Infographic: Surging Social Media Use and Your Nonprofit

What does inflation in global social-media usage mean for your nonprofit? The "2016 Social Media Inflation Index" infographic from TrackMaven, a digital-marketing software company that analyzes content across 15 online channels for companies, might have the answers.

Aiming to determine the meaning of "good" follower growth and the do’s and don’ts of growing your organization’s social-media base, the index sheds lights on median monthly follower growth across the big social networks—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Here are some of the main takeaways:

• By the end of 2015, all five major social networks hit 100 million monthly active users for the first time. Instagram reached this goal in just three years.
• Crafting channel-specific messages is crucial. Don’t use content on LinkedIn and expect it to have the same rate of success on Instagram.
• In 2015, the average brand’s audience growth across the five networks was 42 percent. In particular, Instagram saw rapid growth, increasing, on average, by 6 to 8 percent month-over-month.

The biggest takeaway, though, might be that social-media inflation is directly correlated to an 
organization’s digital growth and exposure. With the expected growth of social-media users rising to 
33 percent of the world’s population by 2018, TrackMaven explained that good growth is relative 
to the inflation in overall usage.

So, how can nonprofits continue to stay relevant and increase growth and exposure? TrackMaven 
suggested focusing on the right followers. While sweepstakes and giveaways may attract more attention to your page initially, they may not help create loyal followers who believe in your message. Nonprofits also need to make brand community a priority. This means providing relevant, thoughtful content that shows the human aspect of your organization to keep people coming back.

Download the full infographic for more details.