1. Carie Lewis Carlson
Deputy Director, Online Communications
@cariegrls
[ Using Social Media in Advocacy & Fundraising ]

2. [ My name is Carie, and I’m a social media addict. ]

3. “I just got a keychain and address labels in
the mail from you guys. Now that I see
you posting on Facebook and know you're
legit, I'll be sending a donation. Thanks
for the work you do.”
– Posted to our Facebook Page wall, January 2010
[ Just a Fad? ]

4. [ By The Numbers ]
• 1.8 million Facebook fans
• 200,000 Twitter followers
• 103% growth rate on Facebook from ’12-’13
• $1 million raised on Facebook (lifetime)
• Over 300,000 actions taken on Facebook each year
• All positions in social media have been paid for by
Facebook fundraising.
Integration and engagement are the keys to
our growth and success in social media.

5. How We’re
Structured
Carie Lewis
Deputy Director, Online Communications
Social media, online advertising, web strategy
Bailey Fogarty
Social Communications Specialist
Brand monitoring, analytics
Victoria Ramm
Community Manager
Posting and engagement
Online Volunteers
Sarah Barnett
Senior Manager, Social Media
Social media channel manager
Katie Feldman
Community Specialist
Ancillary page management
Vacant
Social Media Intern
Administrative support
Katie Carrus
Editorial Director
Web channel manager
Sarah Butler
Online Ad Coordinator
online advertising channel manager

6. [Strategies That Make Us Successful ]
• Answer everyone who comes to us
with a legitimate question or concern
• Do not use tools to schedule or post
•Monitor every mention of our brand
• Facebook response time = under 2 hours,
Twitter = 30 minutes.
• Don’t delete comments unless they violate our
commenting policy
• Very selective about what we post
• Every post must provide fans some
kind of value or benefit.
• Never post more than once a day unless there
is breaking news.
• Social is a small part of many people’s jobs,
but we are the gatekeeper.
• We read dozens of industry publications daily!

7. [ All Networks are Not Created Equal. ]
Where our constituents are
For customer service and
relationship building
but is our action oriented
community
People talk about us here
A customer service and
relationship building tool
Tweets are split between
being a news source and
engaging with audience

8. [ Let’s talk about measuring success... ]
Engagement means
nothing if it is not working
towards your goals.

9. [ Goals ]
Our goals in using social media are: advocacy, fundraising, providing
customer service, and increasing brand sentiment online by
promoting the good work of the organization.
Customer service
& engagement Interest & trust
Positive connection
to the brand
Better chance of
becoming a member
More likely to
share our content
Everything we do online is tied to advocacy and fundraising – social media is no exception.

10. [ Give them what they want! ]
By providing our fans what they want like:
• fun contests
• polls asking for their opinion
• listening to feedback on posts
• answering every question
• Show ways to make a difference
• other engagement opportunities
We believe they will feel enough of a
connection with the brand to do
what we ask such as:
• donating
• taking action
• filling out a form
• Answering a question
• RSVPing to an event

11. [ But Perhaps Most Importantly…]
We don’t measure success by
# of fans or followers
OR
how many likes or shares a post got.
“…that’s so myspace.” –C. Lewis Carlson

12. [ What Matters? ]
The Like or Follow is the beginning of the
relationship between you and a fan,
not the end.
Ask yourself:
• Do those people do what you want them to do? (tie to goals)
• How can you get them to do it? (think like a user)
• How are you making it a valuable community for both you and
your fans? (be selective and creative)
• How will you get them to come back? (engage)
You must be relevant, interesting, concise, responsive, and provide value to your fans.

13. • # of actions taken
• # of donors
• Amount of donations*
• # of new names to file
• Customer service turnarounds
• Sentiment %
• Growth rate
• Most popular content
• # mentions
• Notable mentions
[ What We Measure ]
Likes, comments, and shares tell you if your audience finds your content interesting. Conversion metrics tell you if you’re successful.

14. [ Don’t Forget About the Intangibles! ]
Our Weekly Social Media Mentions
Report showcases notable mentions
about our brand in social media.
Includes mentions from:
• Supporters/members/fans
• Other organizations
• Companies
• Celebrities
Sent to executives to showcase
intangible benefits from social media
as well as give them an insight of what’s
buzzing online that week related to our brand.

15. [ Tactics on Converting Fans to Constituents ]
Get excited!!

16. #1: Ask explicitly with a solid call to action.
How to do it: – Add “Please RT” or
“please share” or “take action
now” to your posts. Note: use
sparingly or it will not mean as
much.
Why it works: People tend to do
things if you just ask.

