Recommendations for Social Media Use by Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW)

Collin Ries
March 23rd, 2018
Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW)
 Table of Contents

Abstract Page 2

Introduction Page 2
Background Page 2
Organization Page 2
Market and Research Page 3

Proposed Solution Page 3

Conclusion Page 4

Appendix Page 5

References Page 8

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Abstract
Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW) is a community-based environmental
outreach organization operating in Columbus. Their goal is to engage various communities that are
situated on the Olentangy River watershed, encouraging them to care about the watershed and act as
responsible stewards for the environment. One of these communities is The Ohio State University, which
is situated on the river and hosts a large population of students. The goal of this paper is to provide
recommendations for how FLOW can better utilize social media to reach this student demographic.
Currently, FLOW’s social media presence is small, but is well kept by its volunteers and staff. My
recommendations focus on continuing what they do well (posting interesting content, marketing their
events, and doing so at a good frequency), and refining and enhancing other aspects of their content. With
these recommendations, FLOW can create a dynamic social media presence that allows them to grow
their visibility and increase the scope of their impact in the Ohio State community.

Introduction
In modern culture, social media has completely changed the way people communicate, the way
they interact with one other, and the way they interact with non-profit organizations. Social media
platforms have become effective ways to market an organization’s mission, advertise its events, generate
support and membership, and to solicit donations. However, if social media isn’t used effectively, an
organization misses out on support and an opportunity for growth.
In this paper I examine three of the most important aspects of effective social media: medium,
timing, and content (Mangold and Faulds 2009). Marketing medium refers to the social media platforms
an organization should be utilizing for maximum exposure. Timing refers to the frequency and volume of
posts. And content refers to the type and substance of posts a nonprofit is using in their social media
marketing.

Background
In recent years, the nonprofit sector has begun to experience similar pressures as the for-profit
sector, namely competition for funding. Therefore, these pressures have made it necessary that nonprofits
adopt business-like practices in order to function. One of the most important of these is marketing
(Goerke 2003). However, marketing is often undervalued by nonprofit managers. In an analysis of 136
nonprofits in the USA, UK, and AUS, only 24 percent of managers indicated a belief that marketing is a
“central success factor” to their organization (Dolnicar and Lazarevski 2009). An effective marketing
strategy is for nonprofits to engage in “customer-centered” marketing, researching the market’s needs and
designing their social media in a way to appeal to that market (Gonzalez et al. 2002). Despite its
effectiveness, few nonprofits engage in market research- only 29 percent of respondents in the analysis of
USA, UK, and AUS nonprofits. Many nonprofits take an “organization-centered” approach to their
marketing, putting the needs of the organization first and basing their marketing around that (Dolnicar and
Lazarevski 2009). This approach fails to maximize the impact of their marketing.
To engage a target audience, information is a powerful tool. People can better engage with an
organization if they feel like they know about its mission and activities. Engagement can be achieved
through the use of informational materials or testimonial stories about people who area already engaged
with the organization. The ideas outlined above can be utilized effectively to craft an organization’s social
media message that showcases its values (Mangold and Faulds 2009).

Organization
Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed is an outreach organization located in Columbus, OH.
Their mission is “to keep the Olentangy River and its tributaries clean and safe for all to enjoy, through

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public education, volunteer activities, and coordination with local decision-makers” (About FLOW). They
are most active on Facebook (1,916 followers) and newly active on Instagram (98 followers). On
Facebook, they post events for their members to attend, pictures of these events, and supplemental
materials such as articles and infographics they believe will interest their members. They currently do not
utilize their social media to seek donations. FLOW has a goal to increase their social media presence and
gain more followers.

