Social media doesn't have to be all cute cat videos or television spoilers. Social media can also be used for social good. The real power of social media comes through engaging a wide audience. What better way to do that than with a nonprofit fundraising campaign that people can feel good about?
Here are eight simple ways you can use social media to your nonprofit fundraising campaign's advantage:
1. Make good notes about the campaign. It is necessary that you understand the fundamental elements evolving around the social media fundraising campaign you wish to start. Know your goals. Then, know who your target audience is. Make sure that donors, volunteers and advocates who can potentially help your campaign are identified, including their preferred social media platform. This then will be your determinant where to start a conversation.
2. Customize your message. Each social media channel is unique, so posts should be written to fit each specific audience. Don't apply a "cut and paste" approach over different platforms. Instead, customize each post to fit the channel. For example, Twitter has a limit of 140 characters per post so brevity is a necessity, Instagram is all about pictures and imagery, and you'll need to create videos to use YouTube.
3. Call for a connection and be connected too. It is a two-way street when it comes to social media that when you start with it, you should be able to "drive" conversations. Donors need to be responded to individually even when it only calls for simple "thank you". Establish involvement in the conversation you have generated for your followers where you may retweet some of the posts and links from your influencers. Seek out companies and organizations you may be able to work with and be in groups in Facebook or LinkedIn as well as Google+ communities with them.
4. Experiment with different types of content. Try different approaches to see what works. If you see a particular day of the week, time, or type of post garners more response, continue in that direction. Pay attention to feedback you get from followers and adjust your posts to fit what inspires or engages them. Most social media platforms now include some type of free analytics that can be used to gauge response and measure effectiveness.
5. Convey urgency. Social media is all about the present. Provide real-time updates on the progress of your campaign and how far away you are from meeting your goals. Seeing a post that says there is less than a few hundred dollars to go could inspire someone to pull the trigger on donating to help cross that monumental mark.
6. Concentrate on effect. Be sure that donors and volunteers are recognized via social media and be clear on how what they donate is to be used. Present a more understandable break down of the effect that their donation has in order to show results like maybe "every $50 donation buys 5 pairs of children shoes." Maybe you can come up with a "thank you video" from the recipients of the donations. You may ask volunteers and donors to give testimonies as well concentrating on the effect of their participation on your cause.
7. Make sure you include a call to action. Make sure that some of your social media posts come with call to actions asking for followers to take a step further. And if they are willing to help spread your story, then they can be reminded that they need to "share this," "click here to donate now," "get your event tickets here" or maybe "help us to spread the word."
8. Your network could be your army. Fundraising efforts using social media may be used in line with your working hard on building a network of real-time volunteers, donors and promoters. Call for followers to share ideas and testimonials. Seek out their potential help to raise funds and promote the campaign via their own channels. Participation and expansion of network contacts may be achieved via contests. The more people are doing their own awareness campaigns about your fundraising, the more it becomes exposed to the friends and followers of your own network.
Social media can be used as a powerful tool for nonprofit fundraising. Remember to be conversational and not come on too strong. Rather than always asking for something from your followers, focus on creating a conversation around your campaign that people will want to share. Your supporters will get to know your organization better and form a connection, which will in turn, set your campaign apart from others.
InstaGive makes online donations a truly social experience because campaigns and donations are easily sharable on all popular social media channels. Registration takes just over a minute, and you can find out more about this service at Truist.
Here are eight simple ways you can use social media to your nonprofit fundraising campaign's advantage:
1. Make good notes about the campaign. It is necessary that you understand the fundamental elements evolving around the social media fundraising campaign you wish to start. Know your goals. Then, know who your target audience is. Make sure that donors, volunteers and advocates who can potentially help your campaign are identified, including their preferred social media platform. This then will be your determinant where to start a conversation.
2. Customize your message. Each social media channel is unique, so posts should be written to fit each specific audience. Don't apply a "cut and paste" approach over different platforms. Instead, customize each post to fit the channel. For example, Twitter has a limit of 140 characters per post so brevity is a necessity, Instagram is all about pictures and imagery, and you'll need to create videos to use YouTube.
3. Call for a connection and be connected too. It is a two-way street when it comes to social media that when you start with it, you should be able to "drive" conversations. Donors need to be responded to individually even when it only calls for simple "thank you". Establish involvement in the conversation you have generated for your followers where you may retweet some of the posts and links from your influencers. Seek out companies and organizations you may be able to work with and be in groups in Facebook or LinkedIn as well as Google+ communities with them.
4. Experiment with different types of content. Try different approaches to see what works. If you see a particular day of the week, time, or type of post garners more response, continue in that direction. Pay attention to feedback you get from followers and adjust your posts to fit what inspires or engages them. Most social media platforms now include some type of free analytics that can be used to gauge response and measure effectiveness.
5. Convey urgency. Social media is all about the present. Provide real-time updates on the progress of your campaign and how far away you are from meeting your goals. Seeing a post that says there is less than a few hundred dollars to go could inspire someone to pull the trigger on donating to help cross that monumental mark.
6. Concentrate on effect. Be sure that donors and volunteers are recognized via social media and be clear on how what they donate is to be used. Present a more understandable break down of the effect that their donation has in order to show results like maybe "every $50 donation buys 5 pairs of children shoes." Maybe you can come up with a "thank you video" from the recipients of the donations. You may ask volunteers and donors to give testimonies as well concentrating on the effect of their participation on your cause.
7. Make sure you include a call to action. Make sure that some of your social media posts come with call to actions asking for followers to take a step further. And if they are willing to help spread your story, then they can be reminded that they need to "share this," "click here to donate now," "get your event tickets here" or maybe "help us to spread the word."
8. Your network could be your army. Fundraising efforts using social media may be used in line with your working hard on building a network of real-time volunteers, donors and promoters. Call for followers to share ideas and testimonials. Seek out their potential help to raise funds and promote the campaign via their own channels. Participation and expansion of network contacts may be achieved via contests. The more people are doing their own awareness campaigns about your fundraising, the more it becomes exposed to the friends and followers of your own network.
Social media can be used as a powerful tool for nonprofit fundraising. Remember to be conversational and not come on too strong. Rather than always asking for something from your followers, focus on creating a conversation around your campaign that people will want to share. Your supporters will get to know your organization better and form a connection, which will in turn, set your campaign apart from others.
InstaGive makes online donations a truly social experience because campaigns and donations are easily sharable on all popular social media channels. Registration takes just over a minute, and you can find out more about this service at Truist.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup loves writing about philantrophic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. To get more information about company charitable giving campaigns, or to get help setting up a charitable fund, please check out the Truist.com site now.
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