Are charities and non-profits making the most of social at major events?

Last week, I saw an infographic on the charity and non-profit sectors that perform best – and worst – on social media. And whilst running (and live tweeting!) the London Marathon this year, it occurred to me that charities could be making more of the huge opportunities that are available to them.

Having seen the response to one individual on social media throughout the marathon (more on this soon!), it amazes me that not once did I see a charity along the route asking fellow spectators to interact with them. Yes, individuals had hashtags or Twitter handles on their running vests, but many of the major charities had huge billboards and banners along the route that could be used for some genuinely exciting experiential content. With 38,000 competitors and millions of people watching on the streets and on TV, the captive audience is massive.

If one man can get people to engage, interact and donate to charity simply by asking with a handheld sign, just imagine the potential for charities if they were to fully embrace the potential of social media.

Below is the infographic I mentioned earlier. Although this data is based on the US non-profit market, it provides some valuable insight into which sectors typically perform best and worst. More often than not, social media strategy and activity (or, more pertinently, lack of it) is down to budget constraints – but as we mentioned last week, the occasional social media health check is a step in the right direction.

1.17_info1

(Source: Tech Impact Blog)

Latest Posts

£38m pipeline in 12 weeks. That was the outcome of a programme for a large tech B2B brand built on a fairly unfashionable idea. Instead of filling social and event content with the messages the brand most wanted to push, we built it around the questions buyers were genuinely trying…
Read More
Whether it’s for consumer products or B2B lead driving, Reddit has found its footing as a key platform for reaching audiences far and wide. And the best part is – it’s cheap to advertise on. 121m daily active users in Q4 of 2025 (up 19% on the year before) means…
Read More
When your social is too polished to trust AI is helping marketers move faster. Fair enough. The bigger issue is that it can make weak strategy look polished enough to slip through unchallenged. AI is now embedded in the day job. GWI says 84% of advertisers and marketers in the…
Read More