A recent survey of over 1,000 social media users in the U.S has revealed that more than 64% of respondents have donated $100 or more to charitable causes in the past year.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LInkedIn have become a useful platform for non-profit organisations to spread the word of social causes on a limited budget. Until recently, it wasn’t easy for marketers to see just how much of a role their social campaigns played in boosting fundraising efforts.
The SurveyMonkey survey demonstrated that just 6.5% of respondents didn’t donate anything to charitable causes in the past year, and 46% of participants agreed to social media channels being their primary source of news for good causes.
Interestingly, LinkedIn users were the most likely to donate larger amounts to good causes, with 70% giving over $100 in the last year. In comparison, Facebook users had the highest proportion of those who did not donate any money within the past twelve months. This split in user behaviour may have something to do with the disposable income of the average demographic of each platform – LinkedIn has the oldest majority demographic, with 55% over the age of 35.
Survey participants also reported on the time they donated to charity and once more LinkedIn was at the forefront, with more than 48% of users giving over ten hours of their time in the last year to social causes. Users of other platforms gave far less time: Facebook and Twitter topped the chart for the number of users who donated no time to good causes in the last year (26% and 24% respectively).
LinkedIn has not traditionally been seen as a forerunner for successful fundraising campaigns, but these results demonstrate that it could be a useful avenue for charitable causes in future. Take a look at how Crowdbait’s experience in social content could help you to broaden your campaign reach.