Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be happy to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a small fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve sponsored posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will direct users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people who find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the Foundation’s mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way for nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness, and we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We hope to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls content that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and frequent consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self reported information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below. In addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing effectiveness across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn* whether there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group about what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to not annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications to run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed by a small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
-----------------------
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both philanthropy and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests they’re daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily news consumption Reach: ~1,000,000
Hi Sam,
Does this involve paying Facebook and Instagram? If so, how much is being allocated that part of this pilot?
IIRC, at least Facebook has a separate program for non-profits, but they didnt offer ads for non-profits at reduced rates as part of that program.
What targets have been set to evaluate whether this pilot will be considered successful? If it is just to *learn* about potential demographics, I fear that most of the knowledge gained will already have been published previously by other non-profits who've tried similar.
I cant help but notice that you mentioned the work will be done by Middle Seat http://middleseat.co/, and not that it is former staff member Zack Exley's company. Is there a requirement that this consulting job will culminate in a published and openly licensed report by Middle Seat?
Regards, John
On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 12:58 AM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be happy to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a small fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve sponsored posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will direct users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people who find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the Foundation’s mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way for nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness, and we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We hope to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls content that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and frequent consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self reported information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below. In addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing effectiveness across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn* whether there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group about what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to not annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications to run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed by a small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both philanthropy and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests they’re daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily news consumption Reach: ~1,000,000 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Hi, John. Thanks for taking the time to share your questions, and I'm happy to answer them. I've included your original questions and my answers inline:
*Does this involve paying Facebook and Instagram? If so, how much is being allocated that part of this pilot?* Yes; we’ll pay a cost per click, or per impressions, for these ads. We’ve allocated $5,000 USD for this experiment.
*What targets have been set to evaluate whether this pilot will be considered successful?* The ultimate goal of running an ads program would be 100% ROI; $2 raised for every $1 spent. We will also be able to compare ROI with that of our existing payment processors and determine if Facebook helps increase our efficiency. But we have no expectations because we don’t yet have data. For the purpose of this experiment, we simply want to establish benchmarks that could guide further testing. That being said, our online fundraising model is entirely built around a/b iterative testing, and we'll employ those principles in this pilot.
*If it is just to *learn* about potential demographics, I fear that most of the knowledge gained will already have been published previously by other non-profits who've tried similar.*
A fair point, though I’d note that, as far as our banners and emails, ‘our donors don’t always behave like other donors.’ The copy, design, and ask amounts that work for us do not track exactly with the experiences of other non-profit peers, whom we also monitor and consult.
If the ROI is favorable, it also gives us the opportunity to engage a new set of Wikipedia users. This new medium opens the possibility to get new donors on our list, and educate more people about the Foundation and the movement.
*I cant help but notice that you mentioned the work will be done by Middle Seat <http://middleseat.co/ http://middleseat.co/>, and not that it is former staff member Zack Exley's company. Is there a requirement that this consulting job will culminate in a published and openly licensed report by Middle Seat?*
Zack Exley is not directly involved in this experiment, though he is a founding member of Middle Seat. We’re working with Middle Seat to tap into their expertise in social advertising and targeting, but all content approval and reporting will be handled by the Foundation in keeping with our established best practices.
I appreciate your scrutiny and the chance to offer some more clarity on this test.
regards, sam
On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 2:45 PM, John Mark Vandenberg jayvdb@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Sam,
Does this involve paying Facebook and Instagram? If so, how much is being allocated that part of this pilot?
IIRC, at least Facebook has a separate program for non-profits, but they didnt offer ads for non-profits at reduced rates as part of that program.
What targets have been set to evaluate whether this pilot will be considered successful? If it is just to *learn* about potential demographics, I fear that most of the knowledge gained will already have been published previously by other non-profits who've tried similar.
I cant help but notice that you mentioned the work will be done by Middle Seat http://middleseat.co/, and not that it is former staff member Zack Exley's company. Is there a requirement that this consulting job will culminate in a published and openly licensed report by Middle Seat?
