HSUS Vs. ASPCA

Samantha PagePublic Relations Research

Social Media Content Analysis:

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)

Vs.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

For my social media content analysis, I decide to analyze the Twitter accounts of two

animal welfare nonprofit organizations, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Given that the two

nonprofits have very similar goals and objectives for animal welfare efforts, but tend to promote

their efforts differently, I thought this would be an interesting analysis.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a

privately funded nationwide animal protection organization and

is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. HSUS was

founded in 1954 with a goal of addressing animal cruelties on a

national scale. HSUS provides hands-on care and services to

more than 100,000 animals each year through animal sanctuaries and care centers. In addition,

HSUS prioritizes animal advocacy, focusing on law enforcement, humane education and training

for local animal welfare organizations. HSUS combats animal cruelties such as puppy mills,

animal fighting, factory farming, seal slaughter, horse cruelty, captive hunts and wildlife trade.

HSUS summarizes its mission into one concise statement: “Celebrating animals, confronting

cruelty.”

HSUS engages on:

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Instagram

LinkedIn

Pinterest

Google Plus

Tumblr

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

The American Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was the first humane

society established in North America, founded in 1866

with a goal of protecting animals under the law. The

privately funded 501(c)(3) non-profit organization is

headquartered in New York City, with a strong local

presence and animal welfare programs that extend nationwide. According to Matthew

Bershadker, ASPCA President and CEO, “Our focus is to get pets out of shelters and

keep them in homes, while increasing the protections of animals under the law. We are

helping to shape a society that continuously improves the lives of animals.”

ASPCA engages on:

Facebook

Twitter

Google Plus

YouTube

Instagram

Pinterest

Analysis Time Period:

I analyzed the Twitter accounts of the two organizations over a two-week period, from

February 1, 2016 to February 14, 2016. HSUS began with 360k followers on February 1st and

ended with 362k followers on February 14th, while ASPCA began with 303k followers on

February 1st and ended with 304k followers on February 14th. During this time period, HSUS

posted 33 overall posts and ASPCA posted 110 overall posts.

Note: When referring to “posts”, I only included original posts by the organization, not including

replies to followers or retweets.

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

ASPCA February 1, 2016

A

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

SPCA February 14, 2016

HSUS February 1, 2016

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

HSUS February 14, 2016

Content Analysis:

I analyzed the Twitter accounts of the two nonprofits using these different elements to

gauge engagement and effectiveness:

Element HSUS ASPCA

Account Followers February 1, 2016 360k 303k

Account Followers February 14, 2016 362k 304k

Overall number of posts during time period 33 110

Number of posts with photos 17 39

Number of posts that include hashtags 28 98

Number of posts that ask the audience a question 10 36

Number of posts that include links to shared content 7 5

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

Number of posts that include links to organization’s integrated content

15 54

Number of posts that reference current events or holidays

13 25

Number of replies to followers 75 59

Highest number of likes on one post 338 172

Highest number of retweets on one post 138 210

To analyze the content of HSUS’s and ASPCA’s Twitter profiles, I looked at five

different data points: quantitative metrics, use of photos, hashtags, links, and direct

communication with followers.

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

In terms of quantitative metrics, there are several distinctions between the two

organizations. First of all, ASPCA had a significantly larger number of posts during the time

period than HSUS – a whopping 110 compared to 33. However, during this time period, ASPCA

hosted a “Valentine’s Day Twitter Party”, which

included a high number of interactions with

followers in the form of original posts. The

advertisement for this twitter party, pictured

below, was posted 12 different times on the

ASPCA account. During the course of the

twitter party, ASPCA tweeted 50 times. During

this same time period, the interaction HSUS had

with followers mostly took the form of direct

replies to followers, rather than original posts,

which accounts for the significant difference in

overall posts between the two organizations.

Almost across the board, HSUS had higher numbers of likes and retweets on its posts

than ASPCA, though ASPCA’s record number of retweets slightly outranked HSUS’s. I believe

this metric may have a direct connection to the frequency of posts – ASPCA repeated identical

posts many times and posted an average of 3 to 4 times per day during the time period, not

including the twitter party. With so many more posts than HSUS, it makes sense that ASPCA

would have more spread-out engagement, rather than high numbers on individual posts. An

argument could also be made that ASPCA’s abundance of posts do not resonate well with

followers, resulting in lower numbers – if ASPCA’s posts are taking over someone’s Twitter

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

feed, they could get annoyed and engage less with ASPCA’s account. Overall, I recognize that

these quantitative metrics are also highly impacted by the other data points I will examine.

Both organizations incorporated a high amount of photos: over the time period, HSUS

used 17 photos and ASPCA used 39. While the content of photos for both organizations was

heavily focused on animals, particularly cats and dogs, HSUS’s photos seemed to have more

variety. For example, two of HSUS’s photos included celebrities, one with actress Kaley Cuoco

and one with personal trainer Jillian Michaels. In addition, HSUS featured pictures of vegan

recipes. HSUS also seemed to have more photos with wildlife, while both organizations deal

with wildlife conservation efforts. Both organizations incorporated emotional appeals into the

content of the photos, including the header photos: the Twitter header on both accounts features

an animal looking directly into the camera.

HSUS Header

ASPCA Header

I was not surprised to see, however, that it seemed ASPCA relied much more heavily on

emotional appeal than HSUS. ASPCA is most well known for the tearjerker, Sarah McLachlan

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

commercial intended to drive the audience to help with the cause and/or donate. It appears that

ASPCA has stuck with the guilt-trip appeal, as several photos featured puppies with sad,

neglected eyes. Surprisingly, while nonprofit communication research argues against this

approach, noting that this approach might lead to somewhat of a boomerang effect in the

audience, ASPCA’s most retweeted post featured this exact type of emotional appeal with 210

retweets.

