How Foundations Use Social Media ? Fenton | Progress Accelerated

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For many foundations, navigating the ever-changing social media landscape ranges from intimidating to exciting.

My colleagues and I recently facilitated a workshop called ?Are You Social (literally and figuratively)?? at the Communications Network Conference in Seattle. Before the workshop, our audience?communications directors at major foundations?completed a survey about their foundations? relationship with social media. Although our sample size was small, we found the survey results illustrative of the larger foundation community. Here are some of the highlights:

• Foundations spend an average of 4.4 hours/week on social media efforts. None have a dedicated social media team.
• 60% of foundations actively evaluate the success of their social media efforts. The majority of them use Facebook Likes and Shares as the primary indicator of success.
• Most foundations have significant support for social media from both their CEO and board. However, only 5% of COOs and 5% of CEOs are actively using social media.
• Broadcasting news is the primary way that foundations use social media. 68% use social media to stay connected to the issues, and only 11% use it to solicit grant applications.

Based on these results, my colleagues and I presented the following opportunities to help foundations maximize the impact of their social media efforts:

1. Facebook and Twitter should support your larger communications strategy.
   In order to be a successful on social media, the same rigor applied to traditional communications should be applied to social media. Platforms should be deployed strategically with a specific goal in mind. To be successful, a foundation?s commitment to social media needs to include a strategic approach, dedicated human capital and more time than 4.4 hours per week.
2. Use social media as a platform for conversation?not just a broadcast channel.
   Unlike traditional media where the broadcasting power is centralized, social media is based on an interactive dynamic that encourages dialogue and engagement. Foundations could greatly benefit from leveraging digital tools to recruit staff, host and participate in chats around their issue areas, and solicit feedback from community organizations about grant programs.
3. Leverage social media for thought leadership.
   Many foundations reported having significant support for their social media efforts from the CEO and board?an encouraging contrast to previous years. However, most CEOs are not using social media tools themselves. By engaging actively on social media, CEOs and other foundation staff can further brand themselves as thought leaders and establish a more authentic presence with grantees and peers in the space.

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For foundations, social media brings unique opportunities for engagement and I was inspired to see the great interest that our workshop participants had in learning how to strategically leverage these tools. We look forward to continuing the conversation.

Do you work at a Foundation? Tell us about your relationship with social media in the comments section.

Source: http://www.fenton.com/blog/how-foundations-use-social-media/

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