Regards, John
On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 12:58 AM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be
happy
to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a
small
fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve sponsored posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will direct users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing
pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people
who
find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the Foundation’s mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way
for
nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness, and we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We hope to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls
content
that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and
frequent
consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self reported information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below. In addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing effectiveness across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn*
whether
there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group about what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to
not
annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications
to
run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed by a small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so
far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both philanthropy and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests they’re daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily
news
consumption Reach: ~1,000,000 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
-- John Vandenberg
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Thanks Sam
Interesting experiment. Can you provide versions of the fundraiser notifications so people can provide feedback?
Best James
On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi, John. Thanks for taking the time to share your questions, and I'm happy to answer them. I've included your original questions and my answers inline:
*Does this involve paying Facebook and Instagram? If so, how much is being allocated that part of this pilot?* Yes; we’ll pay a cost per click, or per impressions, for these ads. We’ve allocated $5,000 USD for this experiment.
*What targets have been set to evaluate whether this pilot will be considered successful?* The ultimate goal of running an ads program would be 100% ROI; $2 raised for every $1 spent. We will also be able to compare ROI with that of our existing payment processors and determine if Facebook helps increase our efficiency. But we have no expectations because we don’t yet have data. For the purpose of this experiment, we simply want to establish benchmarks that could guide further testing. That being said, our online fundraising model is entirely built around a/b iterative testing, and we'll employ those principles in this pilot.
*If it is just to *learn* about potential demographics, I fear that most of the knowledge gained will already have been published previously by other non-profits who've tried similar.*
A fair point, though I’d note that, as far as our banners and emails, ‘our donors don’t always behave like other donors.’ The copy, design, and ask amounts that work for us do not track exactly with the experiences of other non-profit peers, whom we also monitor and consult.
If the ROI is favorable, it also gives us the opportunity to engage a new set of Wikipedia users. This new medium opens the possibility to get new donors on our list, and educate more people about the Foundation and the movement.
*I cant help but notice that you mentioned the work will be done by Middle Seat <http://middleseat.co/ http://middleseat.co/>, and not that it is former staff member Zack Exley's company. Is there a requirement that this consulting job will culminate in a published and openly licensed report by Middle Seat?*
Zack Exley is not directly involved in this experiment, though he is a founding member of Middle Seat. We’re working with Middle Seat to tap into their expertise in social advertising and targeting, but all content approval and reporting will be handled by the Foundation in keeping with our established best practices.
I appreciate your scrutiny and the chance to offer some more clarity on this test.
regards, sam
On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 2:45 PM, John Mark Vandenberg jayvdb@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Sam,
Does this involve paying Facebook and Instagram? If so, how much is being allocated that part of this pilot?
IIRC, at least Facebook has a separate program for non-profits, but they didnt offer ads for non-profits at reduced rates as part of that program.
What targets have been set to evaluate whether this pilot will be considered successful? If it is just to *learn* about potential demographics, I fear that most of the knowledge gained will already have been published previously by other non-profits who've tried similar.
I cant help but notice that you mentioned the work will be done by Middle Seat http://middleseat.co/, and not that it is former staff member Zack Exley's company. Is there a requirement that this consulting job will culminate in a published and openly licensed report by Middle Seat?
Regards, John
On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 12:58 AM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be
happy
to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a
small
fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve
sponsored
posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will
direct
users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing
pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people
who
find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the
Foundation’s
mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way
for
nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness,
and
we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We
hope
to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls
content
that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and
frequent
consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self
reported
information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below.
In
addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing
effectiveness
across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn*
whether
there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group
about
what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to
not
annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications
to
run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed
by a
small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so
far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both
philanthropy
and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests
they’re
daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily
news
consumption Reach: ~1,000,000 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l
New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
-- John Vandenberg
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Thanks Sam! Very interesting to see the WMF dip its toe into the water of off-Wikipedia fundraising for small gifts for the first time. :)
Out of interest are you planning to use Facebook's custom audiences tool to include (or possibly exclude) people who are already WMF donors?
