Stephanie Polickoski - Team Leader

Non-Profits and social media hysteria

For everyone trying to do a social media campaign with their non-profit, this is a good article to read over and remember!

According to a new report from Fenton on social media (download here after noon ET), there are several stages to what I would call social media hysteria.

Stage 1: Urgency.  As in, “Everyone’s doing it. We need to do be doing it. Set up a Facebook page. And start tweeting!”

Stage 2: Existential Handwringing.  As in, “Wait, what are we doing here? We’ve gotten some fans and followers but are we really attracting more donors and members this way?”

Stage 3: Disappointment.  As in, “This social media thing is a bust. It takes a ton of time and I’m not sure we’re getting enough out of it.”

Fortunately, this kind of angst is preventable by setting goals and measuring them in simple but meaningful ways.  Specifically, Fenton lays out an elegant framework:

• “See” Metrics. These metrics track eyeballs or impressions.  They measure your exposure - though not necessarily your impact.
• “Say” Metrics. These metrics are when people take your messages and repeat them verbatim across their networks.  This gives signs people may be more engaged with your cause.
• “Feel” Metrics. These metrics track the degree to which people get involved with your message - they comment on your Facebook content or they react to your Tweets.
• “Do” Metrics. These are the best - people donating, volunteering, signing a petition etc.  It’s where you want people to be!

For each metric, ask yourself:

Who is engaging?  What are they responding to?  What are they saying?  What does it mean?

This kind of questioning will lead to smarter reflection and better results.  Don’t wring your hands - just put on your thinking cap!