NGOs, Social Media, Technology and Statistics
First a couple of thoughts about statistics:
Mark Twain: “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”
W.C. Fields: “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”
But the long and the short of it is that without statistics we can’t chart a course to the future.
An interesting website about technology and not-for-profit organizations, www.nptechforgood.com, recently listed 27 statistics about how nongovernmental organizations worldwide use online technology. The numbers were gleaned from a report that included responses from 4,908 NGOs.
According to the reviewers, the primary goal of the report is to set a baseline of benchmarks for success for NGOs worldwide in their use of web and email communications, and social and mobile media.
The survey shows that NGOs are deeply embedded in their web usage and devote as much time to the Internet as they do to promoting their missions, contacting stakeholders and fundraising. Indeed, their success with their projects is closely tied to their web presence.
Following are the 27 statistics:
1. 92% of global NGOs have a website. Of those, 78% are mobile-compatible.
2. 66% use the .ORG domain for web and email communications. 3% use .NGO. 12% use .COM. 22% use other domains, predominately country code domains.
3. 38% regularly publish a blog.
4. 71% regularly send email updates to donors and supporters. Small NGOs have an average of 6,203 subscribers. Medium NGOs have 44,768. Large NGOs have 169,339.
5. 67% accept online donations. Payment methods accepted include credit cards (78%), PayPal (50%), direct debit (42%), and digital wallets (6%).
6. 15% regularly send text messages to donors and supporters. Of those, 40% also accept text donations. Small NGOs have an average of 2,451 text subscribers. Medium NGOs have 19,415. Large NGOs have 160,433.
7. 92% of global NGOs have a Facebook page. Small NGOs have an average of 4,246 likes. Medium NGOs have 30,133. Large NGOs have 172,132.
8. 72% have a Twitter profile. Small NGOs have an average of 3,755 followers. Medium NGOs have 12,815. Large NGOs have 80,371. 17% have participated in or hosted a Tweet Chat.
9. 39% have an Instagram profile. Small NGOs have an average of 1,465 followers. Medium NGOs have 2,999. Large NGOs have 28,392.
10. Other social networks used by global NGOs are YouTube (55%), LinkedIn (51%), Google+ (28%), and WhatsApp (16%).
11. 52% have used social media to report live. Of those, the top three live reporting tools are Facebook (79%), Twitter (56%), and YouTube (23%).
12. 30% of global NGOs assign the responsibility of social media management to a communications staff person. 6% to a fundraising staff person. 15% to an executive staff person. 18% depend solely upon volunteers and 11% have a full-time or part-time social media manager. The remaining 20% assign the responsibility to program, administrative, and other staff.
13. 28% have been using social media for two years or less. 37% for 3-4 years. 30% for 5-9 years. Only 5% have been using social more for 10 years or more.
14. 32% of global NGOs have a written social media strategy.
15. 34% have paid for advertising on social media.
16. 80% of global NGOs agree that email updates are effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
17. 77% agree that blogging is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
18. 74% agree that text messages are effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
19. 74% agree that Facebook is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
20. 51% agree that Twitter is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
21. 42% agree that Instagram is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
22. 95% agree that social media is effective for online brand awareness.
23. 71% agree that social media is effective for online fundraising.
24. 80% agree that social media is effective for recruiting volunteers.
25. 78% agree that social media is effective for recruiting event attendees.
26. 88% agree that social media is effective for creating social change.
27. 66% say that executive staff support prioritizing social media in their online communications and fundraising strategy. Of those who say that executive staff do not prioritize social media, the reasons cited are (1) that executive staff have insufficient knowledge about social media (49%); (2) that executive staff do not want to invest financial and staff resources in social media (26%); (3) that executive staff do not think social media is useful to the organization (16%); and (4) that executive staff are fearful of legal problems resulting from using social media (9%).
How do you use social media?
Join the conversation in cyberspace about social media boosting your outreach. If you have examples of how you use social media to boost outreach, let me know about it and I’ll help you spread the word about your success.
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