Social Media Survey Fail

I recently received an email request from a hospital foundation asking me to do a survey and as I worked my way through it, I was shocked to discover that this great charity is surprisingly bad at social media. 

I should start by saying, I'm mostly impressed by this hospital and their foundation fundraising.  They do great work.  That's part of the reason I'm surprised by some glaring errors in their survey - which was delivered (and I assume crafted) via Ipsos.

I ignored the first email they sent. The subject line read: "Important Donor Survey - please share your opinion".  I was busy and couldn't be bothered (arsed for my UK friends).  The next reminder email said "iPad draw closes May 31".  WELL - if I can win an iPad, I may as well fill it out.  Plus, I'm always interested in seeing what other charities are up to with their surveys.

The survey progressed with a series of questions about what sectors I give to and which ones I prioritize.  I was very pleased to see animal welfare included in the options.  (Kudos on that one guys!)  Soon they began asking about how I give and why I give.  This is where I began to scratch my head.

They gave me many options, but not one question about social media, Twitter or Facebook.  I donated to Haiti, largely because of Twitter and I've made several donations via Facebook Causes. I've also donated to and for people that I've never met, but know via social media.  And yet - not a single option in any of their questions included social media answer options.  The closest was "via credit card online" or words to that effect. There were several areas where an answer of "social media" would've been relevant, but not one of them provided me with that option.

I'm surprised that a survey offering an iPad prize, wouldn't include questions about social media.

Another survey section asked about the mail they send me.  The truth is, I don't read their mail.  Unless it's from the government, I don't even open most of my mail.  I sometimes go more than a month without checking my mailbox. I wanted to respond that I don't read their (or anyone's) mail... but that wasn't an option.  Several areas of feedback assumed that the respondant reads their mail. Not a single option for "I toss your stuff in recycling without reading it".  One question asked how hard or easy their mail is to understand.  I have no clue... because I don't read your mail.  So I said it was hard to understand. What's really hard to understand is why I couldn't tell you that I don't read it.

I went to their website to get their Twitter name so I could give them some feedback, and when I looked at their feed , I realized they don't talk to people on Twitter, they just spam/broadcast messages. To make matters worse, nobody had bothered tweeting for 12 days.  They seem to use Facebook more frequently, but, they don't communicate there either - just more broadcast/spam.

I don't know if Ipsos or the hospital foundation  are to blame for these errors, but it seems to me that Ipsos should've known better.  If you're reading this unnamed hospital foundation - I hope you ask for (and receive) a big discount on the survey. I suspect you paid well for this survey... and I don't think you got your money's worth.

Comments

[Paula Attfield]

Great blog Laurie! As far as donors go, you still may be somewhat atypical in giving so much through social media.

Nonetheless, charities need to be aware of all channels of giving - direct mail, phone, websites, microsites and as you aptly point out - social media. I haven't seen any stats (have you by any chance?) but I'm sure it's on the rise as a giving channel.

[Laurie]

Hi Paula: I think you're quite right that not many people are giving through social media (statistically speaking). However, some of these questions weren't about how you gave, but why you gave.

The only stats I know of are related specifically to Causes on Facebook, but this would've been a great opportunity for the hospital foundation to get some stats - and they missed that opportunity... sadly.

Thanks for your comment!