Small charities lack time and skills to use social media effectively, survey finds
- 10 Oct
Poll accompanies new free guide published by the Unity Trust Bank and Social Misfits Media
A free guide on how to use social media for charities has been launched today by Unity Trust Bank and Social Misfits Media, a company that helps charities use social media more effectively.
About That First Tweet includes results from a survey of 186 small and medium-sized charities and social enterprises. Fifty-three per cent of those surveyed say they are not using social media effectively in fundraising and marketing.
The most popular social medium is Facebook, says the publication, with 75 per cent of organisations using it. Seventy per cent use Twitter, 37 per cent YouTube and 34 per cent LinkedIn.
According to the guide, the single biggest problem for smaller organisations is finding the time to use social media. Other challenges include a lack of understanding and skills, an inability to measure the return on investment and knowing what to say and when to say it.
Generally, organisations are not using the free tools that are available online, which could be crucial in raising more funds to support their work. If they are using the tools, they are not using them as effectively as they could do due to lack of skills, time or understanding.
The guide contains information on how to identify the goals charities want to achieve, the audience they want to reach and the platforms they should communicate on. It also contains ideas for creating content and measuring whether they have been successful.
Source: Third Sector
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