At a Digital PR & Marketing Luncheon, Serena Ehrlich, Director of Social and Evolving

Media at Business Wire, said, “People share content that makes them look good. People will not

share your content unless they think your content will make them look smarter, funnier, or more

interesting to everyone.” Another one of ASPCA’s photos that received the most number of likes

during this time period incorporated a “meme” – a photo with a humorous caption included in

the photo’s content. I thought ASPCA did an excellent job of incorporating humor into its

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

promotion in order to engage its audience. The numbers on its posts that used memes reflect this

effective form of engagement.

When analyzing hashtags, I noticed that this data point frequently correlated with photos.

For example, HSUS used hashtags like #MuttMonday and #WildlifeWednesday, with a picture

and an audience-engaging question like, “How are you spending your #MuttMonday?” Both

organizations used hashtags to post about current events or holidays, like the #SuperBowl and

#ValentinesDay. ASPCA even referenced the #PuppyBowl on Super Bowl Sunday. This is an

effective way to engage potential followers who might not already be involved with either

organization who are skimming through the hashtag related to a current event or holiday.

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

HSUS also incorporated a hashtag campaign in collaboration with Meatless Monday, a

global movement that HSUS sponsors. HSUS used the hashtag campaign #MeatlessMonday to

promote its own blog where followers can find meatless recipes that coincide with the humane

society’s mission of the ethical treatment of animals.

Meatless Monday’s connection to HSUS’s blog lead me to analyze another data point:

links that the organizations’ twitter accounts have shared. I looked at both shared content, links

that did not originate from the organization, and links to an organization’s integrated content,

like the HSUS blog. Both organizations shared a higher number of integrated content than shared

content, including links to the organizations’ websites, blogs, donation links and Facebook

pages. The nonprofits also shared an engaging type of integrated contents: links to tips and fun

facts for followers. For example, on National Prairie Dog Day, HSUS shared a blog post with

five fun facts about prairie dogs.

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

ASPCA also posted the above tweet with an integrated link to an ASPCA blog post with

tips for followers on how to protect pets in winter temperatures.

While both organizations posted more integrated content than shared content, the

quantitative metrics I analyzed did not account for retweets, and both organizations, particularly

HSUS, retweeted a lot of shared content. This involvement with outside sources that support the

same cause builds credibility with followers, impacting engagement. Followers share articles that

make them look interesting, so followers will favor an organization if they provide such material.

In addition, nonprofit research has shown that volunteers favor organizations that place a higher

emphasis on the cause itself rather than the organization. If an organization is retweeting content

that supports the cause, but does not necessarily support the organization itself, this shows that

the organization is passionate about the cause, boosting credibility among followers, and in turn,

engagement.

For example, HSUS retweeted the below tweet posted by Doritos, which was running a

campaign to support animal shelters across America. While HSUS has no connection to this

campaign, sharing this post for the cause boosts HSUS’s credibility with followers.

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

Finally, I analyzed both organizations’ direct communication with followers in the form

of posts designed specifically to encourage audience participation, as well as direct replies to

followers by the organizations. While ASPCA had a higher number of posts asking the audience

questions, HSUS had a higher number of direct replies to followers. HSUS had many different

posts engaging the audience with hashtags, photos and questions or requests to engage, such as

the below photo.

However, ASPCA’s Valentine’s Day Twitter Party, with 50 original posts aimed at direct

follower engagement and 30 individual follower replies, takes the crown for engagement efforts

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

with followers. The Twitter chat session effectively created a strong two-way conversation

between ASPCA and its audience, positively impacting how the organization’s audience views

its communication efforts.

Conclusion

After analyzing the Twitter accounts of ASPCA and HSUS on five different data points,

including quantitative metrics, use of photos, hashtags, links and direct communication with

followers, I have observed many similarities and differences in the ways the organizations

actively engage with key stakeholders through content shared via Twitter.

I saw many similarities in the ways the two organizations utilized hashtags and links to

effectively engage their followers. The use of photos was also fairly similar between the

organizations – while HSUS certainly incorporated more variety, ASPCA used the appeal of

humor to encourage followers to share content.

Little can be inferred from the difference in frequency of posts between ASPCA and

HSUS during this time frame due to the fact that ASPCA hosted an active Twitter party,

accounting for 50 original posts and 30 responses. Had I analyzed a time period in which

ASPCA did not host any engagement events, ASPCA’s post frequency would lean much closer

to HSUS’s numbers.

While ASPCA had a very effective and engaging Twitter chat session on February 11th, I

believe HSUS’s Twitter efforts are more beneficial in the long run in terms of building and

sustaining relationships. HSUS incorporated several different engaging posts over a longer span

of time, while ASPCA seemed to put all engaging efforts into one event, with much less

occurring over the rest of the time period. HSUS also had a higher number of direct replies to

followers over the time period, a very strong form of engagement.

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HSUS Vs. ASPCA

Overall, the quantitative metrics show that HSUS’s Twitter has a higher engagement

level than ASPCA’s, and I would not disagree with these numbers. Building and maintaining

relationships is an essential part of an organization’s role in actively engaging with key

stakeholders, and I believe HSUS’s relationship-building and relationship-sustaining efforts were

much more consistent.

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