Nonprofit Marketing Benchmarks Series: Social
December 24, 2021
CONSUME CREATIVELY
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Who really knows what they’re doing with their social media, really?
I’ll tell you who. Those amazing data loving people who follow their social data like they’re stalking a junior high crush. (Oh common you know you hid in the bushes and watched those cuties play ball every now and again! No? 👀)
I’m a stalker of lots of types of data, but when it comes to social media I also have to rely on a team of friends to keep me informed – employees, nonprofits I work with and other data geeks. And since 64% of nonprofits don’t have a digital marketing plan3…I felt like you might need a team of friends to hook you up as well.
So with the help of those friends and about 10 different marketing benchmark reports I just read cover to cover I’m going to analyze this data like I would every word from my junior high crush. (And I’ll reference them all as I use them and link to them at the end so you can dig through them too if you’re so inclined.)
The challenge is each report tells the story through a slightly different lens. So I combed through them all and interpreted what they actually mean to you, a nonprofit social media marketer.
I’ve also compiled similar factoids, advice and takeaways for email marketing if that’s your thing…and next up I’ll be covering websites (my personal favorite). For now, let’s dive into social media!
Notable Nonprofit Social Media Stats
- The majority of nonprofits are on Facebook (97%) followed by Twitter (55%) then Instagram (45%) .3
- Only 37% of nonprofits are using Linkedin.3
- Only 16% of nonprofits use social media other than Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Instagram.3
- Engagement on nonprofit social posts is one of the highest of any industry at 27 average daily engagements per post.6
- Nonprofits are not engaging in others posts nearly as often, only 3 times per day, which is slightly below the all industry average.6
- 61% of nonprofit posts are organization announcements.6
- Facebook Fundraisers accounted for 1.3% of all online revenue.8
- Rights groups have a far higher percentage of Twitter followers.8
- Animal Welfare and Wildlife have it going on in Social media with more followers in general than other types of nonprofits. Nearly 2x the number of FB followers and 2.4x more Instagram followers.8
- The only networks showing major growth are YouTube and Reddit.9
Nonprofit Social Media Take-Aways
Only you know how often you post (apparently).
Number of average posts published per day varies pretty widely depending upon which report you read. Sprout Social says the average is 10 posts per day.6 While TechSoup says 57% of nonprofits post less than 5 times per week on social media.3 Most nonprofits I speak with say they post somewhere between 2-5 times per week.
If you are considering adjusting your post frequency, I suggest ramping it up over time and carefully watching your metrix to see where the sweet spot is. When does engagement go up? When do reach and impressions start to plateau? Weigh the time you spend writing and publishing posts against the amount of engagement and returns you see from your increased time investment. And by returns I don’t just mean better social media metrics. You want to see a tangible outcome too, like more volunteers or increased donations.
Regardless if you decide to post more or keep your current rhythm in place remember: consistency is king in marketing especially social media marketing. Maintaining a relationship when you only talk a few times a year is difficult. It’s even more difficult when your audience doesn’t hear you. Currently the average Facebook post only reaches 5.2% of your total audience. 10 And this metric keeps dropping. My clients, my nonprofit friends and fellow data geeks all report seeing lowered reach and impressions on Facebook in 2021.
The adage of quality is better than quantity certainly holds true in social media. But please don’t spend a million hours on a social post that you have no idea how many people are going to see! Think of your social media content like happy hour content. You get ready for happy hour by doing a little freshening up, maybe apply another layer of lipstick. It’s not wedding day content, where you’re creating the perfect look and the perfect day to hold in your memory forever. There’s no need to call in a hairdresser and party planner when only 5.2% of your guest list is even going to get their invitations!
Nonprofit Social Media Post Frequency
Keep the flow of information going by automating your social media posting.
When I say automate, I don’t mean have a robot write it…I don’t know of any robots that do that but if you know of one please introduce me. What I mean is write your social posts in bulk then schedule them using a publishing software. 60% of nonprofits reported they’re not automating their social media.
