What the latest online trends mean for your cause

Mary Meeker presented the 2013 Internet Trends report during the All Things Digital D11 conference. Meeker’s report is consistently a treasure trove of data, trends and opportunities within the digital world. This type of insight is incredibly useful for nonprofit fundraisers as we navigate how to effectively engage and inspire supporters in a rapidly changing online landscape.

The entire report is worth a look, but here are a few especially important points for nonprofits:

Mobile usage continues to explode.
If you’re wondering whether mobile is important for your cause, consider this: there are now 1.5B smartphone subscribers. Plus, mobile traffic is projected to maintain its current rate of growth if not accelerate. To drive this point home, Meeker also reveals that smartphone users, on average, reach for their devices around 150 times per day. Wow!

Takeaway: It’s critical for your cause to be mobile friendly. Make it easy for constituents and supporters to find, interact and give to you via smartphones.

Rich content is ramping up.
Digital photos, video and audio are becoming easier to create, refine and share. To effectively compete for attention in crowded inboxes, social streams or browsing sessions, stand out with original content that embodies your message.

Takeaway: Incorporate multimedia formats in your online outreach to illustrate your impact, attract new donors and retain existing supporters.

Sharing and connecting diversify.
Social media platforms are still on the rise with sites like Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr showing significant growth. Though Facebook was the only platform in the report to see a drop in usage from 2011 to 2012, it still sees the lion’s share of usage.

Takeaway: Leverage social media to provide supporters another way to forge relationships with your cause and empower them to share your message with their networks.

We live in an age of unprecedented “findability”.
With such easy access to massive amounts of information online, it’s nearly impossible not to have full transparency—whether that’s coming from your organization or those talking about you.

Takeaway: Understand what is being said about your cause online. What do readers find when they search for you? It is critical to take the lead in being open about your organization to build trust and loyalty.

Other fascinating tidbits include emerging devices and formats that could prove to be powerful tools for nonprofit storytelling, fundraising events and reporting impact.

• Tablets are showing more rapid growth than smartphones; they may also become the predominant type of large-screen computing devices.
• Short-form and temporary content sharing (think Vine and Snapchat) are also seeing rapid adoption rates.
• Wearable technology and other connected devices—such as Google glass, smart watches and activity trackers—are poised to transform how we interact with all of the information available to us online.

You can view the full presentation via the KPCB website.

KPCB Internet Trends 2013 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers