When Giving Goes Social: An Analysis of #GivingTuesday

Seven years.

That's how long I worked in the non-profit industry before transitioning to Sprout Social. I can count on one hand the amount of fundraising campaigns we tried on social media in those seven years.

Why?

Honestly, it was probably a combination of being stuck in the old ways of fundraising and not seeing the incredible potential in front of us on social media, like with #GivingTuesday.

With the help of Sprout Social's Advanced Listening (and a bit of my own scrolling), I'm diving into #GivingTuesday data and campaigns in this article to understand how and why brands leveraged social media to fundraise, raise awareness and mobilize others for their causes.

Keep reading for:

? Big picture overview of #GivingTuesday social media analytics

? #GivingTuesday campaign examples and trends

? Deeper look at T-Mobile's campaign efforts with #CaptureKindness

A few big picture observations from Giving Tuesday 2020*:

? 82% of the overall volume of the conversation happened on Twitter, yet 92% of the engagement came from Instagram. Translation? Multi-channel approaches are crucial as audiences leverage and engage on each network differently.

? With 6.7 billion total potential impressions, organizations and individuals stand to gain great exposure and awareness for the causes they care about most by participating with the branded #GivingTuesday hashtag.

? There were 436.9k comments on #GivingTuesday posts, following a similar trend as Black Friday content. It is no longer simply about content being published, but also about the conversation to follow.

? Although the high majority of the conversation originated in the U.S., this truly is a global event. The #GivingTuesday conversation took place everywhere you see purple ??...in all but a handful of countries!

*Data was collected using Sprout Social's Advanced Listening for December 1st, 2020 across Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and Tumblr

*#CaptureKindness data shown is from Dec 1-4th for posts including #GivingTuesday

1. In a season where brands heavily leverage social media channels toward end-of-year revenue goals, let's not forget how important profiles can also be for driving generosity and raising awareness for the causes and non-profits we love and support.
2. Many non-profits made tremendous pivots due to the pandemic, but still may be behind on fundraising goals without donation staples, such as galas, and other methods they have historically depended on. There is a great opportunity for companies and individuals to partner with these organizations on social to help. How might you generously use your social presence for non-profits in December and going forward?
3. Lastly, I wanted to put three organizations with #GivingTuesday campaigns on your radar, and if you feel led to do so, please consider giving:

re:work training

Mission: Improving outcomes for Chicago’s untapped communities and diversifying tech through a free 8-week sales training and placement program. 

Website for more information and giving opportunities

International Justice Mission (IJM)

Mission: We are a global organization partnering with local justice systems to end violence against people living in poverty.

Website for more information and giving opportunities

Faith & Work Chicago

Mission: Faith & Work Chicago exists to equip and catalyze the scattered Church to live our faith in the context of our everyday work for the good of the city, to the glory of God.

Website for more information and giving opportunities