Girls Inc.: A Non-Profit in a Web 2.0 World

In a previous Blog Post, you will see my personal interest in Girls Inc. of Worcester.  I love their mission, “inspiring girls to be strong, smart, and bold.” Through my time working in the Marketing Department I learned first-hand that September 2012 to May 2013 was expected to be a time of marketing transition for Girls Inc. National and all Girls Inc. affiliates; more specifically a new marketing plan is being developed, and within that a new social media plan. Girls Inc. understands that at a National Organization they need to learn how to utilize all different forms of social media, and are making a blatant effort, however it’s necessary to see if their new attempts are making a difference.

Trends

Google Trends: February 19, 2013

First, it is necessary to see what the social media history of Girls Inc. is. Notice how in October, 2005, Girls Inc. of Worcester achieved its peak research volume. If six and a half years was the peak research volume at 100, only a few months ago was the smallest research volume at only 7.

Girls Inc., in 2012 began to notice the decrease in online traffic, but understands the potential that they have as an all-girls non-profit, and need to increase traffic through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. I believe we have seen some success because today, February 2013, only a few months since December, Girls Inc. research volume has consistently increased from 7, to 8, to 10! What are they doing successfully to gain this increase, and what do they NEED to do?

Interestingly, throughout this graph, the highest points are March/April, and towards the end of the summer. At Girls Inc. there tends to be an Annual Event in Spring, i.e. March/April, and many host summer camps that end in August/September. This means that people are talking about Girls Inc. when they are hosting events and getting involved, not just posting and tweeting.
 

Social Networking           

Let’s start with Facebook because it is a form of social media that we are all so familiar with. Girls Inc. of Worcester’s Facebook page is relatively active, and new friends like the page, daily. From February 19 to February 25 they went from 14,236 likes to 17,292! The increase in 3,056 likes in just 6 days proves how interactive the Internet is, and how quickly people move!

Engaging posts ask friends about feminist opinions and keep people updated on successes. Notably, the Facebook site seems to facilitate adults more than student members of the organization; however successes of the students are highlighted.

Way to understand their audience! However, non-engaging for the girls. 

So, this is the demographic they are trying to reach through social media, while they are trying to reach the girls through word-of-mouth.  While girls will talk about their experiences after school, at school, parents, teachers, and affiliates are going to talk about it online!

The Active Girls Inc. Facebook Page

Also, it’s interesting to see how now Girls Inc. is involving “Causes,” a link for non-profits to add to their Facebook page that ‘builds awareness, fundraises, and advocates for change.’ This is a new development, and something that a lot of non-profits are picking up on, so it’s great to see Girls Inc. staying current. Interestingly, Girls Inc. does not seem to be posting much on the weekend, which is a really important time!

Webstarts highlights when to post on Facebook and Twitter

Webstarts suggests 3 ‘best times’ to post on Facebook. Specifically they labels 5pm on any weekend day and noon on Saturday. He also mentions that it’s best to only post of Facebook every other day, while it’s best to tweet 1 to 4 times a day.
 
Let’s now segue into Girls Inc.’s use of Twitter, now that we know they are using Facebook, and gaining friends, but not necessarily posting WHEN they should, just AS MUCH as they should.

To be honest, I was impressed when I saw Girls Inc.’s Twitter Feed. Girls Inc. @Girls_Inc, developed Twitter Account, Girls Inc. itself gives out congratulations and thanks to the organizations that support them, 2,728 tweets, 485 following, 20,503 followers. Girls Inc. recognizes that Twitter is a way to network and post, while Facebook is a page to post and brand.

As mentioned above, it is suggested that companies Tweet regularly to stay active. It appears that @Girls_Inc posts around every 4 hours, and posts come from President and CEO Judy Vredenburgh. The organization makes transparent who is tweeting, not just what they are tweeting, a SMART MOVE!

Notice how right before the Oscars started last night (2/24/13), around 7:00pm, Girls Inc. tweeted, and linked the mega movie event with something of interest to @Girls_Inc followers:
 

• Girls Inc. @Girls_Inc: Watching the #Oscars? @GirlsIncAlameda Exec Dir Karen on +/- of women's roles in films & need 4 media literacy bit.ly/Xs54xt
• Girls Inc. @Girls_Inc: Role model for women & sports RT @espnW Celevrate Black Hist Mo. Stephanie Ready, 1st female coach of men's pro team bit.ly/FirstCoachPro

….how interesting how this links to my post about Media Literacy at Girls Inc. of Worcester. Also notice how Girls Inc. stays current with the media, and Tweets inspirational, gracious comments. The conversation and dialogue surrounding Girls Inc. is positive and encouraging.

I find it interesting that Girls Inc. does not focus on photo-sharing, and perhaps this is one of the reasons Addictomatic and SocialMention are not as strong.  Even though they have a Flickr photostream, they do not highlight it on the website. With all the photos that get taken at the affiliates, I think that it would be a critically smart move to include these photo-sharing sites, because what’s better to tell a story than a picture.

Facebook includes photos, and Girls Inc. branches have endless amounts of photos, however without a recognized National Flickr account, etc. it makes it difficult for the branches to utilize the photos in sites other than Facebook. I mean…look at how interesting these photos look on the background of the Twitter page, and that’s only the TIP of the iceberg.

 

SocialMention and Addictomatic

Screen Shot Captured 2/13/13

When initially looking at SocialMention it’s impressive to see 6 minutes avg. per mention. This was viewed at around 10:00 pm, which says something about the times that people are tweeting, etc. about Girls Inc. Its 4:1 sentiment demonstrates a 121 positive feedback.

Something interesting, when noted throughout this research, is that because ‘Girls Inc.’ is the brand, often times other girl related companies pop up- You can see above a mention about ‘baby caps,’ and no videos are related to Girls Inc. itself.
 

The very next day, (2/14/13) at 2:00 pm you can see this video that exemplifies this sentiment. This you video is completely unrelated to Girls Inc., but comes up on the feed. Note how the sentiment has dropped to 2:1 and 5 days per average mention, and strength of only 0%.

While sometimes Girls Inc. is something to talk about, it seems that it’s not something to talk about all the time. People forget about it, and that needs to change considering the new initiative. It’s important to note that by the 19^th, only 5 days, the videos all represented Girls Inc. and a YouTube presence is notable.

 

This is the exact video that was on SocialMention on February 19th, just 6 days after all of the YouTube videos that were unrelated to Girls Inc. Great news for Girls Inc!

 

On Addictomatic, it seems that YouTube videos are always well represented. The YouTube videos sit right next to its Flickr images, however the website does not even DIRECT you to these Flickr images. While sometimes things can be posted on the Internet without the know-how of the organization itself, it is important, and shows that Girls Inc. needs to be more aware.

Addictomatic even shows that people are talking about Girls Inc. in blogs! People support the @Girls_Inc mission!

 

Screen Shot Captured 2/14/13

While this is a religious blog, it only says positive things about the organization, i.e. positive sentiment. This just proves that the Web 2.0 world allows everyone and anyone to learn about and comment on your brand. While Girls Inc. is not at all religiously affiliated, someone with interest can say anything good, anything bad, or nothing at all.