NGO Campaigns

on Social Media

Amsterdam, January 2010

Prepared by ©Yufen Cadence Chen
online.yfc@gmail.com
 Social Media is a communication
platform for individuals and their
social networks to create
Ambient Intimacy
“Ambient intimacy is about being able to keep in touch with people with a
level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to,
because time and space conspire to make it impossible.
Who cares? Who wants this level of detail? Isn’t this all just annoying
noise?…There are a lot of us, though, who find great value in this ongoing
noise. It helps us get to know people who would otherwise be just
acquaintances.
It makes us feel closer to people we care for but in whose lives we’re
not able to participate as closely as we’d like. Knowing these details
creates intimacy.”

- Leisa Reichelt ( website designer)

Facebook Research

a social networking site

The objective of this research is to understand the use of Facebook among
other organizations and to provide key angles for xxx’s evaluation.

• In this research, I adopted both quantitative and

qualitative approaches to analyze the use of
Facebook.
– Quantitative: frequency of postings (Time of
Observation: 3 – 26 OCT 2009)
– Qualitative: content & interaction
• I chose 7 international NGOs and 4 companies in
order to compare the use of Facebook.
– NGOs: FOE, Greenpeace, WWF, WFP, Oxfam, Amnesty,
NSPCC
– Companies: Innocent Drinks, Dorset Cereal, Apple
Computer, MTV
• Here is the outline of this research:
1. About Facebook
2. Facebook User Analysis
3. Facebook Features
4. Facebook Wall
5. Facebook Stat
6. Evaluation: frequency of posting, open Wall,
user comment, campaigning in Facebook
7. More about Facebook
 About Facebook
• Facebook is all about open connection and
interaction among friends/groups. It is a platform
where people around the world can meet each
other.
• For NGOs, using Facebook properly and
strategically can help enhance the relationship
with supporters.
• Facebook allows users to spread news easily and
more effectively. Its idea of social economy is
based on the wisdom of friends.
Facebook User Analysis

• Green: over-represented
• Red: under-represented

(Source: Alexa.com)
 Facebook Features
• News Feed is a summary view of the activities of your
friends/pages arranged by Facebook algorithm.
• Live Feed (launched on 23 Oct 2009) is the same real-time feed
from your friends/pages.
• Facebook Page (different from Facebook Group)
– Users can become a fan of a Page by adding the Page to
their profiles.
– A Facebook Page can be found by searching inside
Facebook. Nevertheless, the searching itself might be a
problem because of the confusion of naming. The
suggestion is to put a Facebook link in the official website or
newsletters. It also encourages supporters to become a fan
on Facebook.
Facebook Wall- news links

To WFP site To WWF Blog

To BBC News To sponsored

events
Facebook Wall- campaign links

e.g. You Tube video:

Greenpeace occupying
UK parliament

e.g. campaign site:

NSPCC Christmas eCard
Facebook Wall- talk to fans

e.g. WWF shares a new

Facebook application with
its fans

e.g. NSPCC shares

feelings to their fans
 Facebook Stat
• Interactive and easy to use

Step 1: Fans can choose their

responses from each
question

Step 2: The result will show

up immediately after
checking an answer
Evaluation 1: Frequency of postings
 Consider how much interaction you plan to create:
Facebook Page can serve as a news center but it will not be efficient
without strategic planning. For example, Greenpeace posts an
average of 4~6 postings a day and almost every fan can receive
certain degree of Greenpeace news in their feeds whenever he/she
logs in.
 The following can help evaluate the level of frequency:
How much content you have? Plan ahead the sources (official
websites, blogs, campaign sites, or news sites) which you can share
with your fans.
What are those content? The degree of interaction varies in
different content. For example, animation and live actions usually
draw more feedback.
You can repeat the same content with different communication
messages especially for campaigns. This method is frequently used by
Greenpeace.
Number of Wall postings
(Period: 3 OCT - 26 OCT 2009)

