Nonprofits With Strategic Approach to Social Media Are Most Satisfied, According to Sage Survey

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Apr 12, 2012) - Sage North America today announced the results of its Q1 2012 Sage Nonprofit Insights survey of U.S. organizations, which focused on how nonprofits use social media. As expected, social media engagement continues to increase as more organizations establish social media profiles and pages.

According to the survey, a large majority of organizations surveyed (84%) participate in social media. Social media is very or somewhat important to nonprofit organizations' overall missions and strategies, with the majority of respondents who participate (75%) saying so. However, less than half of responding organizations who participate in social media (46%) report they are either very or somewhat satisfied with their current social media success.

Only a bit more than one-third (39%) of responding organizations say raising funds is a primary goal of their social media efforts, although nearly half of them (46%) are using a social fundraising platform. Organizations reporting they do not measure their social media success are the most dissatisfied with their efforts, with 53 percent of those respondents experiencing dissatisfaction. Only about one-fourth (24%) of organizations that do measure their success are dissatisfied.

"Nonprofits approaching social media strategically -- setting goals and objectives and then measuring results against them -- are the most satisfied," said Krista Endsley, senior vice president and general manager for Nonprofit Solutions at Sage. "You really do get what you measure. Knowing where social media fits within an organization's overall mission, and having goals and objectives in place, will take that organization much further than sporadic social media activity."

Of the organizations measuring their social media success, the majority of them (61%) use quantity or "headcounts" to do so. A number of survey respondents are tracking the conversion of social connections to supporters (28%) and the amount of funds raised (17%).

"Undoubtedly, social media has transformed how nonprofits communicate and engage with their constituents and supporters," said Endsley. "Americans spend more time using social media than any other activity online. No matter an organization's mission, establishing a social media presence online is critical to both expanding awareness and reach and engaging constituents."

The Sage Nonprofit Insights, Q1 2012, survey also revealed:

• Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn are the top social media sites, with newcomer Google+ gaining a significant number of users
• Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, and Picasa, in that order, are the top multimedia content sharing sites
• The majority of survey participants (69%) said their organizations neither have a profile in popular blog tools nor maintain a blog

A comprehensive report of the Sage Nonprofit Insights, Q1 2012 survey findings can be found at http://bit.ly/HBwIBM. The Sage Nonprofit Insights, Q1 2012, survey was conducted online, among Sage Nonprofit Solutions customers in the U.S. during January and February 2012. The survey had a total of 613 respondents, 373 of which are involved in their organization's social media efforts. The margin of error on the overall sample is +/- 5 percent (greater for sub-samples) at a 95 percent confidence level.

Sage has been serving nonprofit and governmental organizations throughout North America for more than 30 years. The company helps more than 32,000 unique not-for-profit organizations increase efficiency and more easily manage their operations through the use of technology. From fund accounting, donor and fundraising management, and grant management, to online donation processing, human resources (HR), payroll, and fixed asset management, Sage offers a software product or service to meet the organization's need. For more information, call 800-811-0961 or visit www.sagenonprofit.com. Follow Sage Nonprofit Solutions on Twitter (www.twitter.com/SageNonprofit) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/sagenonprofit); read their blog (www.sagewords.net); and join their community for not-for-profits (http://community.sagenonprofit.com).

About Sage
Sage is a leading global supplier of business management software and services for small and midsized businesses. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs more than 12,300 people and supports more than 6 million customers worldwide. For more information about Sage in North America, please visit the company website at www.SageNorthAmerica.com.

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