As the leader of a not-for-profit organization, you work hard to bring awareness to a cause and improve your community. You’re also likely trying to achieve these goals with a very limited budget and staff. And with success often being determined by a community’s level of commitment to your cause, social media marketing is an easy, cost-effective way to strengthen that dedication and awareness!
Facebook, for example, is more than just a tool for connecting old friends and new acquaintances. Nonprofits, charities, and churches all use the social network to more effectively boost awareness, connect with corporate sponsors and power donors, and raise funds—all while allocating minimal time and staff to the effort!
Follow these five social media tips to effectively engage supporters and encourage awareness for your cause:
1.) Simplify Your Message
A simple, straightforward message is critical when trying to leverage social media. Start developing this message by answering these questions:
- What or whom is your nonprofit supporting?
- What goals are you looking to achieve?
- Through what steps or actions do you plan to meet these goals?
- Where are you at in meeting these goals? What has already been achieved?
- How can someone support your organization?
The majority of the content you share through social media should answer these questions.
2.) Tailor Your Content for Each Medium’s Audience
Tell stories about the people or families you are helping through Facebook. Share organization updates or cause-related news through Twitter. Use Instagram and Snapchat to give a behind-the-scenes look at your volunteers’ hard work. Your content strategies should be developed based on each social network’s strengths and audience demographics.
3.) Tell Stories Visually
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words—and this holds especially true on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The attention span of online audiences is waning every day. So it is crucial you get your point across as quickly and concisely as possible. Photos and graphics are an easy way to accomplish this. They boast an 87 percent interaction rate on Facebook and boost retweets by 35 percent!
4.) Incorporate a Donate Button
Facebook’s ‘Donate Button’ for nonprofits isn’t new, but Mark Zuckerberg and his team have progressively improved the feature. Organizations can now add it to pages, posts and even paid advertising through the social network.
A post incorporating a Donate Button provides supporters with an easy and direct way to contribute straight from their News Feed. The feature helps boost awareness by enabling the supporter to share their donation with his or her Facebook friends.
The Donate Button also collects email addresses from contributors—making follow-up easy!
How to Add a Donate Button: Navigate to your nonprofit page’s cover photo. Click “Add a Button,” select “Make a Donation,” and then input the URL for your organization’s fundraising webpage. Then click “Add Button.”
5.) Promote Your Wish List
Pinterest is a great place to promote your nonprofit’s needs. Design and pin a graphic including your wish list along with instructions on how users can donate the items. For example, if your organization is a homeless shelter, your list will likely include items similar to underwear, socks, pajamas, shampoo and soap, and diapers. These graphics can also be uploaded to other social networks, eblasts, and blogs.
Social media has forever changed the way people interact with friends and family, business associates, and brands—and nonprofits are no exception! By harnessing these networks’ power, you will be able to engage current supporters, build energy and momentum around your cause, and build a new community of advocates.
If you’ve been leveraging social media to promote your not-for-profit organization, we encourage you to share the marketing and fundraising tactics you’ve found to be effective in the comment box below!
