Do you think you know who’s on social media?

by guest blogger George Crankovic

A study from Pew Research has some interesting takeaways about who’s on social media.

First, some not-surprising results:

• 83% of Internet users between 18 and 29 are on social media.
  
• 71% of female Internet users are on social media.
  
• 62% of male Internet users are on social media.
  

So, a lot of people use social media people. Younger people more so, and women a bit more than men. Makes sense.

But now for the unexpected findings:

• 52% of Internet users between 50 to 64 are on social media.
  
• 32% of Internet users age 65 and up are on social media.
  

You probably did not see that coming. Younger people, sure. But that many people 50 and older? That’s news.

By far, the majority of them are on Facebook, but they’re also on Twitter, Pinterest, and others.

What does this mean for online fundraising? Well, that’s not entirely clear — yet. Social media isn’t exactly a fundraising bonanza. Nor have most nonprofits figured out how to use it effectively. On the other hand, all these folks in their philanthropic years are using social media. Wouldn’t it be great to use it in your relationship with them?

Here’s one way it could work. Let’s say a fan of your charity is on Facebook and happens to comment on your cause. Then a friend of that fan sees it and becomes interested. So she clicks over to your charity’s Facebook page, adds a few comments of her own, and becomes a new fan.

Your new fan continues to enjoy and comment on your charity’s updates. Then she decides to join an email list by responding to a survey or signing an online petition or registering for an event. At that point, you have a prospect. And when you send her an email, she might decide to give — at which point, you have a donor.

Is this conversion path foolproof? Simple? Fast? No. And you have to produce the right content in the right places to have a chance. But it can happen, and in fact is happening for some organizations.

The donors are using the channel. It’s up to us to understand it, learn it, fine-tune it, and come up with the ways we’ll use it to connect with them.