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. Give your campaign ample thought. Before you get into your fundraising campaign using social media make sure you have studied its fundamental elements. Determine your goals. Identify your target audience. Check where your potential donors, volunteers and advocates are in order to gauge what social media platforms they use. Then you will know where your conversation should start.
2. Create your own message. Uniqueness is one feature common in all social media channels so make your posts uniquely fit for each audience. Do away with the approach that is "cut and paste." Create your own unique posts for every channel. Remember that there are important differences such as Twitter setting a limit of 140 characters which means your posts should be short and sweet. With Instagram you can post a photo and a quick burst of information, and YouTube will enable you to create videos.
3. Be engaging, and engaged. Social media is a two-way street, so keep in mind once you begin your journey, you'll need to have someone at the wheel monitoring conversations. Every interaction with a donor should receive a response, even if it's just to acknowledge thanks. Get even more involved in your community's conversation by sharing and retweeting your influencers' posts and links. Find companies and organizations you want to align with and join Facebook and LinkedIn groups and Google+ communities they are involved in.
4. Accommodate other types of content. Other approaches may be found effective through this. The most response garnered by a particular post, time or week should be the direction you should aim to go to. The feedbacks of followers matters much because it will enable you to adjust your post according to what engages them. Today, some social media platforms are with analytics so you can gauge the people's response and find the most effective option.
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. Focus on impact. Use social media to thank donors and volunteers for their contribution and let them know specifically how their gift will be used. Let them see the real impact of their donation by breaking it down to show the results (i.e. "For each $50 that is donated, we can buy 5 pairs of shoes for children in need.") Consider creating a thank you video using testimonials from those receiving the benefits of the campaign. Spotlight volunteers and donors to showcase their stories and why participating in your cause is an important part of their lives.
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.
Because of the campaigns and donations being "sharable" in most any well-known social media channels, InstaGive creates this online donation as a true social experience. Registration for InstaGive is simple and fast, so perhaps you'd like to learn more about this program at Truist.
Here are eight simple ways you can use social media to your nonprofit fundraising campaign's advantage:
1. Give your campaign ample thought. Before you get into your fundraising campaign using social media make sure you have studied its fundamental elements. Determine your goals. Identify your target audience. Check where your potential donors, volunteers and advocates are in order to gauge what social media platforms they use. Then you will know where your conversation should start.
2. Create your own message. Uniqueness is one feature common in all social media channels so make your posts uniquely fit for each audience. Do away with the approach that is "cut and paste." Create your own unique posts for every channel. Remember that there are important differences such as Twitter setting a limit of 140 characters which means your posts should be short and sweet. With Instagram you can post a photo and a quick burst of information, and YouTube will enable you to create videos.
3. Be engaging, and engaged. Social media is a two-way street, so keep in mind once you begin your journey, you'll need to have someone at the wheel monitoring conversations. Every interaction with a donor should receive a response, even if it's just to acknowledge thanks. Get even more involved in your community's conversation by sharing and retweeting your influencers' posts and links. Find companies and organizations you want to align with and join Facebook and LinkedIn groups and Google+ communities they are involved in.
4. Accommodate other types of content. Other approaches may be found effective through this. The most response garnered by a particular post, time or week should be the direction you should aim to go to. The feedbacks of followers matters much because it will enable you to adjust your post according to what engages them. Today, some social media platforms are with analytics so you can gauge the people's response and find the most effective option.
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. Focus on impact. Use social media to thank donors and volunteers for their contribution and let them know specifically how their gift will be used. Let them see the real impact of their donation by breaking it down to show the results (i.e. "For each $50 that is donated, we can buy 5 pairs of shoes for children in need.") Consider creating a thank you video using testimonials from those receiving the benefits of the campaign. Spotlight volunteers and donors to showcase their stories and why participating in your cause is an important part of their lives.
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.
Because of the campaigns and donations being "sharable" in most any well-known social media channels, InstaGive creates this online donation as a true social experience. Registration for InstaGive is simple and fast, so perhaps you'd like to learn more about this program at Truist.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup loves writing about philantrophic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. To get more details about company charitable giving campaigns, or to get help setting up a charitable fund, please go to the Truist.com website today.
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