If social media were a kingdom, it’s fair to say that Facebook reigns supreme. With over 400 million users around the world, it’s one
of the first places nonprofits and businesses build their social media presence on. Even though Facebook is so wildly popular, it’s better for achieving some marketing goals than others. Knowing what Facebook does well can help your nonprofit be more strategic about how you’re leveraging social media for your organization.
So what is Facebook really great for and really not so great at doing for your nonprofit? Idealware’s latest report shares some interesting insights:
Facebook is Great at Getting People to Your Events
70% of the respondents in the survey could see a demonstrable difference in how much enthusiasm was generated around an event when Facebook was used to promote it and get the word out about it. Facebook events makes it easy for you to invite people, but also makes it very easy for people to invite their friends and to let others know that an event was going on.
Facebook is Great at Increasing Traffic to Your Site
If you’ve just launched a website, got it redone, or just want to see more people stopping by on a regular basis, Facebook is a great vehicle for doing just that. By posting regular content that leads people back to your site and through raised brand awareness, you’ll find yourself rewarded with more more people coming to the site. More than 70% of the surveyed nonprofits in the Idealware report saw an increase in traffic to their main site from Facebook engagement.
Facebook is NOT Great at Attracting Donors
Fundraising efforts directly through Facebook are still pretty low so if you have expectations of bringing in big bucks through the platform, you may be disappointed. Email still ranks as the most effective way of bringing in donations online so you may want to use Facebook as a tool to enhance fundraising efforts on different channels however it’s probably not a good idea to put all your fundraising eggs in the Facebook basket.
All social media channels are not created equal, and even within a particular channel, you may find that they deliver different results for different aims. Knowing how to anticipate these outcomes will help you make the most of social media’s potential for your organization.
