Using Social Media for Good: Top Fundraising Tips
Using social media is one of the most affordable and effective ways to spread the word about your nonprofit or business. With so many people using these platforms, it's an easy way to reach new potential donors, volunteers, and followers.
Follow these tips from your 4giving fundraising experts to make the most of your social media strategy:
Strategy
You may have picked a great idea, but without an effective strategy, your campaign is likely to fail. When creating your social media fundraising plan, follow these steps:
- Pick a goal. What are you actually trying to achieve?
- Clearly communicate your goal and how the audience can help you reach it.
- Choose the right platform for your needs. Matching the size of your audience to the type of network will help you optimize how much money you raise.
- Make sure your donation site is accessible and easy to navigate. The less complicated, the better!
Photos
When it comes to getting people to take action, images are key. Photos allow your supporters to connect with the work you do and encourage your donors to share about your cause.
In fact, when you look at all of the best nonprofit Facebook posts, they all have one thing in common: photos. Because who doesn’t like looking at pictures?
Engagement
The most direct way to increase engagement is to post content that people want to respond to. This includes asking questions, providing a poll, giving shoutouts to members of the community, or posting an image or video with an inspiring quote.
If you find out what your supporters want and provide it for them, they're more likely to share it—without you even having to ask!
4giving helps fundraisers with engagement by allowing potential donors to see exactly what they're donating for through custom donation buttons. Fundraising experts at 4giving see increased engagement and donations for fundraisers that take advantage of these custom buttons to provide clear, tangible examples of the impact that donors are making.
Other ways to boost engagement and shares include holding contests and giveaways. When someone enters a contest or giveaway hosted by your organization, they're much more likely not only to engage with you on social media but also in real life: whether by donating their time as a volunteer or making a monetary donation.
Stories
Facebook Stories have taken the internet by storm, and it’s no surprise why—they allow users to get an inside look at their friends’ lives in a fun, temporary format. When it comes to non-profit fundraising, Facebook stories can be a great opportunity to show your followers what your organization is up to.
For example, if you’re running a clothing drive for kids in foster care or you are volunteering at the local animal shelter, post a few Boomerangs or videos of your team working together! This gives your followers context as to why they should donate.
Instagram Stories are another great tool for engaging with potential donors on social media. While similar to Facebook stories, Instagram allows for more customization by including music, stickers and other features that bring life and energy to your content. A best practice is to share behind-the-scenes or “day in the life” videos as they help donors feel closer to your cause while also giving them an idea of what their donation will accomplish.
Turn Followers into Fans
In this case, the quality of your followers is more important than the quantity. Don’t get hung up on the number of followers you have. Focus on your followers’ engagement with your social media posts instead.
Of course, having a ton of followers is great—but if they aren’t fans who care about what you post, there’s little point in having them around. Remember that it can be very hard to engage with a large group: if you have thousands of followers, there are probably only a handful of people who will see what you share each time you post online. Because of this, it doesn't hurt to occasionally invest in paid social media ads so that more people will actually see what you're posting and maybe become fans later on.
Looking for new ways to boost your fundraiser? Our expert 4gving team members are here to help! Contact 4giving here...