This document summarizes key insights from a presentation about analyzing audience behavior on social media for nonprofits. It discusses how behavior can help prioritize resources, and that geography, mobile usage, and channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn matter for different audiences. The presentation emphasizes listening to audiences first to understand geographic, demographic and other differences, comparing what organizations and competitors are doing, and tuning outreach accordingly.

1. RICHMOND LONDON PARIS SINGAPORE

2. Communication Insights from Audience
Behavior
ConnectVA Social Media For
Nonprofits Conference 2015
Dean Browell, PhD – Executive Vice President
dean@feedbackagency.com

3. My Perspective

4. I Know Your Pain

5. But First:
Housekeeping

6. But First:
Housekeeping
• “Social Media” = “New Media” = “Emerging Media”
• To everyone else it’s just, “The Internet”
• Social Media is also far more than Facebook and Twitter
• Consider all the places user-generated content exists
• We have found conversations being held over more than 10 years
taking the GMAT in France - trust me, there’s more there than you
think
• It is not a matter of if but rather, how different generations use social media;
for every teen on Twitter there’s a baby boomer on a car forum

7. Behavior Matters

8. Behavior Matters
• Behavior can help you prioritize your resources
• We often begin with our people but in the need to make quick
decisions we start extrapolating out quickly, making, at times
accidentally, wildly wrong assumptions…
• Let me give you an example:
• How many of you have read general articles on Twitter?
• Now how many of you have read an article on Twitter use in
rural Virginia?
• How about even just the difference between rural and urban
Twitter use?

9. Also… Geography Matters:
People Matter Within It
• Search is incredibly influenced by location
• And a big note on the examples and trends you’re about to see:
• These are all VERY specific to a particular region of the
country
• These examples are majorly influenced by the cultures,
history, demographics, etc. of their populations and
geographies

10. And Finally… Mobile Matters:
In Some Ways, It’s All Mobile Behavior
• Access and service
• For many channels, desktop is the minority
• What one mobile device means in communicating to your circles
• Rural vs Urban: Fight myths, because logic works better
• At times the fastest computer
• Expectations sometimes higher in rural areas
• Consider how community grows differently

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• We need to be honest with ourselves…
• A study of latex-free condom use
revealed public channels yielded
unexpected surprises in online chatter:
• The use of Yahoo Answers for
males in England
• Females discussing latex
allergies - and unbeknownst to
SKYN, taking over their
Facebook
Rethinking Touchpoints:
First and Second Impressions
SKYN
Condoms

12. Twitter Ecosystem(s)
No two alike…
• Picture it: a CEO enters the room and asks,
“We need to be on Twitter…
…put our new maternity campaign on there.”
• Waterside tourist-driven area served by a
community hospital
• Research showed the hospital should only use
Twitter for emergency services… why?
• Key Insight: Community development, even
online, is heavily influenced by geography; not all
Twitter communities are created equal
Maternity
Twitter

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Longtime lack of robust cell / data coverage
= no organized local Twitter community
But tourists brought their Twitter behavior with
them - so there were Tweets from the area,
just posted from rental WiFi hotspots

14. Observations:
Examples + Trends
• From Google Maps, about a facility that was purchased and
completely over-hauled in the 5 years prior; this
was the ONLY review…
• Key Insight: Maps matter!
Google
Maps
“Please stay away at all cost! Most of
the help must of received there
teaching at ADOLF HITLER school of
health care! Nurses aids social workers
beyond rude! I wouldn't wish this place
on my worst enemy.”
- Gary, Google Maps

15. Hashtag Life:
Listen Carefully
• Hashtags are a fun way to communicate -
but their main purpose is actually to
categorize
• Categorize for searches, info, and even for
quick-glances (if only in humor)
• But leveraging our behavioral listening we
can receive guidance on whether to use
hashtags - who is using them? Why?
• Why search.Twitter.com (Advanced Search)
is a far more powerful friend
#RVA
#Wbgva

16. Thinking About Behavior:
Channels

17. Facebook: Timeline, Paper, and Beyond

18. Twitter: RealTime, Respond, Repeat

19. Instagram: Visual Friends, Geo-Powered

20. LinkedIn: NonProfit Secret Weapon

21. Closing:
Listening First, Listening Well

22. Closing:
Listening First, Listening Well
• Study your audiences
• Geographic differences
• Demographic differences
• Pain points, wins, needs
• Compare what you and competitors doing
• Overlaying the latter on the former - what opportunities
are you currently missing?
• Smart Strategy
• Monitor Smart
• Tune outreach to be specific, targeted
• Find out what you’re doing that’s truly moving the needle

23. Q&A

24. Thank you!
Twitter.com/feedbackagency
Facebook.com/feedbackfb