Abstract
By 2009, all of the largest 200 charities in the United States were using some form of social media (Barnes, 2010). With this widespread adoption comes an increased opportunity for nonprofits to engage their constituents and the larger civil society. Specifically, through social media, nonprofits can increase awareness of their mission and improve fundraising, volunteer engagement, community engagement, client retention and evaluation, and political advocacy. There are, however, two caveats: first, unless a nonprofit is strategic about social media, these benefits may not be fully actualized; second, unless nonprofits and researchers can figure out how to measure impact, the true value of their social media activities may not be understood.
Beth Kanter and Katie Delahayne Paine’s recently published book, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit, provides a solid roadmap for measuring the effectiveness of social media activities. The book is divided into three sections: Introduction of Concepts; Basic Measurement Principles, How-Tos, and Best Practices; and Advanced Measurement Concepts and Practices for Networked Nonprofits. The authors draw from their diverse backgrounds. Kanter writes a long-standing, popular nonprofit blog (http://bethkanter.org). She is an award-winning international consultant and trainer who focuses on nonprofit social media. Paine owns a research consultancy that provides nonprofits and other agencies with tools for measurement and accountability. Their book is peppered with anecdotes and quotes from nonprofits that make the benefits and challenges of social media understandable for those readers who are unaccustomed to technology.
In the first section, the authors remind nonprofits to measure real-world impact rather than superficial indicators such as the number of Facebook “Likes” or Twitter followers. Examples of impact might include money raised, volunteers registered, shelter pets adopted or letters sent to an elected official in order to advance the mission. The authors write, “It’s about doing your job better, and helping your organization achieve its mission with fewer resources” (p. 9). They judiciously borrow material from The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change (Kanter & Fine, 2010), Kanter’s previous book coauthored with Alison Fine, to explain how nonprofits should use social media to build “strong, resilient, trusting relationships that lead to real on-the-ground social change”. Kanter’s “Crawl, Walk, Run, Fly” model demonstrates how nonprofits typically enter the social media waters gingerly at first and, over time, successfully learn to navigate social media tools and achieve real-world results. She argues that nonprofits at any stage can and should use data to improve.
It is in the second section that the discussion about measurement begins. The authors claim that more than 250 measurement tools are available to assist nonprofits, including Google Analytics, Omniture, Webtrends, TypePad, Technorati, online surveys, and what the authors call “the indispensable spreadsheet” (p. 120). These tools are broken down into three categories: (1) survey tools (to measure perception); (2) content analysis tools (to determine what others are saying online); and (3) web and social analytic tools (to measure your specific efforts). The book also introduces concepts such as qualitative verses quantitative research, network mapping, return on investment, and measuring hard-to-capture constructs such as efficiency, trust, and transparency. It explains qualitative coding processes in a way that is easy to understand, even offering sample codes that might be useful including tone, sources, and conversation type.
A key goal of this section is to help nonprofits understand how to be data informed rather than data driven. In other words, the authors encourage nonprofits to approach data in the spirit of inquiry, agility, and reflection, urging readers not to be chained to the data or collect copious amounts of data that get stored and never seen again. The authors suggest that time spent thinking about data is as important as collecting it. To do this effectively, nonprofits cannot focus only on successes; they must become comfortable talking about their ideas or initiatives that might have been unsuccessful. Kanter and Paine offer the role model of DoSomething.org, a nonprofit organization that actively encourages staff to learn from both failures and successes. The organization asks staff members to wear pink feather boas as they discuss the lessons learned by trial-and-error, adding humor and levity to what can be a sensitive subject.
The third and final section of the book, designed for advanced practitioners, discusses the challenges and strategies for measuring relationships. The authors offer Social Network Analysis (SNA) as the tool to identify, map, visualize and—eventually—cultivate the individuals with influence on social media. While there are high tech, expensive software programs that perform SNA for nonprofits, the authors also suggest that pen and paper, or the free tools available on various social media channels are sufficient. Examples such as handwritten mapping exercises show readers what to look for. Where are the connections in the network? Who are the hubs or especially well-connected individuals? The answers to such questions can lead to higher-impact outreach. Other topics discussed in the third section include measuring influence, measuring transparency and measuring the impact of the crowd. Tools provided include a social media measurement checklist, a checklist for monitoring services, an assessment tool, and survey questions that can be used to measure relationships with followers.
Overall, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit is an important contribution to practitioners and researchers and, as one might expect with such a pioneering subject matter, it also leaves questions unanswered. First, while the many real-world examples illustrate the book’s themes, it would have also been valuable to see more examples of actual surveys and measurement tools. Even though nonprofits will need to make significant adjustments to any spreadsheet in order to fit their specific needs, more examples would assist visual learners. Second, social media brings risks such as threats to privacy and confidentiality of clients and staff, human relations and labor relations issues, and identity theft. What types of risks do nonprofits incur on social media? How does a nonprofit measure and monitor its risk level? These questions are largely unaddressed.
Research has demonstrated that, regardless of risk and technological sophistication, nonprofits are increasingly incorporating social media into their activities (Barnes, 2010). This book offers a much needed, easy-handed, exposure for nonprofit practitioners new to social media measurement and provides enough substance to challenge a more advanced practitioner. For those attempting to conduct research about social media or to use social media to conduct research, this book provides valuable insight for applying traditional research methodologies to an ever-changing online landscape.