Many organisations are "fishing in the same decreasing pool" of ageing donors, according to a white paper published today.
The report, Social Media and Fundraising, published by digital marketing agency Equimedia, says that “the massive growth in smartphone penetration in the UK” since 2012 has “left many charities behind, wondering how to adapt and reach new, younger people interested in supporting their work”.
Using data from a recent Ofcom technology survey, the report said that the “view that only young people use social networks has been dispelled” with data showing that nearly 50 per cent of 65+ year olds use Facebook.
The paper says that, due to the increasingly important part that social networks play in the lives of millions of people in the UK of all ages, payment and donation routes within these platforms make for “the growing potential for social media to play a crucial supporter recruitment role”.
Mintel data in The Consumer – Motivations for Supporting Charities is also used by the paper to show that young adults are “the most likely to be driven to donate if they feel they are part of a community or cause”.
Other key findings
- "Customer profiling, media consumption and data analysis techniques continue to play a crucial role in the success of online and offline campaigns."
- "The beauty of online media is that it gives us the ability to scientifically measure almost everything – from types of consumer through to expectations and behaviour."
- "Attribution analysis is a must. Downstream analysis will further inform your social strategies, giving you insights on the potential for each channel to find new users and the value of each new follower in each social channel - whether in terms of fundraising, volunteering, direct donations, large gifts, campaigning or eventually legacies."
- "New technology is exciting – it gives us opportunities, all the time. If your organisation takes advantage of trends, you’ll be able to continually test new methods of reaching your audiences cost effectively."
