Are you struggling to make your nonprofit’s cause known and to gather more donations and support? Not sure where to allocate your small budget? Well, you are not alone. With millions of nonprofit organizations out there, it is time to start utilizing the proper channels and the right marketing strategy to bring in the support your cause deserves.
More than ever, the world is moving digital, and your nonprofit is no exception. How do you stay above the curve and the competition? A lack of time, funding, and resources can all contribute to dwindling success for nonprofits in their marketing efforts.
However, if you are not using social media platforms, you could miss out on traffic and opportunities for organic reach and more donations!
Why Do Nonprofits Need Social Media Marketing?
First, let’s discuss why you should be marketing your nonprofit in the first place. According to HubSpot, the main priorities for social media marketers for nonprofits are to generate brand awareness, fundraise, recruit new volunteers, and share news.
Social media is the perfect platform for all of these goals to be met.
Social media correctly can promote your nonprofit and help you discover and directly connect with new people to work with you and your mission. Social media can make it straightforward to interact with potential supporters.
Social media doesn’t only help you interact with new people and help you continue to engage with current donors and supporters. In a few seconds, you can update your audience or post a message for free. Messaging can help retain engagement, increase brand awareness and promote fundraising initiatives, all with a few clicks! How easy is that?
Digital Age
Everything is increasingly digital. Over 3.6 billion people worldwide used social media in 2020 – this staggering statistic means that there are many opportunities for people to find and support your cause through these social platforms. If you aren’t already familiar with them, you should be!
Gone are the days of looking for flyers at community centers for upcoming events. According to Statistica, the need for a mobile-friendly social presence is more important than ever, with over half of all web traffic coming from mobile devices.
Now people turn to their smartphones and laptops. However, there are now hundreds of social apps out there. It can feel overwhelming to decide which ones are best for your nonprofit.
What Social Platforms Should I Use?
Each social media platform has its unique functions, pros, and cons. In a survey conducted by MissionBox, this data showed that Facebook is the top platform nonprofits use.
According to research by Amplifi, 39.5 percent of people discover new nonprofits to donate to through Facebook alone. This social platform boasts 2.07 billion monthly active users! Facebook also offers a robust digital communication platform that allows businesses to quickly and strategically interact with their audience through video, posts, and chats.
Yet Facebook is not the only platform utilized by nonprofits and popular with their audiences. Twitter comes in as a close second. Other popular channels include YouTube, Linked In, Pinterest, and Instagram. Instagram retains 800 million monthly active users, Twitter has 330 million, LinkedIn has 500 million, and Pinterest has 200 million.
That’s a lot of potential donors and supporters.
Each platform has many benefits, such as access to potential influencers and sponsorships, built-in ad management capabilities, and analytics systems.
How To Start Promoting My Nonprofit With Social Media
The audience is out there, just waiting for you to reach out to them. So, how do you reach the right audience? You may not even be sure what exactly to start posting…
Before we dive into the details, the easiest way to start a social media marketing campaign is to create a social media plan. Like any other marketing strategy or drive, you should know what you are working towards to promote your cause effectively.
To do this, follow these steps:
Set clear goals and objectives
What exactly do you want to achieve? Be as specific as possible. Where is your focus? Do you wish to receive more donations, raise awareness or recruit more volunteers?
Determine your target audience
This step is crucial in any marketing campaign! It would help if you had a clear idea of what you are doing and who you are targeting. You’ll need to create marketing personas.
Study your ideal donor or volunteer. What type of ad and language would they like to see? What are their interests? This will help you determine what kind of content they would enjoy and want to see.
Determine which social platforms to use
What resources do you have? Do you have someone dedicated to social media, or does an unpaid intern run it? If you don’t have much time to run socials, it is probably best to choose one or two and focus on those.
Don’t spread yourself too thin, or you’ll risk decreasing the quality of your posts.
It is wise to focus on the platform most of your target audience will be using. Then, if you see success, you can reach out to other platforms later.
Craft a strategy and execute
Creating a detailed plan with goals to hit will help you stay on track. Create a weekly schedule that allows you to post content consistently without burning you or your team out.
4 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Social Media With A Limited Budget
Did you know that, according to HubSpot, over 67 percent of nonprofits have no social media strategy policies or goals set in place? Don’t be like them.
Even with a limited budget, human resources, and resources, you can make an impact with social media. You have to know where to start.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
Create And Post Interactive Content
Crafting interactive content will help people engage with your account and stop their passive, aimless scroll! Don’t believe me? Businesses that use interactive content average a click-through rate of over 50 percent, according to Oracle. What types of content encourage interaction?
Things such as polls, Q & A sessions on Instagram Stories, hosting a survey, or simply asking your audience questions are all ways to encourage it.
Include Hashtags
Hashtags are an understated yet essential part of any social media marketing strategy. They help other people find your posts! While each social media platform has different rules for hashtag use, they benefit every campaign.
You can jump on trending hashtags for more exposure or create your own to draw attention, such as The British Red Cross’s Twitter account did. In their bio, they show it right away: #PowerofKindness.
Some popular hashtags used for charities are:
#charity, #dogood, #fundraising, #activism, #donate, #nonprofit, #philanthropy, #charitywork, #socialcause, and #change.
Remember, slapping hashtags onto a post won’t make it work like magic. You will need to do the proper hashtag research and test a handful of different ones to see what resonates with your audience.
Use Lots Of Visuals
People are much more likely to engage with a photo or video than just plain text. If you are looking to raise brand awareness and continue driving more traffic to your website, use big, eye-catching images! Use infographics, GIFS, or short videos for added emphasis.
Make Donating Easy
If your socials are doing their job, then they will be driving people to want to donate. Your next and most crucial step is to ensure it is as easy as possible to donate! Make sure your social media profile’s bios include a link to your website.
Need Nonprofit Social Media Marketing Help?
You and your organization are doing a great job working toward your cause. Don’t work hard in vain! Let Elevare help take your organization to the next level. We can assist you with your social media presence, email marketing campaigns and various other digital marketing initiatives.
Contact us today for your free consultation.
