SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT RESEARCH REPORT - DOCTOR’S WITHOUT BORDERS (MSF)
INTRODUCTION
Since the turn of the century, the internet and social media have become powerful tools for communication worldwide. Many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) use social media to raise funds, communicate with supporters and donors, find volunteers, and increase awareness.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that has successfully adapted its strategy and message since its foundation, in 1968. Nevertheless, in the fast-paced world of social media, change is a constant, and NGOs must constantly modify their online strategy to accomplish their needs and remain relevant.
The purpose of this report is to asses MSF’s online presence, to determine which aspects are ideal and which can be improved upon.
To determine the effectiveness of MSF’s online presence, several platforms currently used by the NGO were analyzed. The examination considered consistency, quality, followership, and interaction. After observing each key aspect of MSF’s online presence, recommendations for improvement were provided.
The 2018 Global NGO Technology Report, which analyzed the technological activity of 5,352 NGOs, was used as a reference in the audit to measure MSF’s online presence. Moreover, as an NGO with similar objectives, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was used to compare and contrast MSF’s results.
RESULTS
Consistency
MSF’s consistent colour scheme and logo effectively portray a powerful brand image. The message is constant throughout platforms and languages. MSF is actively present on many social media outlets, which results in widespread accessibility. MSF posts on social media platforms nearly every second day. MSF clearly prides themselves on providing their followers with consistent and relevant updates on their current events. MSF is appropriately active across platforms and features up to date posting of current deployments and activities.
Quality
MSF provides quality reporting and useful information as well as pertinent links to additional resources. Nevertheless, posts tend to be simple accounts of the NGO’s actions and favour long messages which inhibit readability. For example, MSF’s Instagram features long captions, contradicting the platform’s focus. While these messages provided their followers with clear information, they do not necessarily receive the response MSF may hope for. MSF posts feature an overly serious and journalistic tone which does not favour social media, resulting in less users observing their captions.
Followership
MSF’s followership is above average across platforms (Global NGO Technology Report). With over half a million followers on Instagram and over one and a quarter million likes on Facebook, MSF is certainly creating a followership for themselves that continues to grow.
Interaction
MSF fails to consistently interact with followers on social media. Effective interaction is sporadic and irregular. Figure 2 depicts an example of successful responsiveness on Facebook, whereas Figure 3 captures a direct question left unanswered.Such inconsistent behaviour leads to frustration of the audience. MSF pages are active due to the NGO’s extensive field engagement. Nevertheless, extensive conversations are not accomplished in the comments sections. The lack of interaction from MSF themselves, combined with their lengthy captions on instant gratification-based platforms have caused their followers little inclination to develop dialogue in the comment section. Attached is a website and video that emphasize the necessity for accounts to interact with their followers.
https://www.threegirlsmedia.com/2018/10/08/the-importance-of-interacting-on-social-media/
Figure 2. Example of effective responsiveness on Facebook.
Source: Doctors Without Borders Facebook page (@msf.english)
Figure 3. Question left unanswered on Facebook.
Source: Doctors Without Borders Facebook page (@msf.english)
Competitors
The ICRC creates substantial conversations through their short, poignant captions, and the Red Cross extensively communicates with videos. As a result, this NGO’s posts are widely and repeatedly shared, as exemplified in figure 1.
Figure 1. Example of ICRC’s active conversations on Facebook
Source: International Committee of the Red Cross Facebook page (@ICRC)
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
Social Media platforms have proved that online discussions often lead to better results than traditional channels. For example, in 2010, because of a conversation started on Twitter, MSF successfully resumed a humanitarian campaign that had reached a political impasse (Villarino). Success stories such as this one could be accomplished more often with simple changes in MSF’s online strategy. Through stronger interaction with followers and more brief, concise information MSF could see stronger results from the ever-changing online platforms.
Recommendations
Shorten messages. With today’s short attention spans, the ideal tweet, caption or post should be short and simple. For example, one thought-provoking question or relevant data point is ideal. Barry Feldman from blog HubSpot supports this suggestion explaining that pages should “Post a question that invites people to share their opinion or weigh in on something”. When a message or caption becomes too lengthy the reader will likely move onto the next post due to the sheer quantity of content available.
Create a comprehensive social media strategy. Having a clear social media policy and plan leads to increased consistency across platforms. This clear plan should include more consistent interaction with followers and encouragement towards comment provoking posts and messages.
Offer training to all staff and volunteers. Specialized training ensures that all staff knows how to create online conversations. It is recommended that such training opportunities be held repeatedly throughout the year. Each member of MFA that is responsible for the creation of online content must be briefed on the NGO’s current goals and future plans to ensure appropriate posting to achieve what is expected. Staff and volunteers need to be trained on how “To create authentic and lasting brand awareness” (Barnhard, 2019). Instead of promoting constantly, those responsible for MSF’s social media must learn to build an identity that remains consistent. An extremely beneficial TEDx Talk for all staff and volunteers regarding brand identity is attached.
Bibliography
Global NGO Technology Report. Nonproft Tech for Good, 2018
Villarino, Eliza. “The power of a tweet: Doctors Without Borders’ success story.” Devex, 12 Oct. 2011, devex.com/news/the-power-of-a-tweet-doctors-without-borders-success-story-76230. Accessed 1 April 2019.
Feldman, Barry. “5 Proven Social Media Engagement Strategies for 2019.” HubSpot Blog, 2019, blog.hubspot.com/marketing/proven-social-media-engagement-strategies. Accessed 2 April 2019.
Barnhart, Brent. “How to Build Your Social Media Marketing Strategy for 2019.” Sprout Social, 31 Jan. 2019, sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/. Accessed 2 April 2019.
Montgomery, Erika. “The Importance of Interacting on Social Media.” Three Girls Media, 3G Media, 17 Oct. 2018, www.threegirlsmedia.com/2018/10/08/the-importance-of-interacting-on-social-media/.
