What Nonprofits Need to Know About Measuring Social Media ROI

Don't Be Distracted by Vanity Metrics - Measure the Right Stuff

People working on social media at a nonprofit.
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There is no doubt that social media is no longer free.

However, it never really was free, was it? Just consider the time and energy you must invest just to learn the language and culture of the networks, to create engaging posts, and develop eye-catching graphics. And that is even before you interact with your online community. 

As a busy nonprofit professional, you must juggle multiple tasks and solve a variety of problems each day. If your efforts with social media and digital marketing do not create the desired results, how can you justify spending precious time and money on them?


Determining the ROI of social media is much easier said than done. But you can do it. If your organization does not have the resources to measure and report on your social media efforts, consider cutting back on social media or even putting it off for a few months. The ability to measure your results is the hallmark of a good social media program.   

Why Bother to Measure?

Measurement helps identify what needs improvement, which methods work and, most importantly, where the social media director should spend most of her time and energy.


I suspect we don’t insist on measurable ROI from social media because it seems so hazy and hard to define. Nonprofits are great at identifying outcomes for their grant proposals, but not so good at explaining results for their marketing efforts.

For many nonprofits, it is rare to see a direct correlation between a Facebook post and a donation. Some nonprofits use these platforms extremely well to raise money (​St. Baldrick's Foundation for example), but most nonprofits use social media as just one rung on the donor engagement ladder.



By reporting the impact of digital marketing efforts, you will give everyone involved a sense of purpose and a better understanding of the power of social media platforms. Imagine how much more supportive your organization might be if you can prove that a social media campaign produced more friends and resulted in more donations.

What to Measure?

Honing the goals and objectives of your social media strategy lays the groundwork for successful measurement. The more specific the goals, the easier they are to measure.



Another common goal is "increased donations." That is probably worthwhile, but, savvy nonprofits know that social media is an essential piece of the puzzle when enticing prospects to give money, but it's not a silver bullet for fundraising.

Five metrics that can help determine nonprofit social media success are:

  • Traffic to and interest in your website
  • Email  newsletter sign-ups

I suggest setting up Google Analytics to measure:

  • Most popular content: What do people read a lot?




Revisit Your Social Media Marketing Strategy. Ask These Questions

  4. How did we overcome these obstacles? (Be specific)

Make a Social Media Measurement Spreadsheet

Creating a Social Media Measurement Spreadsheet (here is a template you can download) is a great way to keep everything all together and make reporting easy. Fill it out based on your specific goals and report at times that work for you - this may be bi-monthly, monthly or more frequently.

Use the Data Wisely



