Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for TRENDS, TOOLS & TACTICS 7 NON-PROFIT SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS

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1 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for TRENDS, TOOLS & TACTICS 7 NON-PROFIT SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS FOR 2015

2 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2015 Social media is set to explode within the non-profit space in Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and others are rapidly changing how people communicate with each other and how non-profits connect with their constituent base. This presents a unique, inexpensive opportunity for non-profits to integrate themselves with their members, volunteers, donors and communities on a more personal, tailored level that is beneficial for both the organizations and their audiences. To properly utilize these platforms, though, non-profits must have the expertise and a cohesive strategy to meet the rapidly evolving non-profit social media landscape. Prepare yourself for the latest social media explosion by considering these social media marketing predictions for non-profits in Written, original non-profit content will be the key to stimulating social sharing Over half of marketers surveyed said original written content is the most important part of social media, followed by original video assets at 19% and original videos at 12%. This holds especially true for non-profit organizations with something valuable to share, such as cause related insight or critical constituent information. Original content gives non-profits the opportunity for leadership in their designated topic and is key to driving Google search-related traffic (SEO) to your website. This is helpful in catapulting your organization above the cause related marketing clutter and competition. In 2015, nonprofits will recognize the power of social media in amplifing their original content s reach and distribution. The use of #hashtag targeting will also rise as non-profits will align their original content, tagging and target audiences into one cohesive social strategy. One social media platform to take advantage of in 2015 is LinkedIn, which opened up a publishing platform to all of its members in February of Non-profits can now leverage LinkedIn s core strengths, allowing key leaders and board members to promote your non-profit s cause directly to decision makers and donors. Despite this new opportunity, non-profits should not migrate their blogs solely onto LinkedIn in the near future. Instead, consider using it to compliment your brand message or call to action. On LinkedIn, one can blog as an individual instead of as a company, meaning you can tailor your message to be more opinionated and insightful, in addition to linking back to your non-profit s page. These new features make LinkedIn one of our top must-join social media platforms for non-profits next year.

3 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for Blogging & social media will become synonymous strategies Blogging has become increasingly important for non-profit social media marketers, with over 68% planning to increase their future use of blogging over other social media sites, including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, while 58% of these marketers say original written content is the most important form of content from their business. Over the last two years, the importance of blogging has incrementally climbed from the number-four spot in 2012 to number one in This emphasis on blogging within the non-profit space is expected to hold as top priority on When looking at blogging, there is one challenge all non-profits must consider before making any drastic changes: there is a lot of content that is not being read. Earlier in the year, social media consultant Mark Schaefer commented on the information overload with his post, Content Shock, which pointed out that just because you have a blog, people will not necessarily read it. His answer to this problem? Be more opinionated. Too many businesses (non-profits included) are stuck in this grey area where they re so afraid of having any opinion at all because they want to please everyone, Schaefer says. As a result, their blog stinks and they don t get any traction. In short, non-profits will need to make sure the content they do blog about in 2015 is attention grabbing to ensure they are taking advantage of their blogging potential next year. What is equally exciting is how high-quality blogs can now go rapidly viral through the micro-sharing of social media snippets integrated throughout the non-profit s blogs. Images, stats, quotes, donation modules, story sidebars and more can all be shared synonymously from a single post. 3. Google+ will rise in relevance as a prominent non-profit social marketing channel While perhaps not the first social media platform to come to mind, 65% of marketers still say they have interest in learning more about Google+ next year followed by LinkedIn at 57%. While the value in Google+ may not immediately be evident, non-profit marketers will want to look into it as a new social media platform, as a Forrester report has revealed that Google+ has about 540 million monthly active users. It is more than possible to build a solid follower base on Google+ and some top brands have 90% as many fans on Google+ as they have followers on Twitter. Another attraction for non-profits to consider with Google+ is Google Authorship, where writers can link their Google+ profiles with content they ve written and published, giving it a Google authorship markup. This helps articles and their authors stand out, as Google displays the author s picture with the title in its search results. Also consider the link between your non-profit s marketing and Google+. When you send an to a person or business that uses Gmail, Google will give your non-profit a prime spot on the right side of the page, giving subscribers the opportunity to follow your organization on Google+ directly from their . Thanks to these features, we predict that Google+ will be the social media platform to break-out for non-profits in million unique impressions in 2014 compared to 250,000 impressions in a 1,200% increase! 314retweets in 2014 in comparison to 24 retweets in the same period in 2013, another over 1,200% increase. 353 new followers in a month compared to 98 new followers within the same time frame in Feb. 2013, a 260% increase.

