Big Data has been in the news recently, mainly for the wrong reasons as a result of the Netflix documentary called The Great Hack.
This documentary was an eye-opener for many who simply did not realise how data is used online.
Each time a website prompts you with the notice that they are using cookies, this tells you that the site has Google tracking installed and most likely a Facebook pixel too.
But if data can be used in advertising and for election campaigns then surely it can be used to help change the world for the better too?
How Big Data can help social impact campaigns
Data analytics is the foundation to using your online data to get the desired results.
Analysing your data can help with your outreach programs to attract donors as well as to create attention for your cause.
It is also useful when identifying how to spend your money.
The digital age and the rise of social media has seen dramatic changes to how non-profits and social impact campaigns reach their desired target audience.
READ: How Blockchain may benefit Non-Profits
Outreach
Today the majority of outreach takes place online in the digital domain.
Looking at the data for your campaigns helps the decision-making process as one can determine what is working and what isn’t.
Personalisation
Use data to increase personalisation, a great tool to attract first-time donors.
It is also a great method for retaining them and data can be used effectively to run reward campaigns, encourage repeat givers and hopefully also land you those big donations every charity and non-profit needs.
Identify flaws in your campaign
The old adage, ‘content is king’, while still highly relevant today has stiff competition from a new motto; ‘data is king.’
Data can be used to find solutions to the problems you are trying to solve. By monitoring trends, responses such as engagement, conversions and reach, you can identify holes in your campaign and address these timeously before catastrophic results.
The ‘Giving’ industry is highly competitive and whilst each cause is well-meant, online users suffer from the same information fatigue from the bombardment of charities and causes as they do from any other major brand advertising.
As a social impact campaign or non-profit, your spending is under even deeper scrutiny than a public enterprise often gets from their shareholders.
Using Big Data to improve your campaigning and decision-making is critical to the success of initiative no matter how big or small.