Only about one in four nonprofits active on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks responds to questions posed to them there, according to a new survey. That means they are missing a major opportunity to interact with potential supporters, say the study’s authors. Twenty-six percent of nonprofits on Facebook and 27 percent of nonprofits on Twitter answered questions people lobbed at them. What’s more, the lag time between when charities receive a question and when they reply to it has increased since 2015.
While it’s possible that this increase is due to a higher volume of questions on social media today, the report emphasized that most organizations are still using it as “a broadcast tool” rather than a way to interact with their supporters.
In the study, Dunham+Company, a fundraising consulting organization, surveyed 151 nonprofits on their social-media use — including the number of platforms on which they were active and the consistency of content between their websites and social-media pages.
Among the findings:
- Religion, arts and culture, and health nonprofits are doing the best job of engaging with their followers on social media.
- 16 percent of nonprofits use Facebook Messenger Bots, an artificial-intelligence tool, to respond to questions posted on their Facebook page.
- Just 5 percent of nonprofits surveyed had a Rapid Response badge on Facebook, meaning that most nonprofits are not effectively responding to their followers’ questions on the platform. The report included tips on how charities can better engage with their supporters on social media and inspire them to subscribe to their email list and eventually donate.
Don’t Just Post — Listen
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are not just avenues for promotion, the report’s authors note. “The majority of your talking should involve responding to other people’s content and messages before you focus on your own,” the report recommended.
Charities can, for example, follow supporters of their social-media accounts so they can better know who is interested in their cause and what they care about. Only 3 percent of nonprofits currently do this on Twitter, according to the study.
Generally, the report said, charities are misplacing their energy on social media. “Nonprofits are disproportionately concerned with growing their presence and reach while failing to realize the importance of growing relationships with their followers,” the report’s authors said.
Social-Media Guidelines
Rather than spread activity across many social-media sites, charities should double down on publishing content and responding to questions on no more than three platforms, the report suggests.
Here are some findings and recommendations for specific social-media platforms:
Facebook. Ninety-nine percent of nonprofits are active on Facebook, and the study found that over all these charities were posting a range of content that includes inspirational, conversational, and informational themes.
YouTube. Ninety-three percent of nonprofits use YouTube, which has the second-largest search engine after Google, which owns it. But charities are not making the most of the platform: Just 46 percent of nonprofits consistently upload videos to YouTube, according to the study.
Dunham+Company recommends that nonprofits aim to publish one video per week on their YouTube channel. A good place to start, it suggests, is a trailer that introduces viewers to the organization. To boost search-engine results, include the organization’s name in every video title.
Instagram. Eighty-two percent of nonprofits use Instagram, but they currently publish video content just 12 percent of the time. The study suggests that charities post videos to Instagram more often. More charities can also use Instagram to drive users back to the organization’s website by posting a link to it in their biography, which only 49 percent of charities do.
