Volunteer in the New Year

Competing to be at the top of each New Yorker's 2015 resolution list, we capitalized on the season of do-gooder spirits and online shopping by launching a social media campaign.

Who

Statistics show men volunteer at a much lower rate than women. A lack of male volunteers created an issue for the goal of connecting volunteer mentors to youth mentees. There is also a volunteer gap by proximity to Manhattan. The farther away from Manhattan you are, the less likely you are to volunteer.  We created a staggered series of targeted Facebook ads first targeting only men between 18-65 with broad interests. The second net cast targeted women and men with broad interests, and lastly we targeted men and women between 18-65 specific volunteer- and city-related interests.

What

Designed graphics, wrote copy, and implemented a social media campaign compounded with a paid targeted Facebook advertisement. At the time, Facebook’s targeted ads were the most cost effective and measurable method to reach our audience.

When

The winter is a peak time to engage individuals with a propensity for volunteering. Typically, organizations that host volunteers experience a spike in requests, offers, and volunteer registrations during the winter holiday season.

The holidays are also a great time to catch users online, as online shopping gains more traction and the cold weather keeps people in.

Where

The outer boroughs of NYC tend to have higher need for volunteers and resources. In an effort to target New Yorkers in the outer boroughs and align with NYC Service goals, we crafted our audience to focus people living within zip codes near community based organizations providing youth mentorship, senior services, and with high need for SNAP and WIC benefits.

Why

The goal of this campaign was to convert intrigue into online registrations. Online registrations are key to connecting with the base of willing New Yorkers to the nonprofits who need their support most. NYC Service acts as a main hub for nonprofit partners to gain visibility to countless individuals looking to give back. By registering online, one can indicate specific interests, filter available opportunities by those interests, and receive updates when new opportunities become available.

Results

Doubled nyc.gov/service website registrations within a month by crafting targeted messaging and graphics, and employing a series of paid Facebook advertisements to targeted audiences