Learning from Preferences and Trends

The Duke Endowment distributed a social media survey to 5,700 grantees, nonprofit leaders, peers and policymakers to help gauge outside interest as the Endowment looks for new ways to reach its constituents. More than 1,100 people answered the dozen questions, sharing their perspectives and preferences.

The overwhelming response rate suggests that the data may be of interest beyond the Endowment. Here's a summary of the results.

Respondents

More than 90% of respondents represent The Duke Endowment's grantmaking area in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Usage

82.5% use social media. 47% reported using social media daily with more than  half doing so several times a day.

Only 3% find social media too intimidating to use.

Usage is expected to grow. While 17% never use social media, nearly 60% anticipate utilizing it in the future.

Platforms*

70% feel comfortable or very comfortable with Facebook, compared to only 24% with Twitter.

26% of respondents are not at all comfortable with LinkedIn.

Trends*

More than just socializing

• Almost 90% have used social media to advance the mission of their organization or program.
• 86% have used social media to collaborate with peers and associates.
• 22% regularly or frequently use social media to support their professional development efforts.
• 58% “inform their decisions and actions” with social media.

Many may rarely be “seen” on social media platforms, as 68% say they mostly use social media to listen.

Geography/place-based applications have not caught on with respondents; 74% never use services like Foursquare or Yelp.

*Based on the 82.5% of respondents that reported using social media