NGO Company
WFP Fight Amnesty Int'l Innocent Apple
Name FoE Int'l Greenpeace WWF Oxfam NSPCC
Hunger USA Drinks Student
3-Oct 5 2
4-Oct 3 3
5-Oct 6 2 1 1 1 1 1
6-Oct 1 3 3 1 2
7-Oct 5 2 1 1 1 1
8-Oct 3 4 1 1 1 1
9-Oct 5 3 3 1 1 1
10-Oct
11-Oct 1 1
12-Oct 1 8 2 2 1 1 1
13-Oct 4 1 1 2 1
14-Oct 3 3 1 1 1
15-Oct 8 4 1 1 1
16-Oct 1 3 1 3 1
17-Oct
18-Oct 1
19-Oct 4 4 2 1 2
20-Oct 3 2 2 2
21-Oct 4 2 1 1 1
22-Oct 4 3 2 1 1
23-Oct 4 4 1 1 3 1
24-Oct
25-Oct 1
26-Oct 2

Total 3 68 42 31 9 8 19 9 3
# of
2,293 299,164 223,618 30,024 17,452 91,863 28,295 15,000 1,400,060
Fans

Note: Dorset Cereal and MTV are inactive in Facebook Page

 Suggestion of frequency: (at least) one post
per day helps build the foundation for deeper
involvement and interaction.
 The number of fans is usually proportional to
the degree of interaction (i.e. leaving
comments or ‘like’). There are tactics available
to increase the number of fans.
 Evaluation 2: An open Wall
 WWF, Oxfam and Innocent Drinks make their Wall
public and encourage their fans to join posting.
 Positive: increase the interaction with your fans
 Negative: content control
 Evaluation 3: User comments
 Most comments made by fans are positive
 Some comments can bring up a deeper discussion on the posting’s
topic among fans
 Note that a fan can act emotionally by spamming his message on
the Wall or questioning about the organization.
 Most of the time NGOs don’t directly reply to comments;
companies such as Dorset Cereal and Apple usually reply to every
comment.
 During the observation time, NSPCC is the only NGO that reply to
messages at a conversational level.
Evaluation 4: Campaigning in Facebook
• OCT 2009- Greenpeace
launched a Photo Contest
on Facebook. To join this
contest, you needed to
submit your photo to your
own Facebook profile and
paste the link under this
Facebook note.

• Hundreds of Greenpeace
fans submitted their photos
to their Facebook album.

• The winner was the one

who received the most
“like” clicks
 More about Facebook
• A DigiActive Introduction to Facebook
Activism is free to download online.

• The Issue of privacy: be aware that everything

on Facebook is open. Make sure all
communication (including commenting on
other pages) is not sensitive.
Twitter Research

a micro-blogging site
The aim of this section is to understand how Twitter is used among NGOs
and what influences Twitter has brought for NGO campaigns .

• A tweet is a text-based message limited in 140 words. It is

what the site Twitter based upon.
• Twitter’s content is less diversified than Facebook and it
emphasizes very much on a real-time, open
communication.
• In this research, I adopted both quantitative and qualitative
approaches to analyze the use of Twitter.
– Quantitative: frequency of daily postings (during Nov 2009)
– Qualitative: techniques & interaction
• I chose 7 international NGOs and 3 companies in order to
compare their use of Twitter.
– NGOs: FOE, Greenpeace, WWF, WFP, Oxfam, Amnesty, NSPCC
– Companies: Innocent Drinks, Dorset Cereal, Apple Computer
Twitter User Analysis

• Green: over-represented
• Red: under-represented

(Source: Alexa.com)
 Following Us on Twitter
# of Following Listed # of Tweet # of
Followers Follower*
FoE 93 5 8 10 211
Greenpeace 24,783 3,019 1,225 2,319 31,299
WWF 19,523 2,825 927 687 31,472
Oxfam 11,071 350 563 707 19,923

WFP 7,006 6,902 345 653 14,064

Amnesty 9,248 3,451 353 875 22,228
Apple 21,249 13,400 490 20,239 22,228
Dorset 418 0 26 96 552
Innocent 19,833 9,255 271 1,413 22,229