17. #2 – Make every piece of content shareable, especially
your thank you page.
How to do it: – Use a free tool like
AddThis to make your emails,
webpages, and advo/donation
forms shareable on Facebook
and Twitter
Why it works: Your existing
constituency is more likely to
share your content and recruit
like-minded friends, and right
after they’ve taken action is the
peak time for their engagement
with you.

18. #3: Replicate all of your asks inside Facebook.
How to do it: Use Facebook Causes
fundraising projects or your CMS’
API technology to bring forms onto
a custom Facebook tab.
Why it works: People on Facebook
want to stay on Facebook, and will
convert at higher rates if you keep
them there.

19. #4: Answer and thank everyone.
How to do it: Answer everyone that asks a
question in a comment string or writes on
your wall. On Twitter, set up keyword
monitoring for anyone that shares their
donation.
Why it works: When someone gets a
response, it builds trust and loyalty.
Donors want to feel that you appreciate
them and that they’re not just another
donor. They will be more likely to donate
again or recruit others (modern-day
donor cultivation!)

20. #5: Get serious about social monitoring.
How to do it: Use Tweetdeck and Google
Alerts (free) or purchase a social CRM
like SmallAct, Spredfast
Why it works: When someone is talking
about you, you can respond and give
them the info they need, like help
with their donation or clear up
misinformation. Set it up so you see
every single mention – whether they
tag you or not.

21. #6: Give them multiple ways to donate - whatever is
comfortable for them.
How to do it: Give options to donate
on Facebook, on your website, via
mobile, via a custom tab, etc. AND
PUSH PEOPLE TO THEM.
Why it works: Some people still aren’t
comfortable with donating on
Facebook, and some don’t want to
leave. Give them all possible options.

22. #7: Use Facebook ads to boost posts with a
fundraising or advocacy ask.
How to do it: Even $100 will
produce results via Facebook’s
robust ad targeting system.
Why it works: You can target ads to your fans via a
promoted post, linking to a certain post. Use this
for donation and action campaigns. This is a great
way to ensure fans see your posts, and convert
them to your house file.

23. #8: Make it a safe plans for fans.
How to do it: Have a commenting
policy on your page and enforce it.
Why it works: Your fans don’t
necessarily know everything about
you, so when they come to your
page you don’t want a bunch of
spam, misinformation, etc. on your
page. It could deter them. Be there!
(And don’t disable posting or
commenting by fans!)

24. #9: Close the loop.
How to do it: When you ask fans to
do something, let them know what
happens as a result.
Why it works: People want to see
how their time and money is
making a difference. Show
them by following up and
closing the loop, and they’ll be
more inclined to do it again
when you ask.

25. #10: Track everything.
How to do it: Use Google Analytics or
your CMS’ trackable link system to
uniquely source all different
promotion types.
Why it works: How will you know if
you’re converting fans to
constituents if you’re not tracking it?
Test different ad text, images, post
types, etc. to see what resonates
best with your audience.

26. #11: Make real world events social by replicating
events on Facebook.
How to do it: Create a Facebook event for
all of your events, even online (like
webinars). Add Twitter handle to your
registration fields, and create a Twitter
hashtag. Add RSVP on Facebook on the
registration thank you page.
Why it works: People on Facebook like to
stay on Facebook, and show the world
all the fun things they’re doing. They
might even suggest to friends. This gets
people online, offline.

27. #12: Don’t dismiss custom tabs yet.
How to do it: Create custom tabs to
show people how they can become
a member / donate / take action
Why it works: Timeline may have
gotten rid of landing tabs, but you
can still push people to tabs.
Pushing people to our member tab
to get our magazine was the most
successful donation method last
year.

28. #13: Make it about THEM.
How to do it: Instead of saying “sign
our disaster preparedness
pledge” say “you wouldn’t leave
your pet behind in a disaster,
would you? Then sign the
pledge!”
Why it Works: People ask “what’s in
it for me?” Make it about them
and they’ll be more likely to do
what you want. (This was the
most successful post on 2012)

29. #14: Post a variety of types of content.
How to do it: Ask for opinions, post
actions, post funny photos or
videos.
Why it works: People like variety.
Switch it up. Don’t beat people
over the head with asks, but don’t
just post fluff all the time. That
way when you do ask for
something, they’ll know you mean
it / need it.

30. #15: Make your content as relevant as possible to your fans.
How to do it: Localize your posts
so that they are
geographically relevant.
Why it works: When something is
more relevant to you, you’re
more likely to pay attention and
do something about it.

31. [ That All Being Said… ]
You need to take the time to build a substantial, loyal
base before you ask for anything. Do this by listening
and responding to their feedback!

32. [ Final Thought ]
#SMWES // @cariegrls
“Social media is
free….
free like a
puppy.”

33. Carie Lewis Carlson
Email: clewis@humanesociety.org
Twitter: @cariegrls
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carielewis
Thank you!