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Strategic Social Networking

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Eric Horner

October 18, 2011

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Today’s Speaker

Eric HornerChief Development Officer,

Echo Fundraising

Hosting:

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5

Strategic Social Media for

FundraisingHow to improve the return on investment

from a social media campaign by incorporating a

complete communications plan

Eric Horner

Eric_Horner@yahoo.com

EchoFundraising.com

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Eric Horner’s Background

10+ years as a Frontline Fundraiser

– Alumni Reunions, Non-Profit Boards, & Peer-to-peer Donors

– Built strategic partnerships with best firms in social media

– University of Chicago

• 2008 Alumni & Friends Web Community- the largest project in higher ed

– Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

• 2010 SkyRise Chicago fundraiser >$1MM online

What I do as Fundraising Consultant

– Helping clients create a strategy for their Online Giving and Social Media

– Improving Social Media outreach when it is not achieving desired results

– Explaining the importance of Social Media to stakeholders

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Critical Components

A Social Networking Strategy is enhances Online Giving and begins

with Annual Fund/Direct Response & these pre-requisite items:

Organizational Website

Online Credit Card processor

Donor Database

Broadcast Email

Policy open to the use of Social Media tools

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Why Online Giving is important to NPOs?

Since 2005, every successful public donor outreach campaign raising over $100

million has utilized an online giving platform. Early adoption of online tools is the

key component to acquiring new donors and successfully closing a campaign on

schedule.

Your website is the first point of entry for acquiring the majority of new donors and

is indispensable to expand beyond a regional-specific market to a larger national and

international appeal.

Adding an Online Giving approach maximizes potential new philanthropic support,

builds higher donor loyalty from our current audience, and adds virtual

infrastructure that assists the front-line fundraising staff‟s engagement.

Starting soon is critical to the success in reaching short term annual goals as well as

long term capital campaign targets because it takes several months to build and

grow into an online campaign successfully.

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World events changed Online Giving attitudes

2005 Tsunami response by Red Cross raised $9.6M in 12 months;

average gift = $121 and $100k an hour reported online at a high point

2006 Katrina response grew online fundraising 40% from „05; total giving to

humanitarian and religious NGO‟s totaled $4.25B with almost half raised online

2008 Presidential Campaigns

– Over $1.3B raised from over one million people; average gift around $100

– More than 50% of funds raised online for first time ever

– Demonstrated how to utilize social network fundraising for multiple gifts

– Strategy of consolidating traditional “fundraising bundlers” defeated 2:1 by

open online platforms that accept all networking groups

– Volunteers participate in the campaign structure remotely from any location

US Postal Service reports 29% less mail volume 2007 compared to 1998 due to

increase in email and electronic traffic. In 2010, USPS posts loss of $7B and

estimates volume will continue to decline citing increased use of web/email*Tsunami and Katrina reports from Charity Navigator – “Where did my money go?” 2006

*2008 Presidential figures from www.campaignfinanceinstitute.org

*USPS figures from Area Mail Process Report 2010 http://www.usps.com/all/amp.htm

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For many donors, the website and emails will be how they know &

trust you. They may use your website to research you. Some donors

never set foot in an organization.

– Make it easy to donate, find out about more about you, and get involved

– The quality of your information needs to convey the best about you quickly

and pleasantly.

– An opportunity to show them how sophisticated, professional, and

compassionate your organization is.

Strategic Communication includes the acquisition, development,

involvement, and stewardship of donor relationships in support of

your campaign – must also include Online Giving

– Email & Website content is 100% linked and need to be considered together

Online Giving is a major part of Overall Philanthropy

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Online Giving is a Process; not just a Web Product