(Observation Time: 18 Nov- 4 Dec 2009) *as of 8 Feb 2010

 Tweets: Posting Frequency
• FoE: usually once every week
• Greenpeace: everyday (22 *from 1~5 Feb)
• WWF: everyday (10*)
• Oxfam: everyday (41*)
• WFP: almost everyday (16*)
• Amnesty: everyday (13*)
• Apple: everyday (too many!)
• Dorset: almost everyday (8*)
• Innocent: every other day (21*)

• Daily amount of tweets: Each daily active NGO has 1~40

tweets per day depending on different campaigns
 Tweets: Content
• Most tweets are campaign activities provided
with a (shorten) link
• Other content may also include: Example: Greetings!
– Breaking News
– News & Reports

– Greetings

– Pictures: Links to 3rd party platforms such a TwitPic

 Tweets: Techniques
• Retweet (RT) :
– Official RT: The RT made by you but your followers will see the original
tweet user instead of you.

– Unofficial (RT@username): Your follower will see the tweets coming

from you.
• Issues: use Hashtags(#) for grouping tweet and identifying specific topics
among Twitter users. i.e. #COP15, #Copenhagen
• Reply: @+username+message to designate your tweet as a reply to
another person
• Mention: using the @username format and people will also see the
update in their replies tab
• Lists:
– To organize the people you are following
– To follow the tweet stream on the entire list without following each of
them
 Tweets: Communication
• Twitter is more than a one-way communication to the general
public. A proper use of Twitter is to make two-way , real-time
communication in order to enlarge the effect of topic or issues
• Collaboration between NGO and individuals
– The spirit of getting Involved: “Let’s spread the news
together!”
– Many NGOs reply their appreciation in Thank you
@username
• Collaboration among NGOs
– WWF retweeted FoE being suspended from COP15
– 350.org and tcktcktck were frequently RTed by many NGOs
• Outside the Twittersphere: Twitter Feeds can be plugged in
official websites or blogs enhance interaction with website
visitors
 Campaigning on Twitter
• Twitter is not just news sharing!
• For example, Greenpeace used
@barackobama and @ShellOilSands to create
an open talk between different parties. (
• An open, mutual communication between
parties of conflicting interests creates the
‘drama’ for followers. It also suggests the
positions of parties involved and further
enhance the image of campaigns.
 Something about
social media & campaigning
The Vision
• Change is at hand: the real-time Web and its social media
gasoline fundamentally changes the relationship between
organizations and people. Organizations are able to reach
people in a more impactful and more efficient fashion.
• Campaigns are eroding. In this real-time epoch, every
interaction is a separate, fluid, and potentially critical
initiative.
• 2010 will be the year that the real-time Web forces to act
more like call center managers.
• Valeria Maltoni talks more about marketing-centric
enterprise, staffing and budget clarity, and rules of
engagement in her new ebook: 5 Sure-Fire Ways to
Operationlize Social Media (Free download).
The Action
• Online activism is not only meaningful; it’s essential, and it
extends far beyond simple digital philanthropy or a virtual
commitment to join a cause with the click of a “thumbs
up.”
• If we are to change these online spaces, as those before us
have tried to change physical world, then we have to work
with the system we are striving so desperately to change.
• Ideally, Internet-led social movement would from a
symbiotic relationship with their “on-the-ground”
counterparts.
• Creating an awareness and consciousness around an issue
is the first step in building and articulating a movement’s
demands and priorities.
(Reference: Kristina Loring on Good.is)
 A Brief Conclusion

Use social media to lead the trend

rather than following the steam
1. Social media is more than a communication tool. It has
become the venue of many people’s daily activities as our
society is gradually turning into a global digital network.
2. Consider social capital in social media. A media that is good
at communication might not be good at groups. For example,
sending messages from a broadcasting tower is different
from talking to Facebook/Twitter worldwide users.
Therefore, the target/goal of using social media should be
clearly identified first.
3. The message of communication can be fun, interactive, and
informative ! More than providing official website news,
relevant news or activities from external sources should be
considered too.
4. Increase the number of fans both on Facebook and Twitter is
a foundation for an effective use of social media whose
networking is based on the wisdom of crowds.