1. CharityComms digital benchmarking snapshot Digital Communications on a Shoestring conference 13 October 2010

2. CharityComms digital benchmarking snapshot Delegates at the CharityComms Digital Communications on a Shoestring conference on 13 October 2010 used interactive voting technology supplied by LiveGroup to respond to a series of questions on their organisation’s use of digital technology within their communications mix. The following presentation of the survey results reveals a snapshot of the policies and practices of voluntary sector organisations, with accompanying comments by several speakers at the conference.LiveGroup Our thanks to Vikki Chowney, Editor, Reputation Online; Rob Dyson, PR and Social Web Manager of Whizz-Kids; Caroline Ledger, Marketing Manager at Parkinson’s UK; Matthew McGregor, Senior Strategist at Blue State Digital; Jim Raymond, Operations Director at Baigent Digital; and Jonathan Waddingham, Product Manager at JustGiving.

3. Do you have any kind of strategy for your digital activities? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

4. Do you have difficulty convincing management of the value of social media? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

5. Does your organisation employ people specifically to handle digital communications? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

6. Who has overall responsibility for your web presence? 1.Communications 2.Marketing 3.Chief Executive 4.IT 5.Fundraising 6.Campaigning 7.No one 8.Other 9.Don’t know

7. Do you monitor the impact of your digital activities? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Some of them 4.Don’t know

8. Do you have policies to ensure consistent messages across different digital platforms? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

9. How many people in your organisation are responsible for using social media in their communications? 1.0 2.1 - 2 3.3 - 4 4.5 - 6 5.7 - 8 6.9 or more 7.Don’t know

10. Are your digital activities integrated with your wider communications activities? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

11. Do you research the typical audiences of particular digital formats eg Facebook, Twitter and adapt your communications accordingly? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

12. What are the main constraints your organisation faces in its use of digital communications? Please select your top three in priority order. 1.Inadequate staffing 2.Inadequate skills 3.Insufficient budget 4.Piecemeal systems 5.Lack of management support 6.Lack of integration 7.Lack of strategy 8.Other 9.Don’t know

13. Which of the following do you use professionally? 1.Facebook 2.Twitter 3.Flickr 4.YouTube

14. Which of the following do you use personally? 1.Facebook 2.Twitter 3.Flickr 4.YouTube

15. How well does your organisation understand what a “brand” is? 1.High level of understanding 2.Medium level of understanding 3.Low level of understanding 4.No understanding

16. Do you have any of these resources available: video, online area, word templates, other templates, artwork (eg logos), brand guidelines and a photolibrary? 1.All 2.Some 3.None

17. Does your organisation have guidelines for personal social media accounts? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

18. Does your organisation have guidelines for professional social media accounts? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

19. Are you making use of video and/or audio to enhance your communications? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

20. i. Email communications with stakeholders? Rate the importance to your organisation of the following: 1.Very important 2.Important 3.Unimportant 4.Irrelevant

21. ii. Website? Rate the importance to your organisation of the following: 1.Very important 2.Important 3.Unimportant 4.Irrelevant

22. iii. Social Media? Rate the importance to your organisation of the following: 1.Very important 2.Important 3.Unimportant 4.Irrelevant

23. iv. SMS? Rate the importance to your organisation of the following: 1.Very important 2.Important 3.Unimportant 4.Irrelevant

24. Do you have a digital crisis-management strategy in place? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know

25. How much time per day do you spend interacting with stakeholders using social media? 1.No time 2.Less than 30 minutes 3.30 minutes - 1 hour 4.1 - 2 hours 5.2 - 4 hours 6.4 hours or more 7.Don’t know

26. Does the possibility of negative comments in a public forum diminish support of social media within your organisation? 1.Yes 2.No 3.Don’t know