2013 NTC: How 2 Nonprofits Utilize Social-Media Data, Part 2

[Editor's note: This is part 2 of a two-part post. View part 1 here.]

At NTEN's 2013 Nonprofit Technology Conference last week, four fundraising professionals discussed social data and what nonprofits should do with it, including how the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and CARE leverage their social data. Here is what Casey Golden, CEO of Small Act; Mark Davis, director of technical solutions at Blackbaud; Danielle Brigida, senior manager of social strategy and integration at NWF; and Ken Bess, manager of Web development at CARE, shared during their session, "We Heart Social Data: But What Do We Do With It?"

Attempting social integration
One of the things NWF explored was where to use social data. Brigida offered the following areas:

• Social engagement history in social media of the donor, related to your donor relationship management system
• Employer matching to reach out to find matching donations
• Sustainer gifts
• Local events and advocacy
• Major events, like NWF’s Green Ball gala

Integrating social media into events
NWF has what it calls Hike & Seek events nationwide. The goal is to get people outside to set a good example for children, and to raise awareness and support of children outdoor activities.

In order to do that, NWF wanted to identify and engage its key influencers on social media to help spread the word about Hike & Seek. But what Brigida noticed is that you need to include more than just key influencers because she found that key influencers also tend to be the busiest supporters. So she suggested using key influencers sparingly for when you really need them. In this instance, NWF tapped both key influencers and engagers to spread the word.

How? By allowing participants to send in photos and enter into a chance to win prizes.

The three goals were to get new participants, re-engaged lapsed donors and increase retention. While the results are still being tabulated, NWF is paying attention to how people engage with its content to identify those key influencers and engagers … and Brigida constantly examines that to better communicate with supporters on social media.