It seems that every time I talk to a nonprofit about its digital strategy, there seems to be some confusion about the benefit of Facebook and/or Twitter. Don't get me wrong, everyone who has these questions is active as an organization in both of these areas — but there just seems to be a question about the value.
I'll even go one step further and say that the fundraisers often think the value is low enough to actually just hand over complete control to their partners in the organization that do not raise money. I'm not saying this is a bad thing — but it makes me worry that organizations are really not thinking of it as a revenue channel.
Putting my worry aside, I have to admit that I am now of the opinion that perhaps the nonprofit confusion, hesitancy, etc., is not that much different from others industries. I found this great article the other day from MarketingProfs, but before you dive in, realize it is a pretty heavy article with lots of numbers and predictions — but there is some super valuable information in it. The biggest takeaways are that 1) other industries seem to be slowly venturing into this arena and 2) the numbers make it clear — we MUST go there and go there more quickly.
As an example of No. 1, the article states "although 85% of [commercial] marketers polled at the beginning of 2013 by AdAge said they use Facebook as a marketing tactic, among them just 61.5% said they have used it for advertising. Facebook's Sponsored Stories ad product gets rave reviews from some, yet less than 30% have given it a shot."
Let's take big breath now and say, "Phew, we (nonprofits) are NOT alone!!"
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Vice President, Strategy & Development
Eleventy Marketing Group
Angie is ridiculously passionate about EVERYTHING sheโs involved in โ including the future and success of our nonprofit industry.
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Angie is a senior exec with 25 years of experience in direct and relationship marketing. She is a C-suite consultant with experience over the years at both nonprofits and agencies. She currently leads strategy and development for marketing intelligence agency Eleventy Marketing Group. Previously she has worked at the innovative startup DonorVoice and as general manager of Merkleโs Nonprofit Group, as well as serving as that firmโs CRM officer charged with driving change within the industry. She also spent more 14 years leading the marketing, fundraising and CRM areas for two nationwide charities, The Arthritis Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Angie is a thought leader in the industry and is frequent speaker at events, and author of articles and whitepapers on the nonprofit industry. She also has received recognition for innovation and influence over the years.