Facebook and Instagram offer this feature natively for free. And if you’re on multiple platforms you can use a system like Loomly, which starts at just $12/mo and allows you to post to 10 networks. We found that diamond in the rough years ago and still love it. And no I’m not an affiliate of the software or anything, I just like it and have no problem telling you it’s a time saver.
Last year we conducted a social experiment and found that if we post our social media natively, especially in Facebook, not using a scheduling software, it was better distributed to our audience. My nonprofit social media friends also report finding this same trend.
But, and this is a big but, because I feel like I need to report those findings to you BUT I don’t want you to freak out and not use a post scheduler. Because one thing we all agree on when it comes to social media is that done is better than perfect.
So if you’re scared to use a social media scheduler because you think it’s going to negatively impact how much your posts are shown, weigh the pros and the cons. After we conducted our experiment we committed to posting for 3 more months natively on Facebook. And after three months of that time-consuming ridiculousness we decided that we would much rather put them in the scheduling software and check a box to publish it everywhere at once. For us, done is better than perfect.
Organizations to watch for inspiration.
If you’re not sure what to do or looking for social media inspiration there are a few types of organizations and businesses knocking it out of the park. Keep an eye on them for inspiration.
Pay attention to animal rights and wildlife organizations. They’re doing it right. They attract the most followers of any other type of nonprofit.8 Either because of the amazing animal pictures or their savvy strategy they have nearly 2x the number of FB followers and 2.4x more Instagram followers.8
While animal rights and wildlife groups have the most followers, a few other types of nonprofits are beating them out for engagement. That’s when people view your videos, comment, like or share your content. Public Media 0.51%, Heath 0.54% and Hunger 0.82% have them beat.8 Which makes sense because humans out rank puppies in the grand scheme of things AND we are going through a pandemic and all so people are more health conscious than ever.
Keep an eye on retail social trends.
Retail social media is by far the most engaged with social media in the networks according to Gartner.2 Which in short means – people like it. Take note of the post styles and what makes people interact.
I know you’re thinking, “that seems pretty far fetched Monica!” But hear me out. If you’re struggling to meet and reach younger audiences then retail is a great study buddy because they have it down to a science. Retail leads social interactions per post on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and is second on Facebook compared to other industries.2
Some of the most popular brands advertise on a very “nonprofit” like strategy. Conscious consumers are buying from and supporting brands because of their support of a social or political issue. And that’s why they follow and support you too!
Follow a few organizations and businesses for inspiration!
Go follow a few animal rights or wildlife organizations, also a few focused on improving health or lowering hunger. Watch what they post and how people interact. Ask yourself, “how can I do this for my organization?” Use their success as creative fodder to create your own!
Nonprofit social media engagement is awesome.
Nonprofits have one of the highest social media engagement of any industry averaging around 19 engagements per post.6 Engagement rates vary by nonprofit type and network ranging from 0.12 to .82 on Facebook all the way up to 2.9% on Twitter (those Wildlife and Animal Welfare groups are just crushing it on Twitter!).8 The best report to view these engagement averages for your organization type is the 2021 M+R Benchmarks Report.
If your engagement is lagging, lean into consumer trends. Sprout social says over 50% of people follow brands on social media to learn about their new products and services. And according to TechSoup nonprofits focus the majority of their social posts (61%) making organizational announcements, so you’re probably rockin’ it on that front.
But people follow brands for other reasons too:
And your organization is flush with that type of content. A day in the life of a nonprofit staffer or volunteer is FILLED with entertainment, success stories and inspiration. Consider adding posts showing people what it’s like behind the scenes and brightening their day by sharing the difference you make in your community.
The next big thing on social media already exists.
You may have heard of it…YouTube. The only major growth in network usage reported in 2021 was YouTube and Reddit. (I heard about Reddit on a podcast and thought I’ll try this! And I honestly have no idea how to use it so I’m not qualified to advise you on how to weave that into your social strategy!)
So if you’re doing videos – put ‘em out there! Even your Facebook lives can be broadcast on YouTube simultaneously using a streaming service like StreamYard. Plus the network reaches a wide age range. It’s used be a vast majority of adults under the age of 65.9
Uploading your videos to YouTube is a double win. While YouTube is considered a social platform it’s also the second largest search engine. And YouTube videos are showcased in search results on the biggest search engine, maybe you’ve heard of it as well…Google.
