Americans Unsure About Social Media’s Charity Benefits, Survey Finds

Americans seem to be conflicted about the role of social networks as a way to support the causes they care about.

According to a new survey, while nearly eight in 10 people who use new media think the technology can help companies and nonprofit organizations to raise money and awareness for causes, fewer than one in five has made a donation using the tools.

In September Cone, a Boston marketing firm, asked 587 people who use new media a series of questions about how they use the technology to interact with companies and nonprofit organizations.

For the study, the company defined new media as “dialogue among individuals or groups” on social networks, blogs, Twitter, online games, mobile devices, message boards, and sites that allow people to share photos, audio, and video. In some cases, the company also included e-mail and Web sites.

Nearly three quarters of respondents agreed with the statement that new media raise their awareness about causes but do not motivate them to do any more to help, and 39 percent said they didn’t trust that their efforts would actually help the cause.

Among the other reasons participants sited for the lack of engagement:

• I’d rather spend my time and/or money supporting causes offline. (31 percent)

• I didn’t see any existing results or impacts. (27 percent)

• I felt overwhelmed by the number of causes on new media. (22 percent)

• My favorite issue, cause, or organization doesn’t use new media. (19 percent)

• I didn’t understand the tool/application. (17 percent)

“Americans are actively engaged with causes on new media, but they’re lacking a degree of trust that takes them to the next level of engagement,” Alison DaSilva, Cone’s executive vice president of cause branding, said in a written statement. “Organizations can overcome this barrier by showing tangible and compelling results, offering multiple consumer touch points, and making the bridge to offline activities wherever possible.”