Craigslist Founder Releases Results of Study Involving Non-Profits and Social Media Success

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and CraigConnects, published some interesting statistics pertaining to how non-profits use social media to further their goals. In this study, Newmark focused on which non-profits are using Facebook the most and who is using social media most effectively. It is also interesting to see if there is a correlation between the highest earning charities and their activity on these web related resources.
Here are some interesting findings from this study posted on Marketwatch.com:

• 92 percent of the top 50 nonprofits have at least one social media presence on their website homepage.
• PBS is the nonprofit organization with the most followers on Twitter – 840,653.
• The nonprofit following the most people on Twitter is the American Cancer Society – 200,522.
• The American Red Cross was the first organization on the list to create a Twitter account.
• Food for the Poor is the most talkative nonprofit on the list on Facebook, and has posted 220 posts over the course of two months.
• The organization with the highest net income, the YMCA, only posted 19 times to Facebook in two months, but has over 24,000 fans.

Newmark reflects that income of an organization does not necessarily make it more visible or cause more interactions on a social media site. Also, “some of the most social media savvy organizations are in the bottom quarter bracket in terms of income, yet they are clearly active on social media” explains the study.
“The deal is, it’s not about money, it’s about getting people to talk with each other to make people’s lives better,” said Newmark.

Basically, when non-profits and social media networks work hand in hand, the outcome is a positive one. Whether that translates into dollars raised via fundraising online or just getting the word out to more supporters, social media is an effective way to promote your cause.