4 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for Social Media ROI will be on the rise Non-profits will need to concentrate on dissecting social media return on investment in 2015, as only 37% are currently able to measure their social activities and 89% want to know how to measure ROI more definitively. Many non-profits are now seeing social media as the core driver of their volunteer recruitment, traffic and fund raising drives. Tools and platforms are now readily available to measure social ROI and non-profits will reap the benefits as they measure and optimize their social campaigns. This determination among social media strategists to more accurately utilize their non-profits ROIs will set the stage for more in-depth analysis and, consequently, greater investment in social media next year. To ensure you are getting the most out of your social media ROI, make sure your non-profit s data is clearly defined, available and measurable at the beginning of your campaign. One of the simplest ways to achieve this is to ask followers and fans to do something specific, like provide a clear call of action, then track their responses. While this does not mean you should ignore metrics like reach or engagement, metrics do not always provide a clear path to sales and revenue for non-profits. 5. Fundraising will be fueled by social story-telling Trend Alert: Facebook remains the largest traffic driver out of all social media sites in 2014 and foreseeably in However, Pinterest has recently overtaken Twitter as the second highest social media driver of traffic for This is a significant jump for the site, moving up from the number four spot they occuppied this time last year. When it comes monetizing social media to aid your non-profit, it takes creativity and a wide social reach to inspire your audience to donate to your cause. In 2015, the optimum way to raise awareness and funds will be through social story-telling. Connecting with your audience through social storytelling will not be exclusive to written, original content, like blogging, among non-profits. Video, for example, is an often underestimated, but undoubtedly effective way to market and raise awareness for a company or cause. One non-profit that successfully utilized video to bring in donations is the ALS Association s 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge. Thanks to the challenge going viral throughout social media, the ALS Association and its 38 chapters received $4 million in donations between July 29 and August 12, compared to the $1.12 million it received during the same period the previous year. While video story-telling is undoubtedly effective, it is not the only way to inspire followers to donate. The following social sharing and story-telling tips will not only bring in donations, but also help you create a lasting relationship and bond with your followers. Be open to experimenting. Don t be afraid to switch things up within your social media campaign; the goal is to try new things to figure out what balance of serious and lighthearted posts resonates with your audience. Don t be afraid to get creative to engage with your followers. Contests and social media events, for example, are a great way to encourage a conversation between your non-profit and your target audience.

5 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for Make sure you are telling your non-profit s story. Utilize your chosen platform(s) to ensure your viewers understand what you re doing and why. Also be sure to tell donors exactly where their money is going and what it will be doing so they know their money is going to a good use. Make sure your posts are sharable. Encourage your members to share your content and posts with others through their own social media channels. Make them interesting and relevant enough that even if they do not to re-tweet or share, they still would want to. Reach out to social media influencers to get the word out to as many people as possible. Never forget that social media is a two-way street. Be sure to constantly engage with your audience by commenting back, answering questions, tweeting at people and more. If users make a donation, never forget to thank them. Also remember to give a shout out to volunteers, influencers and partners. A single post can make a world of difference among your followers Be consistent with your non-profit s brand. Make sure to have a brand image, quote, hashtag or phrase to go with your posts. You want your brand to be recognizable as well as easily searchable. A call to action. The more timely, the better. Give your viewers a strong reason to donate immediately straight from your social post or tweet and not clicks away. Create a sense of urgency in your fundraising posts. Social media is centered around what is happening now, and if you can t capture that in the moment, you could be missing important fundraising opportunities. Be sure to emphasize why donations are necessary and share real-time updates of your campaign progress. Don t forget to invite supporters to help you reach your goals. Large non-profits emphasise brand awareness and engagement as top goals over fundraising. However, small nonprofits cited volunteer recruitment as a key goal more than larger organizations (45% vs. 26%). Istead, larger nonprofits place higher importance on lead generation (29% vs.16%).