Cost-effective means of maximizing the reach of development

– Quickest way to expand donor pool and attract new donors

– Web enabled tools are available 24/7 for professionals and volunteers alike

– Improves message delivery avoiding SPAM violation and rejection

– Automated follow up can improve stewardship and inform new donor interests

– Opens outreach to audiences that are not currently serviced by development

officer visits including International donors; in fact it creates new leads

– Customized micro-sites can promote specific appeals within networks

Increased investment enhances credibility with potential donors

– Makes it easy for interested parties to learn about you and donate

– Grabs their attention and states “value proposition” clearly & succinctly

– Improves customer service responsiveness to frequently asked questions

– Provides efficiency, security, and higher satisfaction for donor experience

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Online giving contains the main elements of direct response (target, ask,

follow up) with distinct advantages over mail or phone solicitation

– 100% measurable– tracks all response actions both pro & con

– Personalization tools remove impersonal messages;

– Records all history and tracks actions for follow up

– Segmentation tools customize emails and web information to the particular

interests and cultivation plan of each donor

– Information readily available; allows donors to self-identify interests

– Viral marketing – donors passing information to new contacts

– Provides a conduit for listening to comments and testing messages

– Communication can be adapted quickly in response to latest news

– By analyzing campaign performance, we learn from successes and each wave

of communication improves on the efficiency from the last

Online Giving is a Process; not just a Web Product

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Nonprofits increased ROI with Online Giving

Source: Blackbaud

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Capacity of Online Gifts increasing each year

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Facts about Capacity & Online Donors

Survey of 3,443 donors from a national sampling who contributed more than

$1000 per year (online & off line) to 23 major US nonprofit organizations as of

March 2008 reveals many similarities among donors who gave online.

(Convio’s report- The Wired Wealthy, March 24, 2008)

Demographic breakdowns:

High household incomes. 57% report >$100,000; 27% report >$200,000

Younger baby boomers represented the demographic center of gravity.

Mean = 51 yrs old; Median = 50 yrs old; 63% under 55 yrs old.

Highly educated: 51% have grad. degrees; 87% have 4-year degrees

Internet proficiency self-reported:

On average have been active online for 12 years

Majority use email both at work as well as at home

Spend between 14-18 hours a week online

Are increasingly utilizing in mobile web devices- Blackberry, iPhone, etc.

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Online Donors also have these activities in common:

90% make purchases online (58% regularly)

78% bank and pay bills online

65% read the news online (36% regularly)

51% have taken political action online

43% download or listen to music online (18% regularly)

39% view videos online (11% regularly)

25% read blogs (9% regularly)

20% use SMS (text messaging) (10% regularly)

8% post comments on a blog (2% regularly)

*from The Wired Wealthy 3/24/08

Facts about Online Donors (cont.)

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Most donors who give more than $10k/year…give online

*from The Wired Wealthy 3/24/08

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Reasons wealthy donors cite for preferring online giving

involve speed, efficiency, and instant gratification.

*from The Wired Wealthy 3/24/08

72% believe Online Giving is more efficient and helps

charities reduce their administrative costs.

70% say Online Giving lets them donate immediately while

they are thinking about it, otherwise they might forget.

68% agree that Online Giving lets charities respond more

quickly to crisis or emergency situations.

53% prefer to Give Online because they like the benefit of

credit card rewards, frequent flyer miles, and points.

48% consider Online Gifts easier to track overtime.

28% get a feeling of immediate satisfaction with Online

Giving as opposed to direct mail.

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Online Giving > Social Media

Technology is always changing and the lines are blurring between

Website and Email, Bulletin Board and Profile, Personal and

Professional, Office and Mobile…

Community

Connections

Content

Calculating metrics

Social Media is a broad term encompassing the various activities

that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction

of words, pictures, videos and audio.

Do you know your audience’s tendencies toward Social Media?

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73% of US Population Active on the Internet in 2009

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Social Media Facts

Nielson, Global Faces and Networked Places, 2009

2/3 of the global internet population visit social networks

Visiting social sites is now the fourth most popular online activity,

ahead of personal email

Time spent on social networks is growing at 3x the overall internet

rate, accounting for ~10% of all internet time

“Technology is shifting the power away from the editors, the

publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it‟s the

people that are in control.”

- Rupert Murdoch, Global Media Entrepreneur

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Social Media Facts (cont.)

