Social Media Campaign Strategy for the Cheetah Conservation Fund

The Cheetah Conservation Fund Social Media Campaign Strategy

Rebecca Pugh 5 May 2019 AS.480.637.81

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Situational Analysis Current Publics I.

Fans This public features followers who support the CCF’s mission by liking and commenting on their photos and posts. They are not directly involved in the cause, but by liking, commenting, and sharing the CCF’s content, they are helping to spread awareness.

II.

Partners/Advocates There are many influencers involved with the CCF, such as zoos across the world, other conservation organizations, and spokespeople with larger followings such as actress Gillian Anderson and television host Richard Wiese. Additionally, the CCF has a multitude of active followers (e.g. advocates) who engage in the cause on a deeper level by creating their own posts or participating frequently on CCF’s original posts.

Volunteers/Interns The CCF wants to inspire learners to become conservation leaders. They hold a multitude of internships and volunteer opportunities at their facility in Namibia. They emphasize that, when a person interns or volunteers for them, they will be experiencing firsthand how the CCF is revolutionizing conservation research. The CCF also emphasizes that you do not have to be in Namibia to volunteer. You can help the cause from your own office, if you would prefer. There are many different types of opportunities that can answer to a person’s particular skills.

III.

Donors Donors are actively part of the cause by supporting the CCF’s mission. Many donors not only provide for the organization financially, they also help spread the message about how critically endangered cheetahs are through their social media accounts. Many donors will also host benefits on behalf of the CCF.

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Target Audience The CCF has multiple target audiences they strive to reach, including donors, volunteers, and advocates for their cause.

I.

Donors - Primary Target Audience Donors are the primary target audience for the CCF. It is important to understand the demographics and media consumption habits of the average donor in order to ensure that the CCF is successfully reaching their target audience.

According to a blog post written by Chung (2018) from Classy, a company that specializes in a fundraising software for nonprofits, Generation X (those born in 1965 to 1980) are the biggest supporters of animal conservation efforts and environmental protection ordinances.

The Pew Research Center (2018) found Facebook and YouTube to be the social networks most frequently used by this age groups, with YouTube (85%) being slightly more popular than Facebook (78%). While 40% state that they use Instagram, only 27% use Twitter. The target audience’s media consumption habits are important to keep in mind when designing a social media campaign strategy.

II.

Volunteers The CCF encourages people of all ages and locations to volunteer. Their main goal is to spread awareness of the cheetah’s vulnerability, something they believe can be accomplished at any age. As previously mentioned, the organization stresses that a person does not have to be in Namibia to get involved in the cause. Furthermore, the CCF wants to inspire involvement by highlighting the rapid decrease in cheetah population. They want to evoke a sense of urgency in their messaging by discussing the very real possibility that there could soon be a world without the cheetah.

III.

Advocates The CCF has an active following of participants who are dedicated to their cause and support their work. Many of these advocates have become influencers for them on social media. By continuing to acknowledge and foster a relationship with advocates, they are demonstrating their appreciation of the advocate’s support. This helps to cultivate a feeling

3 of brand loyalty in the advocate, inspiring them to continue to support the CCF by spreading awareness.

SWOT Analysis STRENGTHS ●

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Recognized as an innovator in the

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Location of headquarters. Since most of

cheetah conservation community and

the conservation efforts and research

by zoos worldwide.

happens in Africa, many potential

There are many engaged fans

donors do not know about the CCF.

worldwide who help to spread the

Additionally, since cheetahs are native

CCF’s mission.

to Africa, it is difficult to get their near

The founder and executive director of

extinction status on the public agenda.

the CCF, Dr. Marker, has become a

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WEAKNESSES

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Volunteering or interning in Africa

notable figure who travels worldwide

involves a heavy expense on the

to spread awareness.

traveler.

They have cultivated a large following

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Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are

of active users on their social media

not being utilized to their full advantage

networks.

(see opportunities).

Technology has made donating easier than ever. The CCF has taken advantage of this on their main website and social networks.

OPPORTUNITIES ●

The CCF is not using their social media

THREATS ●

platforms to their full benefit. There are many opportunities for growth on their

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There are numerous conservation charities across the world.

