ROI = Return on INVOLVEMENT

photo: Sea Garden.


I would have guessed this ...

According to new analysis from IPG Emerging Media Lab's team of digital experts, 6 of the top 10 most-trafficked websites in 2008 were community-based sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Youtube.

About 75% of online community members said they use the internet to participate in communities related to social causes, with 40% participating at least monthly.

However, I was surprised to see this very awesome news ...

87% of community members report participating in social causes that are new to them since their involvement in online communities began.

Partly based on these findings, IPG concluded that the best way for brands to engage consumers is through cause marketing. However, Raquel Krouse, social media practice lead at IPG's Emerging Media Lab, said that using social networks for cause marketing purposes "has been a very tough nut to crack for marketers." But she also said that diverse forms of cause marketing are "becoming very successful."

In any case, it's worth a try. In the United States, IPG's Lab found that:
* 92% of consumers said they have a more positive image of a product or company when it supports a cause.
* 87% of consumers said that when price and quality are equal, they are more likely to choose a brand associated with a cause.
* About 78% of consumers think it important for brands to involve themselves in worthy causes.
*Worldwide, 60% of consumers said that they don't buy from brands that they consider to be bad corporate citizens.

When measuring success in the social networks field, IPG Emerging Media Lab notes that cause marketers should use new benchmarks for success - "return on involvement", a brand's ability to generate "trusted referrals," consumers' interest in following a brand, and viral distribution.

source: Conventional Cause Marketing Evolves Via Social Media, MediaPost, by Gavin O'Malley, Sunday, March 15, 2009.

Who are the Social Networkers?

Netpop Research LLC released a report "Social Networkers US: Who they are and what they mean for next generation advertising." The report's results were drawn from a projectable sample of 4,384 broadband users, in order to pinpoint the specific demographics, online behaviors, preferences and “passions” of online contributors and social networkers.

Some interesting notes from the report:

* There are 40 million active social network users in the US.

* The number of US social networkers has grown 93% since 2006.

* 76% of broadband users actively utilize social media - uploading photos, blogging, rating products, etc.

* Social networking is poised to play a vital role in the current economic downturn - much like movies did, during the Great Depression. The report also predicts a related increase in social media advertising opportunities. This is turning everyday users into natural connectors, promoters and influencers.

* US social networkers are most likely to be single, employed women, age 18-39 and living somewhere between Indiana and the Atlantic Ocean, or along the west coast.

* A typical social networker connects weekly with an average of 18 people one-to-one, and 110 people one-to-many.

* Social networkers spend an average of 36% of their online time talking and sharing. This compares with 29% for non-contributors to social networks.

* Social networkers use multiple modes to communicate and stay in touch. These include IM, texts, blogs and microblogs.

* The top two social networks in the US are Facebook and MySpace. Currently, 60% of social networkers use Facebook, 63% use MySpace and 34% use both. However, Facebook has grown 500% between 2006 and 2008, catching up to MySpace in regular users in the past year.

* Other social networking sites are popular among subsets of US users with broadband, including employed networkers (who use LinkedIn, Friendster, Plaxo); students (who use IMeem, LastFM, and Veoh) and retirees (who use reunion, Groups.Google and Classmates.com).

* Social networkers also are much more likely to shop and spend more online than their non-contributing peers. Social networkers buy a variety of products and services and spend an average of $101 online per month, the study found. This compares with non-contributors to social networks, who spend $80 per month.

* The top sources used by social networkers when making shopping decisions are search engines, brand or manufacturer sites, online-only retail sales and auction sites. Some 6% also use social networking sites to decide what to buy.

Source: SocNets Grow 93% Since 2006; Poised to Play Role in Recession, www.MarketingCharts.com, Jan 13-09

www.Change.ORG -- social networking services for non-profits

Woah! If social networking for good interests you, too, then check out the services provided by company www.Change.org.

Non-profit organizations can contract Change.org to develop a personalized social networking page for the organization, hosted on www.Change.org. The company also provides custom widgets, which can be embedded into the organization's independently managed social networking pages like Myspace and Facebook.

According to the company's website, Change.org is different from other social networking sites because it engages an older audience (older donors), thereby providing organizations with a way to "post specific fundraising campaigns, update donors on the progress of projects they've funded, create online advocacy campaigns, and capture important data about supporters and donors."

Also according to the website, Other benefits include:
Brand Your Social Network: Change.org will design your social network to match your website.

Fundraise: Post fundraising campaigns, accept online donations, and enable supporters to create personal fundraising pages and widgets to benefit your organization. (All 501(c)(3) donations are processed by our partner, Network for Good)

Start e-advocacy Campaigns: Start viral email advocacy campaigns to lobby elected officials and business leaders. Your organization gets the e-mail address of each new supporter that participates in your e-advocacy campaigns! (View Example)

Recruit New Supporters: Send "Supporter Requests" to recruit new members from across the Change.org community and allow your supporters to invite their friends and family to join your social network on Change.org.

Capture Supporter and Donor Data: Download supporter and donor contact information into Excel spreadsheets that can be imported into your organization's main database of contacts and/or e-newsletter mailing list.

Build Community: Connect your supporters with one another and enable them to share stories, write testimonials about your work, and post photos and videos.

Personalize Your Communication: Inform and inspire your supporters through blogging and sending private messages to your top fundraisers and activists.
In addition to all the tools listed above, Change.org will provide you with free consulting on how to best build and utilize your social network on Change.org. This includes Change.org Best Practices and consultation on how to integrate your Change.org social network with other Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube!



Change.org team member Heather Mansfield owns her own company, DIOSA | Communications. Diosa specializes in Web 2.0 Marketing, Web 2.0 Trainings, Webinars, and MySpace Design for nonprofit organizations, higher education, and small businesses. DIOSA publishes a monthly e-newsletter that includes MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and Change.org Best Practices for Nonprofit Organizations. To sign up to receive the e-newsletter, go to this site. The company's website also provides links to some interesting articles on this subject matter. Check out the myspace page that Heather manages, too. She's holding a webinar on December 16th for non-profits new to Myspace.

I was recently reminded of Change.org because I heard that they are hooking up with Myspace to collect the public's ideas for the Obama Administration. According to this San Francisco Chronicle article, "shortly before I-Day on Jan. 20, the MySpacers and Change.orgers will announce the top 10 ideas, say which nonprofit organization will sponsor it, will and send it to the appropriate member of Obama's Administration via the 119 million-member megaphone that is MySpace." Why break from Change.gov? Change.org says that Change.gov doesn't allow the public to communicate with Obama "in ways they had become accustomed to during the campaign."

To share your ideas for the Obama Administration, go here, or here.