Promoting on Social Media: A UK Case Study

We’re big believers in the power of social sharing. In fact, we’ve written several blog posts on the topic and even created a guide on how it can be used to promote fundraising pages. But…why? What exactly is so special about social media and why do we keep talking about it?

Using insights from two large fundraising events – the Edinburgh and London marathons – we’re explaining the true value that social sharing can add to fundraising.

Shared Fundraising Pages have a 96% activation rate

Yes, you read that right. Across both the Edinburgh and London marathon 2019, JustGiving fundraisers who shared their Fundraising Page had an average page activation rate of 96% (that means a fundraiser has received at least one donation to their Fundraising Page). This is even more impressive when you compare it to the 32% activation rate of non-shared pages.

Overall 71% of London marathon 2019 fundraisers used social sharing, which proves that the majority of people are familiar and comfortable engaging with social platforms. However, that left nearly 4,000 pages that were not shared and therefore missing out on potential donations.

Fundraisers may believe that social sharing is a lengthy process, when in fact it only takes two clicks. JustGiving Fundraising Pages have social options built-in, allowing the page owner to share updates directly onto their feeds.

Shared Fundraising Pages raise more

• London marathon 2019 fundraisers who used social shares raised an average of £2,047
• This is a huge 440% more than non-sharers
• If we look specifically at activated pages, we can see that sharers raised an average of £2,120 compared to £1,203 generated by non-sharers. This is a considerable gap of 76%

The higher the number of shares, the higher the fundraising total

Our data highlights a direct link between the total number of social shares and the overall amount that people raised. Those in the top 20% of Fundraising Pages posted an average of 12 times, the top 5% around 20 times, and then the top 1% posted an enthusiastic 35 times.

If you’re thinking ‘how can I ask our fundraisers to share on socials 35 times?’ then don’t worry. Not every post has to be a direct ask for donations. Instead it can be an inspiring update, a countdown or information about their current activity. The key is that their post links back to their page and clearly shares what they are doing and why. To make this as simple as possible, we created Shareables. These are free graphics that fundraisers can personalize, download and share on their social media accounts.

Supporter shares are key

Some things are just better when they’re done with friends, and social shares are no exception. Fundraisers that champion their own page on social raise an average of £727, but when a page is shared by both the page owner and a supporter the total increases by a whopping 110%. Supporter shares also impact the page activation rate. Pages shared by the page owner have an activation rate of 85%, but when shared only by supporters the activation rate jumps to 97%. If the owner and supporter both post the page then the combined effort results in a 99% activation.

So what are you waiting for? Start sharing (and coaching your fundraisers to do so) today!