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Many donors already have favorite

Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

organizations that they donate to

networks.

yearly.

There are many opportunities to

●

engage with followers that would allow CCF to further establish brand loyalty.

New tax reforms in the United States may impact donation habits in 2019.

●

It is becoming increasingly difficult to

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●

● ●

Animal welfare was the second most

capture and hold the attention of

popular sector for charitable giving in

supporters (as shown by click-through

2018 (Blackbaud, 2018).

and retention rates).

Charitable giving in Canada was up by

●

Charitable giving in the United Kingdom

1.9% in 2018 (Blackbaud, 2018).

was down by 4.2% in 2018 (Blackbaud,

Charitable giving in the United States

2018).

has increased by 9% since 2016 (Blackbaud, 2018). ●

Online charitable giving has become increasingly popular in the United States (increased by 17% in 2018), Canada (increased by 6.9% in 2018), and the United Kingdom (increased by 5.5% in 2018) (Blackbaud, 2018).

Communication Objectives I.

Spread awareness of the vulnerable state of the cheetah population.

At the center of the CCF’s communication goals is their desire to express the urgency of saving the cheetah. Generating awareness will push cheetah extinction to the forefront of public agenda, stimulating increased support.

II.

Demonstrate what the CCF does to save the cheetah and its ecosystem.

This communication objective allows donors and volunteers to see what they will be contributing to the when they support the CCF. This objective is essential to successfully establishing retention and brand loyalty. Since a majority of CCF’s donors donate consistently, retention and brand loyalty are important objectives to include and monitor.

Campaign Proposal Campaign Logistics

5 Name: The “Show Your Spots” Campaign Time Period: November 4th - December 31st.

This time period was chosen for strategic reasons. Research has shown that the month of December is when the most charitable donations are made, partly because of the giving nature of the holiday season, and partly because it is the end of the calendar year (Blackbaud, 2018). Additionally, International Cheetah Day is December 4. This day helps stimulate conversation on the dire need for conservation efforts and often inspires donations and increased awareness.

Details: The “Show Your Spots” campaign will feature a contest where a participant and their guest can win a five-day trip to CCF’s main facility in Africa (a trip that was paid for by a generous donor). In order to enter, the participant must post a picture of themselves representing the cheetah - whether it is wearing cheetah print clothing, standing near a cheetah at a zoo, or holding a picture of a cheetah, any type of activity that is generating and spreading awareness of the cheetah and the CCF will be accepted. The participant must also use the hashtag #ShowYourSpots in order to be entered. Lastly, the participant must tag two friends, challenging them to show their spots. The winner will be chosen by a panel consisting of Dr. Marker and three other CCF employees on January 2, 2020.

The overarching goal of this campaign is to generate brand awareness and stimulate engagement. Since there are a multitude of animal conservation nonprofits, the CCF wants to ensure that their cause creates a deeper social impact that leads to positive brand equity. This type of campaign directly correlates with both of their communication objectives.

SMART Campaign Goals I.

Increase online donations made on Facebook by 30% by December 31, 2019.

This goal will be achieved by regularly posting interesting and shareable content on Facebook, including curated content, original content, and user-generated content

6 from the campaign. Additionally, the CCF will help ensure that this goal is achieved by increasing their level of engagement on each post and responding to any inquiries sent via Facebook Messenger.

As identified by the SWOT analysis, online donations are becoming increasingly popular as the digital world continues to grow and develop. Online donations are particularly important for the CCF as many of their donors are worldwide.

Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites utilized by the target audience, has made donating to any cause easy with a “Donate” option located directly on an organization’s Facebook profile. Since the target audience frequents Facebook, the CCF should focus on ensuring their Facebook content is not only reaching these potential donors, but also encouraging donations.

II.

Increase the amount of influencers on social media by 40% by December 31, 2019.

This goal will be achieved by monitoring CCF’s social media accounts for active followers (those who engage in the CCF’s messages on a deeper level by frequent participation or creation of their own original posts relating to the CCF).

