JustGiving and social media consultancy Social Misfits Media have launched a guide to how charities and social enterprises can use social media to reach more people and raise more money.
The report, Friends with Money, looked at how the majority of charities and social enterprises now include social media in their online activities.
It follows the launch of a new social plugin from JustGiving that allows any charity to embed social giving into their website.
The report asked 250 UK charities and social enterprises about their social media footprint, and found that 94 per cent asked have a presence on Twitter and Facebook. This is up from 2012, when only 75 per cent of UK organisations asked were on Facebook and 70 per cent on Twitter.
It also found that 66 per cent of those asked used YouTube and 64 per cent were on LinkedIn.
When asked which social media platform the organisations used most frequently, 60 per cent said Twitter and 40 per cent said Facebook.
The guide has been produced to “help charities and social enterprises, of all sizes, budgets, and remits, think more broadly about fundraising on social media”.
It says that social media can play a role in each stage of the fundraising process, from the “identification and cultivation of new supporters to solicitation and acknowledgement”.
The report looks at case studies of fundraising success on social media including Cancer Research UK’s use of the #nomakeupselfie trend.
Claire Diaz-Ortiz, head of social innovation at Twitter, said in an interview in the report: “Social media is not just about the ask, it’s about a) the relationship and b) the story. These are the two most critical elements that any fundraiser needs to build a strategy for how to best fundraise on Twitter, or indeed any social media platform.
"It sounds counterintuitive, but fundraising on social media isn’t about the money, it’s about the relationships, and that should be your starting point.”
The report also revealed that from July 2013 to June 2014, Facebook posts about JustGiving were viewed 905 million times, bringing 47 million visit to JustGiving’s website. Those coming directly from Facebook donated a total of £63m through the site.
It also said that all the people who visited JustGiving directly from Twitter donated a total of £3.8m.
Social giving
Last week, JustGiving launched Donate Box, a plugin which allows anyone to embed JustGiving’s social platform for giving into their own website. The plugin enables a donor to give through JustGiving and share their donation to social media, without leaving a charity’s website.
The online giving platform has said that as we approach #GivingTuesday, it is aiming to make sure charities of all sizes have a donation tool that makes giving more social.
Sally Falvey, head of charity marketing at JustGiving, said: “Donate Box allows charities to instantly add JustGiving to their website. Not only that, but it allows donors to give on any device and share their giving, without leaving a charity’s website – helping charities to reach more people, inspire more giving and ultimately raise more money for their cause.”