6 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for Non-Profit Social Media will evolve from a Me Too 2.0 Tool to the Tactical Marketing Arm of your organization. Social media will be intrinsically integrated into non-profits blog posts to fuel sharing. The vast majority (91%) of marketers have one definitive question they need answered: What social tactics work best? This is followed up by 89% asking What is the best way to engage audiences with social media? These are important questions to have answered, as social media platforms are constantly changing. These questions are only secondary to the main question, though. All non-profits must ask themselves How can we be more interesting? How do we get people to want to engage with us? If the brand is not interesting, it does not matter what tactics or platforms are used; people will simply not be interested in engaging with your brand. After finding a way to capture the interest of your audience, then you can begin to think about encouraging Facebook engagement or building on other established social media relationships. In order to optimize content, non-profits must also have a content strategy to make utilize their resources. The following chart shows the strategies of the non-profits most effective in social media and content marketing versus the least effective: Has a documented content strategy Has someone who oversees content marketing strategy The average number of tactics Average number of social media platforms Percent of marketing budget spent on content marketing Challenged with producing lllllllll engaging content Most Effective Overall/Average Least Effective 50% 25% 8% 86% 69% 46% % 20% 12% 37% 48% 62% Our credo is to empower communities and nonprofits to use technology and social media to better serve our world.

7 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for Non-profits will outsource specialized digital marketing services. To properly utilize social media and content marketing in every way, non-profits will turn to outside, specialized digital marketing services to aid them. These services are compromised of subject matter experts and social media experts to act as a dedicated team for your non-profit. These specialized digital marketers will assist in all major aspects of your social media optimization, such as ROI, blogging and social story-telling so your non-profit can focus on what it does best; managing and growing your non-profit while upholding your organization s mission. Outsourcing your social media marketing services does not need to be a financial strain on your organization. Some organizations, such as Tech Impact, actually cost less than a part-time employee, and are far more cost effective than licensing a platform or paying a traditional marketing agency, as shown in the chart below. Outsourcing Services Licensing a Platform Hiring a Traditional Agency Customized Engagement Platform Custom Branded Blog and Theme Blogging and Landing Plan CRM Integration Original Content and Posting SEO Optimized Content and Images Mobile Optimized Dedicated Subject Matter Expert Detailed Reporting Additional User Accounts $2,500 Customized Engagement Platform Not Custom Branded Blog and Theme Blogging and Landing Plan $1,000 CRM Integration Original Content and Posting SEO Optimized Content and Images $2,000+ $2,000+ Detailed Reporting $50/User Additional User Accounts Customized Engagement Platform $5,000+ Custom Branded Blog and Theme $2,500 Blogging and Landing Plan CRM Integration $4,000+ Original Content and Posting SEO Optimized Content and Images $500+ $2,000+ Not $2,000+ Not Detailed Reporting Not Additional User Accounts 500+/month $5,500+/month $5,000+/month

8 Non-Profit Social Media Marketing Predictions for At TECH IMPACT, we help our non-profit clients with a range of social media and content marketing needs, from our platform integration to content creation, content promotion, search engine marketing, web analytics, website management, social media management, marketing and more. All geared to your non-profit s specific needs. If you re new to non-profit content marketing, sign up for our Social Media & Content Marketing for Non-Profits weekly e-newsletter to get the latest case studies, best practices and NP insights. California Office Tech Impact Sobrato Center for Nonprofits 330 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 135 Redwood City, CA Toll Free: info@techimpact.org Global Headquarters Tech Impact 417 N. 8th Street Suite 203 Philadelphia, PA Toll Free: (In SEPA): (215) Fax: (215) info@techimpact.org Delaware Office Tech Impact Community Services Building 100 W. 10th Street, Suite 1004 Wilmington, DE (302) info@techimpact.org Reference 1 Pulizzi, J., & Barry, F. (2014, January 1) NonProfit Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends-North America. Retrieved from CMI.pdf 2 Redsicker, P. (2014, June 2). 7 Social Media Trends for Marketers: New Research. Retrieved from socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-trends/ 3 Stelzner, M. (2014, May 1) Social Media Marketing Industry Report: How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Businesses. Retrieved from pdf