From the Foundation Center, a discussion of a recent presentation on integrating social media with grant writing. One of the key takeaways – nonprofits need to stop advertising their “vanity metrics” (likes, followers, etc.) and relate social media success back to larger organizational accomplishments.
These vanity metrics, while easy to calculate and communicate, don’t necessarily capture the impact that social media is having for your organization. Engagement rates (number of people who “engage” with your content vs. who saw them), action rates, and conversion rates are much more effective in describing social media efficacy than simply discussing the size of your audience.
We’ve touched on this concept before, but it bears repeating – regardless of how you use social media, whether it is to appeal to grant funders, volunteers, or other constituents, be sure to incorporate your strategy into your overall organizational goals and accomplishments.
Below are other links for the week. Check out our Tumblr for additional links and news.
- YouTube celebrities are teaming up with fundraising platform Rally to help raise money for causes that are important to them.
- Twitter opened up fairly in depth analytics for users to browse through. TechCrunch provides a nice overview. This data is great for nonprofits working to evaluate their use.
- If your organization is looking for a way to host a Twitter chat without filling up the timeline of your followers, Mashable thinks Twubs might be a good fit.
- NPQ dives into further discussion about the obsession with low overhead in a thoughtful editorial piece.
Justin (he, him) is a Principal and Co-Founder of Social Change Consulting. He has over fifteen years of nonprofit experience, with expertise in online fundraising, digital communications, and data management. Justin helps organizations connect their communication strategy to their income development needs. When he’s not on the clock, Justin is exploring Berlin, running, listening to too many podcasts, and drinking too much coffee.