Twitter users increased 1,382% from 2009 to 2010

There is an average of 3,000,000 tweets per day on Twitter

People spend 5 Billion minutes on Facebook each day

People share 1 Billion pieces of content each week on Facebook

If Facebook were a country, it would be the 8th most populated in

the world, ahead of Japan

YouTube is now the 2nd most popular online search engine,

behind Google

100 Million YouTube video‟s viewed per day

In 2009, 3.6 Billion photos were archived on Flickr.com

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Basics of Social Media Strategy

Ultimately, the goal of social media is to build awareness, increase

exposure, encourage participation and interaction, and become a

resource to your community. It is most effective for philanthropy

as an enhancement to your overall Online Giving plan.

Create a Plan

Monitor & Listen

Measure

Engage

Adapt quickly

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Social Media Strategy: Create a Plan

Every organization is unique, but still needs to ask some common questions:

What are we trying to accomplish?

Why are we using social media to do this?

How will we encourage participation?

– More than just setting profiles – you need to encourage participation by promoting

social media sites through offline activities and reminders such as displaying links

in headers, email signatures, business cards and print advertising.

Who will maintain our social media presence?

Do we have the resources to keep this up?

– Social media is only effective as long as it is engaging the audience

How does social media integrate into our overall

marketing/communications strategy?

What will we do less of if we are spending resources on social media?

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Social Media Strategy: Monitor & Listen

Where does your donor audience currently communicate?

– Facebook is the largest network statistically, but you may find your audience is more active on

LinkedIN or Twitter, or YouTube.

– Conduct a basic census of your people in each network

What is my audience discussing?

– You need to join the groups and find out what the topics are.

– If you find that there is a lively discussion going around one subject, encourage it instead of

trying to control it. Participation of any kind is building bonds with your organization.

– Create some Google Alerts about your key words so that you can find out where they are

talking about you.

When do you moderate?

– You need to establish some basic rules of use which can be different depending on the size

and age of the audience. Start with very basic rules – most communities do a good job of self

policing. Profanity is not acceptable, for example, nor is it okay to utilize the group for

solicitations.

– Often times, organizations want to steer the communication, however in social media that

tends to push your audience away. Try not to dictate the discussion. The content you provide

is sufficient to create topics.

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Social Media Strategy: Measuring

All social networking activity can be tracked. Basic metrics for

social media include referrals, page views, unique visitors, visitor

loyalty, comment count, members, etc. Custom key performance

indicators include buzz index and engagement scores.

– Google Alerts

– Google Analytics

– Open rates & click thru's

– Engagement scores

You need to start getting in the practice of regularly tracking your

metrics – even it if your metrics are basic at first.

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Basic Tracking Example

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Social Media Strategy: Engaging

Establish your profiles –

“build embassies”

– Facebook

– Twitter

– LinkedIN

– YouTube

– Others - depends on audience

Find volunteers who love it

– Empower them as your

agents to work on your behalf

– Listen to their suggestions

– Be prepared to run with new

ideas as they are developed

Feed new content regularly

– Use syndication tools

Track the progress

– LMAIS baseline averages:

• Facebook 88% use it

– (496 followers);

• Twitter 59% use it

– (99 followers);

• LinkedIN 65% use it

– (97 followers)

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Syndication of Content

RSS

Links to the bigger story

Gathering and responding to

comments

Hootsuite, Tweetdec,

Seesmic, and What?

<- Graphic by B. Liedke

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What results to expect from your social network

In any online community, you are always going to have the majority

of people acting as dead-weight most of the time. Reasonable

success is getting people to graduate up one rung of the ladder.

