Nonprofit Social Media Use Rises in 2010

Nonprofit Organizations increase Social Media Use in 2010

According to a new survey conducted by NTEN social media use by nonprofit organizations continues to rise in early 2010.  It also shows that organizations are having mixed results.  The survey, with over 1000 respondents from all over the world, shows usage and result of social networks facebook, twitter, linkedin, youtube and myspace.  You can download the complete survey here.  Some of the highlights from the survey are:

• Facebook is still used by more nonprofits than any other commercial social network with 86% of nonprofits indicating that they have a presence on this network. This finding is a 16% increase from 2009, when 74% of respondents had a Facebook presence.
• Twitter grew as a commercial social networking outlet of choice for nonprofits with a year-over-year increase of 38%, moving from 43% in 2009 to 60% in 2010, as measured by nonprofits who affirmed that their organization.
• LinkedIn and YouTube usage remained steady over the last year.  YouTube moved up only very slightly from 46.5% in 2009 to 48.1% in 2010, and LinkedIn stayed steady at 32.9% in 2009 and 33.1% this year.
• MySpace, the big loser, suffered a 45% drop in popularity. Use dropped from 26.1% in 2009 to 14.4% in 2010.

We are strong advocates of social media.  The survey also looks at the effectiveness (ROI) of using social media and that the results are mixed.  This is to be expected.  We see a real change in social media use.  First, you have to be there.  Second, you need to know what you are doing for it to be effective.  The same is true for the more traditional (old school) methods for fund raising and marketing.  Social media needs to be a part of your overall strategy and implemented with specific goals and targets, just like any other marketing platform.  The days of just creating a presence in the social media world and getting results are passing quickly, you need to get help from experts with experience to get the results you are looking for.