The overall goal of this campaign is to increase the CCF’s brand awareness, which influencers can be instrumental in doing. They help to spread messages to new audiences and generate awareness. Influencers will also help draw traffic to the CCF website, pulling the prospect further through the marketing funnel.

III.

Increase the amount of videos posted to YouTube by 40% by December 31, 2019.

This goal will be achieved by posting new YouTube content four times a week. The utilization of a social media content calendar will help ensure content is being generated continuously.

YouTube was recognized as the number one social media platform most used by the target audience. It is also one of the CCF’s social networks that is lacking updated

7 content. Video content is extremely important to cultivating brand awareness as it allows CCF to humanize their brand and engage with the audience on a deeper level.

Additionally, video content is becoming increasingly popular amongst audiences worldwide.

Proposed Social Media Platforms Social Media Platform Facebook - One of the most popular platforms

Types of Engagement/Posts Utilized ●

for the CCF’s target audience. Can be further utilized to reach the target audience.

Sharing curated content from other thought leaders

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Sharing original content

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Interacting with users in the comments

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Answering user questions

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Answering inquiries sent via Facebook Messenger

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Utilizing Facebook live

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Sharing user-generated content (UGC)

Instagram - Important platform for engaging

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Utilizing Instagram stories

with campaign participants and sharing contest

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Utilizing Instagram live

entries (especially through Instagram stories).

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Posting original photos

Also an important platform for contest entries

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Sharing UGC

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Retweeting followers

since a hashtag is required for a chance to win.

Twitter - Important platform for engaging with campaign participants or answering contest

○

Sharing UGC

questions. Also an important platform for

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Replying to questions

contest entries since a hashtag is required to

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Replying to mentions

enter for a chance to win.

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Interacting with other nonprofits

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Answering direct messages

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Utilizing Twitter polls

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YouTube - One of the most popular platforms

●

Utilizing YouTube live

for the CCF’s target audience. Can be further

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Engaging in the comments

utilized to reach the target audience.

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Creating original videos

Proposed Content Categories Content Category Curated Content/Sharing & Engaging

Reasoning Curated content and sharing/engaging posts will be the most utilized by the CCF throughout this campaign. This type of content is particularly important as the overall goal is to establish brand awareness and stimulate engagement. According to Decker (2018), “Over 50% of brand reputation comes from online sociability. Being social leads to greater awareness and simply being known”. Content that is curated and shared needs to be strategic in that it has value to the audience, helping to present CCF as an industry expert.

Original Content

The CCF’s original content should follow Hubspot’s (2018) suggestion of putting the “focus on empowering customers, building a lasting relationship with your audience, creating valuable content that both entertains and educates”. Original content could be in the form of: whitepapers, podcasts, infographics, videos (YouTube), published research articles, or photographs.

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Promotional

This content will be the least utilized as audiences do not want to be constantly preyed upon for donations. An overabundance of these types of posts is more likely to make the audience feel as though the CCF is constantly asking instead of giving/sharing useful, interesting content.

Proposed Posting Frequency Social Platform

Frequency of Posts

Facebook

Once per day

Twitter

Two to three per day

Instagram

Once per day

YouTube

Four per week

Metric

Measurement

Metrics

Engagement - Monitoring the number of

●

submissions is an important metric to note as it

Number of campaign submissions utilizing the hashtag #ShowYourSpots

allows the CCF to gauge how widespread and

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Number of comments on posts

successful the campaign was. Additionally,

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Number of likes

engagement such as likes, comments, and

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Number of shares

shares show that the campaign is successfully

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Video completion rate

reaching and stimulating engagement with the

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Number of video views

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Reach of posts

audience.

Brand Awareness - Brand awareness is one of

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the overall goals for this campaign. Measuring

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New followers

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Amount of traffic coming to landing

brand awareness allows the CCF to see if their content is reaching new audiences, resulting in more followers and more awareness.

Influencer Retention - One of the SMART goals for this campaign is increasing the amount of the CCF’s influencers. It is also important to monitor the success of these influencers in relation to the campaign.

Sample Campaign Content

page for the Show Your Spots campaign