke with who are already being run off their feet and simply don’t know how they will plan, implement, measure and maintain a successful social media strategy in an era of deep budget cuts and staff shortages.

There was also very warm reception to our recent survey on Canadian not-for-profit use of social media and, in fact, many of the results echo and build on what we heard at the trade show.  We’ll be discussing the results of this initiative in more detail over the next couple of weeks, so be sure to stay tuned...but in the meantime...

What were some of your big takeaways from CSAE 09?  What are the big ideas that you mulled over on your way home and are thinking of implementing in your own organization?  Be sure to let us know and keep us posted of your progress!