Everyone knows how much I love charts! Well, MarketingSherpa has done it again. It published a chart just last week about the types of events that elicit the most branded photo social sharing.
There is clear industry data on the value of sharing photos associated with a brand or mission. What I found very interesting is that fundraising events ranked quite high in the sharing category when compared to other types of events.
Here are the highlights of this article and data:
The Data:
- For 15 months, between Jan. 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015, Tagkast (a social, event marketing platform) collected data about customer sharing of branded photos from 2,398 live events with its clients.
- The events occurred worldwide and ranged in size from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of attendees.
- The types of B2B and B2C events included concerts, home and garden tours, fundraisers, bar events, sporting events, festivals, auto shows and conferences.
- The majority of events were between four and 10 hours in duration.
- At each of the events, consumers had the opportunity to take branded photos on a tablet and then share those branded photos to either email or social media.
The Findings:
- Two types of data elements were reviewed: the average social share rate based on event category, and the range of social share rates. As you will see below, the range can be quite significant, so both of the data elements have a story to tell.
- In rank order by average social share rate, here are the percentages by event category. (Here is a printable version of this data.)
- Concert and music events: 53 percent
- Fundraiser: 51 percent
- Bar event: 50 percent
- Recreational activity: 50 percent
- Cultural event and festival: 45 percent
- Sporting event: 45 percent
- Auto show: 34 percent
- Conference and expo: 22 percent
- Home and garden event/tour: 22 percent
Where it gets interesting is when you look at the range. I’m specifically focused on the nonprofit fundraising events.
- Bar events appear to have a similar average as nonprofits, but the range of sharing for this category has a low of 23 percent sharing to a high of 80 percent sharing.
- The fundraiser category has a sharing range of what appears to be 30 to 70 percent.
- The other categories have ranges that are both wide and short.
With a range this big in some of the categories, what Tagkast has shown us is that not even all fundraising events drive the same sharing outcome. In other words, some of the fundraising events had a 70 percent photo sharing rate and others had only 30 percent—hence the average of 51 percent. To say it a different way, some things were done differently at events that increased the amount of photo sharing on social media.
Below are five general tips Tagkast provided to optimize photo sharing on social media. It’s really positioned for all industries, so I have applied some additional thoughts specific to nonprofits below each tip.
1. "Link your event to a trending topic."
A trending topic is important. However, for many nonprofits, the goal would be to ensure that the shareable moments are actually taking your mission and making it a trending topic. If there has been something recently in the news that connects to your particular mission then capitalize on it—if not, the other tips become more important.
2. "Create memorable experiences."
Creating a memorable experience is mandatory for a nonprofit event. Not only do people want to have a good time, they want to be there to fulfill a personal and emotional need to make things better in life. Whatever your mission is, at the heart of it is creating an experience for your event constituents that makes them feel good about themselves. Naturally, if someone feels good about what they are doing at a fundraising event, they are also likely to carry that same feeling forward to the overall brand and feel proud of their association with your nonprofit. This is the perfect combination to creating a shareable moment on social media.
3. "Ask event participants to share, and make it easy for them."
Don’t forget to ask! If you have worked in development, this probably comes naturally to you, but you wouldn’t believe how often the “ask” is missing when it comes to social sharing. Be obvious that you want your event participants to “tell the world” what they are doing. And, you must make it easy for them to share. In the study, they mention that participants were given the ability to use a tablet—however, in the U.S., the vast majority of adults have smartphone technology. You don’t need to provide the actual technology, but providing a location to take group photos will make it easy and fun. This could be a photo opportunity with someone special at the event or a certain location that is prepped for photos. You can easily create a specific place at the event location that even has props, signs or anything that promotes the event, the brand and the fun.
Don’t forget to directly ask people to add a hashtag to their photos for the organization and/or the event. Remember, people should be proud of their commitment and participation in a cause that matters to them. Remind them of how important they are not only after the event but during the event, and ask them to tell “the world” what they’re doing and how important the cause is.
4. "Provide incentives to share."
Hmm … for nonprofits, I’m not a big fan of the tip to provide incentives. As the article states, for some commercial events this can work very well and create the drive to have people share so they can win a prize, etc. As a nonprofit, I think the goal should be to focus on the other tips to create the greatest social impact.
5. "Provide post-event recaps of the fun."
The fifth tip is a winner! If you can create social sharing during the event and have the appropriate tagging included, you have an amazing opportunity to create a post-event memory as well (see second tip, above). You can create an online photo album with all the photos that people shared at the event and publish a link to it on your social media channels. Just remember, during your event and just after your event are the most connected moments your participants will have with your brand. You have the chance to extend that feeling longer by thanking people after the event for sharing their photos and experiences with their friends and family.
And, don’t forget, you can always ask them to double-down on their commitment to the brand. You can create an opportunity for them to pre-register for the next event. You can ask for a donation while they are very in tune with the mission. Just don’t forget to ask!
- Categories:
- Data Mining
- Generational Marketing
Vice President, Strategy & Development
Eleventy Marketing Group
Angie is ridiculously passionate about EVERYTHING she’s involved in — including the future and success of our nonprofit industry.
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 Merkle’s Nonprofit Group, as well as serving as that firm’s 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.