Nonprofit Organisations Lead the Way in Social Media Adoption According to Society for New Communications Research
Posted by: Krishna De | Posted on: August 22nd, 2009 | 8 Comments | Posted in: Research, Social media, Social media and nonprofits, Social networking, Uncategorized
This week is an important one in relation to Cancer awareness with the LiveStrong Global Cancer Summit taking place in Dublin from 24-26 August 2009 with over 500 attendees and participants from 60 countries.
The LIVESTRONG programme has adopted social media from blogging, to blogger outreach, from running multiple Twitter accounts through to online video.
I thought it would be a good time to share some examples, tools, tips and ideas for not for profits and charities who want to integrate social media into their communications, fundraising and advocacy programmes. So yes while I normally talk about business, you’ll find some articles this week (and perhaps beyond) relevant if you are in the not for profit sector.
Earlier this Summer the Society of New Communications Research published a press release following a study they undertook of the largest 200 US charities (as compiled annually by Forbes).
They commented on the study that the largest nonprofit organisations have for the second year in a row outpaced corporations and academic institutions in their adoption of social media and it has become an extremely important component of the communications strategy for US charities.
Their research indicated that there has been an increase in the number or organisations, academic institutions and charities in the US who have adopted blogging:
- 16% of the Fortune 500 had blogs
- 39% of the Inc. 500 had blogs
- 41% of colleges and universities had blogs
- 57% of charites had blogs.
Other key findings of the study include:
- In 2007, 75 percent of the respondents reported using at least one form of social media. One year later, 89 percent of these organizations are using at least one form of social media. Usage increased for every tool studied
- Social networking and video blogging are now the most common tools used, with 79% of charities using each of them. Use of online video increased by 38 percent; social networking increased by 47 percent in the one-year period studied
- In addition, the charities reported that they have begun to use Twitter
- When asked if they felt their blogs were successful, approximately 90% of charities with blogs said yes. This finding is consistent with studies in business and academia that have consistently shown those using social media are satisfied and feel it provides positive results
- Sixty-six percent of respondents in 2007 and 75% in 2008 report they monitor the Internet for buzz, posts, conversations and news about their institution. This compares with 54 percent of colleges and universities and 60 percent of the Inc. 500
- More than 80 percent of those studied feel that social media is at least “somewhat important” to their future strategy; 45 percent responded that social media is very important to their fundraising strategy.
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http://blog.thoughtpick.com/ Beirut
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http://twitter.com/garydillard/status/3512494469 Gary Dillard
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http://www.loopthing.com/?a=BnGncukOwJ4 Donagh Mc Sweeney
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http://twitter.com/60secondtwitter/status/3535289043 Jamie Turner
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http://twitter.com/rat_race/status/3535402865 J. Campbell
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http://twitter.com/dougbeetle/status/3556247139 Doug Bedell
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http://twitter.com/addventurous/status/3795339719 Judie Gade
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http://www.planetwebfoot.com Planetwebfoot
