Cone Inc. have released their 2009 consumer new media study, which has a very interesting section on how people use new media to support causes.
You should be out there
Of the 587 respondents in the survey, nearly 80% believe that not-for-profits should be using technologies such as social media sites (Facebook, etc.), blogs, video-sharing sites (YouTube) and message boards, to raise money and awareness for their causes.
64% said that supporting a cause through new media made them more likely to support it in traditional ways as well, such as making an offline donation or attending an event.
And 59% said they were more likely to support a cause if they could support it through new media.
Do everything you can to create trust
Among the factors which prevented people from supporting a cause using new media, rather sadly, were:
- 39% didn't trust that their effort would actually go to help the cause (the biggest factor)
- 27% didn't see any existing results or impacts
Moral: make your achievements to date crystal clear, whether it's on your web site or Facebook page; make it clear where my donation is going; tell me what effect it has had. Pull out all the stops to build my trust in what you do.
Motivation matters
On the positive side, the factors motivating people to support a cause on new media were:
- Emotionally compelling cause (77%)
- Quick and easy (76%)
- Incentives for involvement (72%)
- Demonstrated results (70%)
- Offline opportunities (66%)
While the first two factors might imply a certain emotional impulsiveness in new media use (see a tear-jerking video, click to become a Facebook fan), the others seem to indicate that people do hunger for closer involvement, that they want to become part of something, and know that their support has had an effect.
Food for thought there when designing your new media strategy.
The report can be downloaded from Cone Inc.'s web site (PDF, registration required).