(And, more of a movement strategy question than one aimed at the actual fundraising team - if this works, will WMF decide it's the only movement body that is allowed to fundraising on Facebook, in the same way's it approaches the on-wiki banners? :) )
Regards,
Chris
On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 6:58 PM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be happy to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a small fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve sponsored posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will direct users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people who find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the Foundation’s mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way for nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness, and we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We hope to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls content that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and frequent consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self reported information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below. In addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing effectiveness across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn* whether there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group about what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to not annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications to run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed by a small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both philanthropy and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests they’re daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily news consumption Reach: ~1,000,000 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Hi all, I've received a bunch of great questions both on and off list. I'm really happy to see how interested people are in this pilot. It is a new experiment for us, too, and I hope the learnings will be beneficial to all.
I just wanted to send a quick note of acknowledgment because it's getting late in my timezone and I haven't had a chance to get answers to all questions. I'll be back in touch next week with more info.
thank you, sam
On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 6:46 AM, Chris Keating chriskeatingwiki@gmail.com wrote:
Thanks Sam! Very interesting to see the WMF dip its toe into the water of off-Wikipedia fundraising for small gifts for the first time. :)
Out of interest are you planning to use Facebook's custom audiences tool to include (or possibly exclude) people who are already WMF donors?
(And, more of a movement strategy question than one aimed at the actual fundraising team - if this works, will WMF decide it's the only movement body that is allowed to fundraising on Facebook, in the same way's it approaches the on-wiki banners? :) )
Regards,
Chris
On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 6:58 PM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be
happy
to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a
small
fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve sponsored posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will direct users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing
pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people
who
find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the Foundation’s mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way
for
nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness, and we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We hope to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls
content
that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and
frequent
consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self reported information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below. In addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing effectiveness across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn*
whether
there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group about what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to
not
annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications
to
run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed by a small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both philanthropy and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests they’re daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily
news
consumption Reach: ~1,000,000 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
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Hi all, apologies as I'm a bit behind schedule in answering the last round of questions. We ended up taking a few extra days to get the details of the program right, and launched this ads experiment on Wednesday, July 12th. I posted an update today to our meta page for this experiment https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates/FBAdsExperiment, but we don't have any conclusions, yet, due to our late launch.
Here are the questions I saw:
*James Heilman: Interesting experiment. Can you provide versions of the fundraiser notifications so people can provide feedback?*
Sure. Our first ad group uses the same image of Jimmy Wales, with two different sets of copy. You can see screenshots of the two ads on our meta page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates/FBAdsExperiment. If anyone has suggestions for content that you think might motivate new donors, let me know. It's particularly difficult to come up with representative images. Jimmy appeared in our banners for a while, so we decided to start there.
*Chris Keating: Out of interest are you planning to use Facebook's custom audiences tool to include (or possibly exclude) people who are already WMF donors?* This was a big discussion topic before we launched this pilot project. We are not currently suppressing or targeting ads to our donor list, but we will revisit this option and it's pros and cons if we decide to keep testing ads.
*Also from Chris: (And, more of a movement strategy question than one aimed at the actual fundraising team - if this works, will WMF decide it's the only movement body that is allowed to fundraising on Facebook, in the same way's it approaches the on-wiki banners? :) )*
Yeah, I can’t answer that :)
Hope everyone has good weekends, sam
On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 4:49 PM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all, I've received a bunch of great questions both on and off list. I'm really happy to see how interested people are in this pilot. It is a new experiment for us, too, and I hope the learnings will be beneficial to all.