Target Market and Research

The Ohio State University’s campus runs along the Olentangy River, and student activities on
campus have an effect on the watershed. Therefore, a target demographic for FLOW’s social media
marketing is Ohio State University students. To gain a better understanding of the social media habits of
Ohio State University students, I conducted a survey of 37 undergraduates ages 18-24. Of these students,
70.3 percent of them indicated that environmental issues were either “Important” or “Extremely
Important” to them. However, more than half of respondents indicated that they did not know what a
watershed is, indicating a lack of base knowledge related to FLOW’s mission. Only 28 respondents (75.7
percent) indicated that they follow a nonprofit organization or corporation on a social media platform.
When asked which social media platforms on which they followed organizations, the most
common responses were Facebook (20 respondents), Instagram (18 respondents), and Twitter (13
respondents). The most common posts respondents see from organizations they follow were pictures and
articles, with advertisements of events and solicitations of donations seen less frequently.
When asked how participants would react to an organization posting a relevant article, 73 percent
indicated that if they found the article interesting, they would take the time to read it. Fifty-nine percent of
respondents indicated that they view this type of post neither favorably nor unfavorably, and 29.7 percent
of respondents view this type of post favorably.
When asked the same question about an advertisement to an event, 45.9 percent indicated they
would read the entire advertisement (another 37.8 percent indicated they would at least read the title).
However, only 37.8 percent of respondents indicated that they would potentially attend the event even
after reading the advertisement. In terms of favorability, 48.6 percent of respondents indicated they would
view this type of post neither favorably nor unfavorably, with the rest of the respondents evenly split
among favorable and unfavorable views.
Respondents were asked their opinions about a call for donations. In this case, almost 30 percent
of respondents indicated that they would simply scroll past the post and 54.1 percent of respondents
indicated that, even if they read the call for donations, they would still not donate. This type of post was
viewed most negatively (38.8 percent had an unfavorable opinion).
Finally, respondents were asked how often an organization they follow on social media posts on
their accounts and how many posts per week constitutes “too many”. Ninety-three percent of respondents
indicated that an organization they follow posts on their social media at least once per week, with 50
percent indicating the organization posts at least once per day. Sixty-two percent of respondents indicated
that greater than one post per day is too many.

Proposed Solution
Based on the market research conducted as a part of this study, and tendencies for best practices
in the field, I will make recommendations for FLOW’s social media strategy through the three facets of
marketing identified as most important.
The top two social media platforms on which students indicated they follow organizations are
Facebook and Instagram. However, Twitter was still substantially utilized, and I believe is worth the time
for FLOW to create and utilize a Twitter account. The functionality of sharing posts easily on Twitter

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may be useful for FLOW’s marketing of events. There is also potential for posting similar information on
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at the same time, increasing FLOW’s social media presence without
creating needless extra work.
Timing of posts is another area in which FLOW does well. Their organization posts a few times a
week, which is well within what students in the survey deemed “acceptable.” It may be beneficial to
create an internal schedule for posts, rather than just sharing content sporadically. A schedule prevents
over-posting, and followers can come to anticipate certain content at certain times from the organization.
Finally, FLOW does well with the content that they put out. They frequently post articles, event
advertisements, and pictures, which received positive feedback from the test audience. Additionally,
FLOW does not actively solicit donations on their social media platforms which, according to the
unfavorable ratings of students, is a positive aspect of their social media marketing.
Because information is an important part of both FLOW’s mission and an effective marketing
campaign, I recommend that some of their content is devoted to educating their social media followers
about the watershed: what it is, what areas make up the watershed, and how students can have an impact
(both positive and negative) on the watershed. FLOW should also encourage students to share this
knowledge with others. Finally, I recommend that FLOW’s social media be streamlined through one or
two people to create a cohesive social media presence. Because FLOW already does multiple things well,
they can quickly (within a few months) and feasibly refine what they are doing to better reach their target
demographic. Once they make these changes and expand into new social media platforms, they will
increase their exposure and hopefully their follower numbers.

Conclusion
Overall, my plan allows FLOW to create a cohesive social media brand that is consistent with
their mission and values. However, my paper did not address how FLOW can make impactful use of
Twitter. Research on this topic exists, and could be the subject of a future white paper. The market
research conducted for the study was limited by its scope; only 37 students participated, a miniscule
fraction of Ohio State’s entire student body. More research should be conducted in order to fully assess
the social media habits of Ohio State students. By increasing the effectiveness of their marketing, FLOW
is able to increase the scope of their audience and attract more members and participants at their events,
increase donations, and allow for more projects. The increase in projects can in turn again increase their
scope, creating an iterative process for growth, leading FLOW to become a powerhouse outreach group in
the Columbus community.

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Appendix
“Nonprofit Social Media Habits” Survey Data

Question: What is your age?

Response Number of Respondents
18 3
19 3
20 8
21 10
22 9
24 1

Question: What year are you in college?

