Social media is an essential tool for nonprofit marketing. According to a study done by Pew Research Center, 72% of the American public uses some type of social media. With numbers like that, not using social media is a huge missed opportunity for an organization. Furthermore, like all of our messaging tools, social media opens another avenue to enhance our fundraising!
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Reasons to Use Social Media for Your Organization
It’s Free
Making an account for your organization on any major platform is completely free. Besides word of mouth marketing, it’s one of the only avenues we have to increase our reach without having to increase our budgets. Considering these platforms can lead to increased funding, that is an irresistible Return On Investment!
You Can Keep Your Supporters Engaged
It is essential to keep your supporters engaged in between major campaigns and events. If the only time they hear from you is when you’re making an ask, they’re far less likely to give. But keeping up with your supporters with regularity can be tricky. Social media makes it easy to provide updates and build connections with your supporters in those moments when you wouldn’t get to commune with them otherwise.
You Can Grow Your Community
Growing community isn’t easy, especially after the last few years when we’ve had less opportunity to connect in person. Luckily, social media expands your reach so you can connect with people you may have never been able to otherwise. Having a social media presence makes it easy for your supporters to tag you in a post, or re-share the posts you make with their own networks of potentially like minded people. You can also use tagging to help people who are interested in your mission find you, or occasionally pay for a sponsored post to help you reach a specific audience.
5 Ways to Leverage Your Social Media for Fundraising
1. When choosing your networks, aim for quality over quantity.
There are so many different social media networks, and more are continuously being created. Trying to have a consistent presence on every single network is almost definitely biting off more than you can chew. If you are only posting once a quarter because you’re spread too thin trying to manage ten platforms, you’re unlikely to get results. That’s why it's most important to pick the social media networks that work for you.
You can find out what social media networks your donor and member base are most active on by including a question about social media on a follow up form. When selecting your apps, choose ones that are best suited to the employees who will be managing the networks! If you don’t have someone who can edit videos, maybe TikTok isn’t the app for you. As you research, it will be clear what apps are the best fit.
2. Make it simple
Social media is great because it is a way to bring your messaging to where your audience already is, rather than needing them to seek you out. And 55% of people who learn about your organization on social media end up taking action in some way, which bodes well for fundraising! It’s important that it’s as simple as it can be. If they have to spend a lot of time outside of the app trying to find where they can contribute, they are less likely to follow through. When asking for donations, link directly to your custom donation form so they don’t need to do any additional work. Make their giving one of the easiest things they’ll do all day!
3. Share a variety of content
Social media is powerful for fundraising, but if your audience is constantly bombarded with asks, that will get old fast and they might choose to unfollow. Rather than only posting when you want to share news or ask for support, think of these channels as a way to start conversations with your audience. You can share news articles that are relevant to your mission, photos from a successful event, amplify the events of your partners, pose questions, and more.
Make sure you include the time of replying to messages and comments as part of your strategy! It may be helpful to create a content calendar so you can post to Instagram from PC and other channels with regularity, plan ahead, and make sure you’re sharing a wide variety of content.
4. Identify and connect with your biggest fans
As you begin to get more comfortable with your social media platforms, you will notice that there are some people who engage with your page very often. Certain apps, like Facebook, might even automatically identify your “top fans.” In some cases, these may be people you’re already deeply connected with, like board members or volunteers. But in many cases, social media can reveal a supporter that you may not have noticed outside of the web. This is a great opportunity to find the people who are interested and engaged but may not be financial supporters yet. You can reach out to them directly, thank them for their engagement, and build a deeper connection.
5. Use the app’s tools
As more and more businesses and organizations enter the digital realm, there are more tools in these networks to support us. Make sure you are searching within your app to discover the best practices that support your organization. For example, Facebook has a donate button you can embed on your page. Also, your supporters can create their own fundraisers to benefit your organization. Instagram has a “donate” sticker that can be added to stories. It also gives you the option to designate your account as a specific type of organization, so people who are interested in your work can find you easier. Each app is different and it’s important to learn their unique properties and work with them accordingly.
As you continue to practice leveraging your social media for fundraising, here are three more resources to help you:
- 5 Ways To Maximize Your Fundraising on Facebook: Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, and one of the best platforms for fundraising. This blog features 5 ways to maximize your fundraising on Facebook.
- 3 Ways to Boost Your Current Fundraising Campaign: A fundraising campaign is an important way to meet your funding goals. But more than that, it provides an opportunity for deeper connection with your community members and donors. When done well, a fundraising campaign can not only help you meet your goal but also provide greater long-term success. This blog offers a few best practices to help you boost your current fundraising campaign.
- 7 Tips to Boost Your #GivingTuesday Social Media Strategy: It may seem far away now, but #GivingTuesday will be here before we know it! As the most popular giving day, it is a great opportunity to meet your funding goals. Popularity of #GivingTuesday has continued to grow in recent years, and people’s social media feeds are bombarded with requests from the organizations they support. This blog has 7 tips for boosting your #GivingTuesday social media strategy so you don’t get lost among the noise.
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