A recent survey from the research groups Nielsen and ComScore show that the number of people who use Twitter at least once a month is leveling off.
The numbers show that only about 7 percent of the U.S. population uses the social-networking site at least once a month.
And that has fund-raising experts like The Agitator’s Tom Belford advising charities to ignore the medium.
“I take this as a welcome sign that there is still some semblance of substance and sanity on the planet,” writes Mr. Belford, an expert in direct-mail fund raising. “If someone in your nonprofit is trumpeting the urgency of getting on board the Twitter phenom, fire them. Hire instead a really good copywriter.”
Mr. Belford’s rationale focuses on “how many” people are using Twitter, rather than on “who” is using Twitter.
While the numbers show that only a small fraction of people are regularly using Twitter, those people tend to be educated and younger.
They also tend to be the people who are most likely to experiment and spread the word about what they discover. People who use Twitter are social creatures—and many of them are the very people who are likely to talk about your organization with their friends or organize a fund-raising event.
Mr. Belford is right to suggest that charities shouldn’t drop their traditional channels for reaching supporters in favor of Twitter.
But is he right to suggest that it’s time to fire the Twitter experts on charity staffs?
Share your thoughts about whether that’s a smart suggestion.
8 Responses to Why Twitter Isn’t About the Numbers
nanc2797 - May 20, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Tom is one of the smartest fundraisers I know. But I do have a different opinion.It’s quality, not quantity in this case (as in many others). If you have the right followers, that spread the word well and broadly, then your Twitter channel does have value. Even thousands of uninterested followers wouldn’t reach that total value.Best regards,Nancy Schwartzhttp://GettingAttention.org
kay_keenan - May 20, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Twitter isn’t for everyone and in my mind it comes down to who the target is for your non-profit. If you are focused on boomers Tom may be correct. If you are trying to reach millenials it may be a good vehicle. Given that their is no cash outlay to test it adding it to the fundraising mix to test it makes sense. The cost will be labor to figure out your strategy and time to write the correct 140 word missive.Non-profits need to decide their social media strategy and then test as well as measure to make conclusions.Kay KeenanLinkedIn.com/in/KayKeenan Follow me on Twitter: ConsultKeenan
karenmw - May 20, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Perhaps even pre-Internet, Mr. Belford failed to note the impact that constant grassroots buzz contributes to fundraising events and their underlying missions/issues. Isn’t that was “building awareness” is all about? Influencers of old — community leaders, electeds, etc. — are supplemented (never replaced) by people on Twitter whom we may never meet face-to-face but who are our powerful, influential ambassadors nevertheless. Methinks The Agitator has agitated the conversation well. What may be missing is a real understanding of the funders and nonprofits who continue to find value in the addition of Twitter to their communications toolkits.
dseller - May 20, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Clearly nonprofits need to question the value proposition of Twitter before jumping in, but I find blanket admonitions like Tom’s a bit unhelpful. As Nancy points out, the numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. While your reach may be modest in terms of “followers” your message can still have a meaningful impact if you’re reaching the right people. It’s only one channel — and perhaps a small one for the purposes of donor development — but not one that should be so cavalierly dismissed in today’s networked world.
snaptodo - May 21, 2010 at 7:19 am
I agree to that dseller. Twitter indeed, creates that impact to spread the message. However, its effect should always come to life; the message it contains should translate to actions. On a personal note, few folks value the true meaning of what they ‘tweet’ on, in most cases. I’d like to take this opportunity to seek your help to try out my software so I can improve it. Im not selling anyting, okay. Check out SnapTodo free screenshot software download to do list
dofollow - May 21, 2010 at 7:26 pm
I love the glossy feel and polish but I HATE the inability to post longer tweets. I use this app alongside UberTwitter for this reason. There is also a case for inability to edit tweets. You certainly can do better. I have bookmark dofollow and addlink list in my note.
argon - May 23, 2010 at 10:34 am
Younger and more educated readers is great. Study after study indicate that this demographic is more likely to donate time (volunteer) than donate money. If an org is most interested in getting volunteers on board, Twitter seems like a good solution.The same goes for “friendraising.” As the old marketing saw goes “Get’em young, keep ‘em long” — the idea being that eventually they will tire of volunteering and start giving dollars.Spreading the word is great, too. But spreading to whom? Spreading the word to other members of the same demographic might bring more volunteers, more future givers. But are the 45-54 demographic and the 55-64 demographic getting the message? Are the “younger and more educated” being followed on Twitter by these prime givers? From a fundraising perspective, it’s a valid question.We’ve seen a ballooning of the use of social media. Every .org is eager to get on board with every form of social media. But keeping the organization’s brand straight across multiple platforms is near impossible. Likewise messaging strategy.But, if you’re after volunteers, and the idea is friendraising rather than fund raising, get someone on staff to tweet regularly, with a strictly monitored message strategy.But there’s another old saw: “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”CheersRick Gondellawww.causeware.blogspot.com
smoothdivorces - May 23, 2010 at 8:50 pm
true indeed, consistent monitoring of the messages will lead you to successful objectives. I am new to using twitter. Call me silly, wo everyone see the things I “tweet”? Thanks folks!