Top 5 Social Media Tips For Nonprofits
Top 5 Social Media Tips For Nonprofits
By Laura Orwig
For nonprofits, social media can be one of the best resources to utilize for brand awareness and communication with stakeholders like donors and volunteers. In fact, according to Nonprofits Source, 55% of people who engage with nonprofits on social media end up taking some sort of action.
Imagine the impact using social media could have on your volunteer or fundraising programs with 55% of followers taking action! Free and an open platform for any message, social media is a simple way for today’s nonprofits to reach large audiences. Knowing that nonprofits often run on limited resources, however, there are a few ways to get the most out of your social media strategy without having to spend too much time on the many platforms. Here are our top 5 tips for nonprofits using social media.
Choose the best platforms for your organization (and don’t try to use them all.)
Rather than try to keep up with the ever-changing algorithms and audiences of every social media platform possible, choose a few that make the most sense for your nonprofit.
Do you need to reach professionals to gain volunteers or credibility? Choose Linkedin. Maybe your nonprofit serves a younger audience and needs to build awareness. In this case, Instagram might be your best bet. Want to reach more mature audiences and run fundraising campaigns on your page? Facebook works great for these scenarios.
Other platforms like TikTok or Youtube could also be beneficial to your organization depending on your target audience’s demographics and the nature of your work. Do the research and find a few of the best-fitting platforms for your organization rather than committing to them all.
Create (and track) goals
To measure whether your chosen platforms are actually creating value for your organization, it’s important to create goals that represent success and regularly track your progress. If success looks like gaining 20 new followers this quarter or having 20% more engagement on your posts than last quarter, be sure to create a spreadsheet to measure long-term success. If you find that you aren’t meeting your goals, you may need to adjust post content and/or frequency. If a certain platform seems to always fall short of expectations, you may choose to focus your efforts on another platform.
Add a donation button.
According to Classy, 57% of traffic to fundraising campaign pages comes from social media. On many platforms, registered nonprofits can add a “donate” button to their profile and even run fundraising campaigns for all of their followers to engage with. These are a very simple, easy way to gain visibility and donations. One caveat to this method of fundraising, however, is that donor data can sometimes be difficult to retrieve from social media platforms (Facebook, for example, does not share donor data). Our pro tip is to direct all fundraising posts and links to your webpage, where donors can be better tracked by your own CRM for follow-up and communication later on.
Be responsive.
To truly benefit from social media, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity for two-way communication. When followers comment or share posts, brands are often expected to respond within a reasonable time frame. In fact, Hubspot shares that 79% of followers expect a response to their posts within 24 hours. Those that do interact with their followers can build relationships and rapport, creating advocates for their cause.
Use photos and videos to boost engagement.
In a recent report, 85% of marketers ranked short-form videos as the most effective type of social media content in 2021. Videos can be a great way to tell stories and introduce new followers to your brand. When uploaded directly to the platform, videos often autoplay as users scroll, immersing them in your content and captivating potential clients, donors, or volunteers.
BONUS TIP:
Use scheduling tools like Buffer to plan out social media posts for the month across multiple platforms. You can post to three different platforms for free, and if you choose to upgrade your plan, all nonprofits receive 50% off!
Social media can be a useful tool for nonprofits of all sizes and stages looking to build their brand awareness and relationships with constituents. By utilizing our tips above, your organization can streamline the process and focus on the most important aspects of your social presence.
Want to learn more about how to best use your social media and website to reach your target audiences? Register for our upcoming fundraising masterclass “Optimizing Your Online Presence for Donors” premiering live on April 20, 2022.