Consider LinkedIn
Good news is you don’t have to post a million times a day to get a foothold in LinkedIn. Companies that post 20 times per month reach at least 60% of their audience, according to LinkedIn, and those that just post two times per week see a rise in engagement.10
Only 37% of nonprofits use LinkedIn and I feel like their informational, inspirational and announcement style posts would fit well in the network. My nonprofit friends reported having good luck posting about business donors and supporters on LinkedIn and tagging those companies.
Roughly half of adults who have a bachelor’s or advanced degree (51%) say they use LinkedIn9 and many are at a higher income level, allowing them the ability to donate to your organization.
You can also go live on LinkedIn now, similar to Facebook, and you can stream simultaneously using a service like StreamYard as well. Even just linking to your Youtube videos allow them to play directly in the LinkedIn feed and typically give a 75% higher share rate.10
Video is king but, if it isn’t your thing, you’re still OK.
Some reports are all about video on social. They say it’s the way to go. Which makes sense. We see the truth of it in our own client’s social media reports – video is often their best performing type of content. My other nonprofit friends also report video is one of their best post types as well, so it’s not some strange anomaly.
Despite the fact that we all know it’s a great post type 86% of posts on Facebook (and even less on the other networks) are videos…I’m going to be captain obvious here and point out the reason for that disparity: while video is super cool, it’s also super time consuming. I mean, who has time to produce all that video?
There’s a silver lining though.
As far as nonprofit social posts go, the benchmark reports argree video posts do outperform photos, BUT it’s not by much.8
- On Instagram video posts actually get the lowest engagement rate (1.45%).10
- The best average engagement rate on instagram is on carousel posts (1.94%) followed closely by photo posts(1.74%).10
- And surprisingly, photo posts from Facebook pages are the most shared (55.6%) of all post types.
The moral of the story is, if video isn’t in your wheelhouse you can still get the job done BUT you can’t live without photos. Especially those with peoples faces…they do the best.
If you latch onto nothing else from all this amazing data remember these two things.
First, please do not try to change EVERYTHING about how you’re doing social media based on these findings. Pick one or two things and give them a try. Review your data and see if they’re working. If not try something else. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, marketing is just a science experiment. So follow the same rules – limit your variables and track your outcomes.
Second, if you’re one of the 82% of nonprofits post less than one social post per day3 who has more to share, don’t be afraid of “bothering” your audience by posting more.
Remember, people follow brands to learn about products, services, other peoples experiences, to be inspired and entertained.6 And nonprofits do ALL of those things.
Your audience wants to hear from you! Social media engagement per nonprofit social post is one of the highest of any industry – people love you!1 They want to support you! But the conversation is not even starting because it takes so long to make every post by hand and 60% of nonprofits are not automating their social media.3
TAKE ACTION: This year be a student of your audience, watch how other organizations and companies are using social media for creative inspiration. Then test your ideas using automation to publish your posts to make sure you’re maintaining a regular cadence that allows you to stay connected with your supporters.
Sources:
- 2021 Digital Experience Benchmarks by Industry by Content Square
- Digital IQ: Social Marketing Benchmarks by Gartner
- Nonprofit Digital Marketing Benchmark Report by TechSoup
- MailChimp Email Marketing Benchmarks
- Ultimate Email Marketing Benchmarks for 2021: By Industry and Day by Campaign Monitor
- The 2021 Content Benchmarks Report by Sprout Social
- Acoustic Marketing Benchmark Report
- 2021 M+R Benchmarks
- Social Media Use in 2021 by Pew Research Center
- 367 Social Media Statistics You Must Know In 2021
Who Manifested This Madness?
This fabulous human, that's who.
Monica Maye Pitts
Monica is the creative force and founder of MayeCreate. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with an emphasis in Economics, Education and Plant Science from the University of Missouri. Monica possesses a rare combination of design savvy and technological know-how. Her clients know this quite well. Her passion for making friends and helping businesses grow gives her the skills she needs to make sure that each client, or friend, gets the attention and service he or she deserves.