Response Number of Respondents
Freshman 5
Sophomore 7
Junior 9
Senior 14
5th year or above 2

Question: How would you describe your living situation as a student?

Response Number of Respondents

On campus- in a residence hall 19
Off campus- in housing near campus 14
Commuter- living at home and commuting to 4
campus

Question: Do you know that you live on a watershed?

Response Number of Respondents
Yes 6
No 5
I know what a watershed is, but I didn’t know I 6
lived on one
What’s a watershed? 20

Question: How important are environmental issues to you?

Response Number of Respondents
Very unimportant to me 0
Unimportant to me 3
Neither important nor unimportant to me 8
Important to me 19
Very important to me 7

Question: What social media platforms do you use? (Select all that apply)
Response Number of Respondents
Facebook 33
Twitter 21

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 Instagram 32
Snapchat 31
LinkedIn 14
Pinterest 1
Tumblr 1
I don’t use social media 0

Question: Do you follow any corporations or nonprofit organizations on a social media platform?
Response Number of Respondents
Yes 28
No 9

Question: If you answered yes to the previous question, on which social media platforms do you follow
these organizations? (Select all that apply).
Response Number of Respondents
Facebook 20
Twitter 13
Instagram 18
Snapchat 2
LinkedIn 5
I don’t follow any corporations on social media 5

Question: How often do you see posts from an organization you follow?
Response Number of Respondents
Multiple times per day 8
Once per day 6
A few times per week 9
Once per week 5
Once per month 2
Less frequently than once per month 0
I don’t remember 0
I don’t follow any organizations on social media 7

Question: What types of posts do you see from this organization? (Select all that apply).
Response Number of Respondents
Articles 19
Pictures 26
Invitations to or advertisements promoting events 14
hosted by the organization
Solicitations of funds (such as donation requests, 10
advertisements, or fundraisers)

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 I don’t remember 1
I don’t follow any organizations on social media 7

Question: If you saw a post from an organization that is an article relevant to what the organization does,
what would you do?
Response Number of Respondents
Scroll past without looking 1
Just read the title 9
Read the entire article 0
It depends on whether I find the subject 27
interesting

Question: How would you feel about this type of post on your timeline (an article)?
Response Number of Respondents
Very unfavorably 0
Unfavorably 5
Neither favorably nor unfavorably 22
Favorably 8
Very favorably 3

Question: If you saw a post from an organization that is an advertisement for one of their events, what
would you do?
Response Number of Respondents
Scroll past without looking 6
Just read the headline 14
Read the entire advertisement but not attend the 3
event
Read the entire advertisement and potentially 14
attend the event

Question: How favorably would you feel about this type of post on your timeline (an advertisement)?
Response Number of Respondents
Very unfavorably 3
Unfavorably 6
Neither favorably nor unfavorably 18
Favorably 6
Very favorably 4

Question: If you saw a post from an organization that is a call for donations to help support the
organization's mission, what would you do?
Response Number of Respondents
Scroll past without looking 11
Read the call for donations but not donate 20
Read the call for donations and potentially donate 6

Question: How favorably would you feel about this type of post on your timeline (a call for donations)?
Response Number of Respondents
Very unfavorably 4

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 Unfavorably 10
Neither favorably nor unfavorably 15
Favorably 7
Very favorably 0

Question: When you see posts from other people on social media, how many posts per week do you
believe is "too many"?
Response Number of Respondents
2 2
3 2
5 2
7 6
8 1
10 7
14 4
15 3
20 20
Depends 5

References
Dolnicar, S., Lazarevski, K. (2009). Marketing in non-profit organizations: an international perspective.
International Marketing Review, 26(3): 275-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330910960780.
About FLOW. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.olentangywatershed.org/?page_id=41.
Goerke, J. (2003). Taking the quantum leap: nonprofits are now in business. An Australian perspective.
Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 8(4): 317-327.
https://doi.org/10.002/nvsm.222.
Gonzalez, L.I.A., Vijande, M.L.T.S., Vazquez. R. (2002). The market orientation concept in the private
nonprofit organization domain. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector
Marketing 7(1): 55-67. https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.167.
Mangold, W.G., Faulds, D.J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix.
Business Horizons 52(4): 357-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002.