89% of Non-Profits Use Facebook

Brafton.com highlighted a report that 89% of non-profits use Facebook. We all have learned by now that social media is a cost effective and successful way to communicate with donors, but I still find the number staggering. It’s incredible how far the online community has come in such a short time.

With over 800 million users and more than 50% of those users logging on every day, it would be a huge missed opportunity for non-profits to not use this amazing cyber tool. Furthermore, their users interact with over 900 million objects including pages, groups, events and community pages (which must be thousands of non-profits!)

Facebook is a great informal resource to reach out to your donor base. Brafton.com commented that, “consumers respond best when social media content demonstrates the personality of the business. While some industries should stick to fact-based, straight-forward content, others, including nonprofits, can use share information via more compelling styles and tones to garner interest.”

How do LinkedIn and Twitter compare in the report to Facebook’s impressive numbers? “Cause marketing (like general consumer use) is lower on these platforms. According to the study, Twitter actually saw fewer users among nonprofits in 2011, with 57 percent reporting use, when compared to 60 percent in 2010. The same was true for LinkedIn, with 30 percent saying they had a presence – a 3 percent dip from 2010 when 33 percent of organizations were active on the professional networking site.”

Now, I wouldn’t throw away the baby with the bath water. While LinkedIn may not be the best way to connect with donors, it is a great tool to connect with other non-profits and garner advice. Twitter is not to be disregarded either with over 200 million users dedicated to “micro-blogging.” I personally like it for its condensed language verses lengthy posts that sometimes sandbag Facebook.

Regardless, social media networks are unarguably one of the best tools that charities and non-profits can master to reach donors with minimal financial investment and the potential for a substantial profitable gain. Fundly has dedicated itself to creating a dynamic platform for non-profit organizations to reach out to donors with a new and exciting fundraising strategy.

With over 800 million people using social media, who could you reach with your mission? Put it together and start your own or several facebook fundraisers today.