– .5% = Superstars – you wish you had 100‟s of these because they do

things that impress you

– 5-10% = Evangelists – these people spread your message and connect

with the community for you

– 10-15% = Donors/Online Participants/Volunteers – you count on them

to come through for you when you need them

– 10-20% = Responders – sometimes they can be involved, sometimes not

– 40-50% = Affiliates – they like what you do, and more importantly like

being connected with you

– 20% = Free Loaders – they are always there, but you get nothing

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Best Practices

Tell a story using short blurbs that point to something bigger

Organize your data into segmentation groups

Use the “Spaghetti Factor” (throw everything and see what

sticks), but you must test quickly and adapt

Let the data set your course – it‟s not always what you thought

would happen when you planned (donor-centric model)

Take “little people” seriously; listen to all ideas

Be ready to deal with both good and bad luck –you will get both

Communication must be positioned appropriately in your

leadership in order to succeed- less than 3 people‟s approval

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An Email – Explained

“Email has rules as a genre that need to be respected.” -T. Gensemer, Blue State Digital

Email is an action-oriented writing style; it‟s not a flyer

Emails should be less than 250 words. Can link to larger articles on web

Email is never ANONYMOUS

– must always have a person sign it

– what personality, tone, and style is conveyed?

Schedule your delivery of emails when the timing is right for the recipients

(usually Tuesday-Thursday between 9 AM – 5 PM)

Donors are also Activists – give them something to talk about and they will

Your audience will ask three questions every time they read your email:

– Why am I on this recipient list?

– What does this email want from me?

– What do I do next?

Know the rules – regulations like CAN-SPAM, HIPAA, FERPA as well as etiquette

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Know what to look for on a website for donors

Basic Marketing Website is:

•Marketed to general public

•Not oriented to donors interests

•Passive interaction – no email or

donor acquisition tools

•One-way communication device

•Giving tool sits on a deeper level

page that is not obvious on top level

•Giving page not designed to handle

high volume of transactions securely

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Better Online Giving Website Example

Pro- Online Giving Website has:

•Multiple giving opportunities

•Donor needs to be able to find the

GIVE button and make a gift in less

than 30 seconds

•Shows where funds are going

•Designed to handle high volume of

transactions securely

•Fully usable on multiple browsers

and accessible to mobile devices;

Check your site out with IE, Firefox,

Chrome, Safari, and mobile – from

home as well as the office

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Donor-Centric Website Example

Donor-Centric Website has:

•A separate donor-centric web

community from hospital business

•Asks you for info, involvement

•Two-way communication portal

with content from other donors

•Multiple paths to get involved

•Use of video and social

networking links.

•Allows users to make suggestions

for new ideas.

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Email Examples

Email Standards

•Email is incorporated into website

•Donors email/web actions tracked

•Learns your interests and

encourages related topics

•Responsive to user preferences for

email volume and type

•Conforms to CAN-SPAM

•What about the rules…

•To/From someone?

•<250 words?

•Action oriented?

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Discussing Advanced Strategy

Is it time to launch a new online platform?

Categorize the current online situation – content & community

Conduct a needs analysis; be reasonable about your scale

Define your audience

Rally your stakeholders

Prepare a multi-year budget

Introduce RFP’s or design specs

Meet the Consultants & Vendors

Rate the Products and their users

Integration with the rest of your community

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5 Phases of Online Platform Introduction

Planning & Assessment- outlining the building blocks for the

conception, ideation and planning of your online donor community.

Design & Build - includes detailed design and implementation

planning.

Launch & Rollout - outlines the marketing activities our platform &

team can employ to attract, encourage, sign up and retain donors.

Manage & Sustain - involves the ongoing execution of the plan to

achieve our goals and objectives for revenue.

Grow - includes the process by which you create, implement,

manage and monitor sustainability over the short & long term.

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Eric Horner, Echo Fundraising

EchoFundraising.com Eric_Horner@yahoo.com

773-329-3609

Eric Horner is a front-line fundraiser with ten years of experience in traditional development

operations who also believes in the importance of leveraging web technology and social

media to reach an emerging audience. He understands how to enhance an

organization‟s annual fund by adding to the overall online giving plan and email

solicitation practice while staying consistent with a donor relationship model. Through

his career in strategic communications and fundraising, Eric has helped higher

education, health care, and community non-profit organizations build stronger

solicitation programs that both acquire new donors as well as enhance relationships

with existing supporters.

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