I just wanted to send a quick note of acknowledgment because it's getting late in my timezone and I haven't had a chance to get answers to all questions. I'll be back in touch next week with more info.
thank you, sam
On Fri, Jun 30, 2017 at 6:46 AM, Chris Keating <chriskeatingwiki@gmail.com
wrote:
Thanks Sam! Very interesting to see the WMF dip its toe into the water of off-Wikipedia fundraising for small gifts for the first time. :)
Out of interest are you planning to use Facebook's custom audiences tool to include (or possibly exclude) people who are already WMF donors?
(And, more of a movement strategy question than one aimed at the actual fundraising team - if this works, will WMF decide it's the only movement body that is allowed to fundraising on Facebook, in the same way's it approaches the on-wiki banners? :) )
Regards,
Chris
On Thu, Jun 29, 2017 at 6:58 PM, Samuel Patton spatton@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm writing to let you know about a project we're trying on the Foundation's fundraising team. Thanks to all the help and advice we've received from our colleagues in Communications, Legal, and Community Engagement.
*I've posted this announcement as an update on Fundraising's Meta Page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/Updates, and would be
happy
to answer questions and keep the discussion up there.*
Over the next three weeks, the Advancement team will be conducting a
small
fundraising pilot on Facebook and Instagram. This will involve sponsored posts, served in English to people in the United States, that will
direct
users to donate to the Foundation using our own donation processing
pages.
Fundraising is always interested in exploring new ways to reach people
who
find value in Wikipedia and are interested in supporting the
Foundation’s
mission. Advertising across social networks is a proven and popular way
for
nonprofits to find new supporters and build organizational awareness,
and
we’re excited to dip our toes into this.
Like the many tests we run for Fundraising, this pilot will involve experiments testing different imagery, copy, and calls to action. We
hope
to answer the question: how well does our on-Wikipedia.org messaging perform when presented on another site? It will also examine how our appeals perform across demographic and interest groups.
*Where will the ads appear?*
This pilot will use “sponsored posts,” which is what Facebook calls
content
that appears in the news feed of Facebook users.
They will also appear on Instagram as “sponsored stories” that appear within the flow of photo and video posts users scroll on that network. (Instagram is a Facebook property.)
They will not appear as banners, pop-ups, or display ads that appear alongside the news feed. This is a test in what is called “native” advertising, meaning it uses the same content display area that users expect from Facebook and Instagram.
*How will you target your ads?*
In addition to the broad parameters of language (English) and country (U.S.), we have identified a few target audiences that might respond particularly well to our appeals: educators, philanthropists, and
frequent
consumers of news. We will build these audiences based off self reported information about educational achievement, news readership, and philanthropic interest. I've included details on each audience below. In addition to these, we have discussed the value of comparing
effectiveness
across other characteristics - age, gender, etc.
A large part of the value in running this experiment is to *learn*
whether
there are any demographic differences in how people respond to our messaging. If this experiment does give us compelling info about who is more likely to donate, that is exciting! And we'll talk as a group about what to do with that knowledge.
*Can users opt out?*
Of course. Users can hide individual ads if they are not of interest to them. This is also something we can measure to better understand how to
not
annoy or impose on social media users in future fundraising drives.
*Who is working on this?*
Fundraising is partnering with the social media folks in Communications
to
run this test. The promotion and measurement of ads is being managed by
a
small company called Middle Seat.
*Will you keep us in the loop?*
Absolutely. By July 15 we intend to share an overview of our testing so far.
Stay tuned for more updates!
sam
*Possible target audiences:*
*STUDENTS & EDUCATORS* *How likely to donate are current students and educators?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Current students above high school level and educators based on self-reported “job title” Reach: 1,000,000+
*PHILANTHROPISTS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users interested in both philanthropy and donating to charitable causes?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with self-reported interests in philanthropy and donating to charity Reach: ~460,000
*NEWS READERS* *How likely to donate are Facebook users whose behavior suggests they’re daily news consumers?* Age: 18 - 65+ Target: Facebook users with interests and behavior that suggests daily
news
consumption Reach: ~1,000,000 _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
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