14 Social Media Stats Nonprofit Organizations Should Consider

Still wondering if your nonprofit or trade association should use social media?

Take a look at some of this recent research and decide for yourself.

Photo by Balakov, copyright under Creative Commons, http://www.flickr.com/photos/balakov/4300931777/

1.  400 million people use Facebook with nearly 95 million in the United States. Facebook Statistics

2.  More than 50% of the active users logon to Facebook daily and more than 35 million update their status daily. Facebook Statistics

3.  41% of Facebook users promote product fan pages. eMarketer & Morpace

4.  37% of Facebook users join fan pages for discounts and coupons. eMarketer & Morpace

5.  Two-thirds of Facebook users are more likely to purchase a product or visit a retailer based on a Facebook friend referral. eMarketer & Morpace

6.  50% of Hispanic respondents said Facebook was a good tool for researching new products, compared with 46% of Asians, 44% of African-Americans and only 31% of whites. eMarketer & Morpace

7. Facebook, Twitter and video sharing sites are the most widely used social media channels by nonprofits, at 73%, 56% and 49% respectively. Idealware, Using Social Media To Meet Nonprofit Goals, February 2010

8. 84% nonprofits surveyed felt blogs were effective at enhancing existing relationships, followed very closely by video-sharing sites at 83%, and Twitter and Facebook at 81% each.Idealware, Using Social Media To Meet Nonprofit Goals, February 2010

9. When it comes to reaching new potential supporters, most respondents (78%) felt Twitter was effective, followed closely by Facebook and blogs at 76% each, and video sharing sites at 72%. Idealware, Using Social Media To Meet Nonprofit Goals, February 2010

10. LinkedIn was considered comparatively effective for fundraising just under Facebook and Twitter but lagged in nonprofit support for outreach and enhancing existing relationships. MySpace ranked lowest for fundrasing, outreach and enhancing existing relationships. Idealware, Using Social Media To Meet Nonprofit Goals, February 2010

Image from The 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study

11. 95% of new media (social media Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) users expect companies or brands to have a presence on those sites. Cone 2009 New Media Study

Cone defines New Media as dialogue among individuals or groups by way of technology-facilitated channels, such as social networks (e.g., Facebook); blogs; microblogs (e.g., Twitter); online games; mobile devices; photo-, audio- and video-sharing sites (e.g., Flickr, iTunes, YouTube); message boards; etc.

12. 89% of new media users expect companies to interact with them in new media.  Cone 2009 New Media Study 

13. Four out of five new media users interact with companies or brands via new media sites and tools.  Cone 2009 New Media Study 

Image from The 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study

14. As of October 2009, a majority of consumers still interact with companies or brands via email (58%) or corporate websites (45%) but a third of all consumers want to interact with companies or brands via social media sites (30%).  Cone 2009 New Media Study 

What’s your experience with nonprofit associations and new media? Why should nonprofits consider using social media?