You are changing the world, making a difference, and creating a better future for your constituents, stakeholders, and are loved by the community: you are a nonprofit superstar!
Inspiring others to support your cause is easy, once they’ve had a chance to learn about your mission. Your nonprofit has a facebook/twitter/instagram account, but so does every other nonprofit. The challenge lies in bringing attention to your nonprofit’s platform.
Sound familiar? Read on to learn how you can make your nonprofit’s social media accounts stand out from the rest.
Rule # 1: If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video is worth 100 thousand.
Want to grab your browser’s attention? Use a picture. Better yet, use a video. When people are scanning through their social media feeds, they pause on a picture or video because it grabs their attention. If you want to say something that will get read, put it in the comments of an original picture that will speak to your supporters.
And it doesn’t have to be perfect, either. Perfection is the enemy of good- it’s much better to be authentic.https://www.youtube.com/embed/LPP_Ehd3fWM
Rule # 2: Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket- unless the data tells you so.
Diversification is key, right? Different social media platforms attract different markets. Know who your audience is before you start a social media campaign. Not sure who your audience is? Check out who’s following your social media accounts, and then check out who’s following those people. Algorithms suggest what a person might like because someone they follow likes it, too.
While cross posting on social media channels is better than not at all, the best influential nonprofits modify the message based on their audience. At the same time, it’s important to know where your audience lives and focus on those channels.
Posting on LinkedIn where professionals live? Make it professional towards 25-50 year olds. Facebook? Age 30-65 please. Instagram or Snapchat? Hello Millennials! (Factoid of the day: just 3% of people age 65 or older use Snapchat… so it’s not likely your first choice to reach donors!)
For a great resource on social platform demographics, average user age and frequency of use, click here.
Rule # 3: What goes around comes around
Invest in your social media followers and they will invest in you. Aim to respond to comments, direct messages, and questions within 10 minutes (if not sooner) to wow your supporters. Human interaction still matters even in it’s cyber form!
Understanding the psychology behind human behavior is critical to growing your nonprofit’s social media presence; combine that understanding with marketing basics and you have a secret weapon.
Yes, this costs time, but is also something that we seem to have more of in these uncertain times. If you don’t have the time or can’t afford a staff member, consider using a volunteer to manage the postings- in our experience you will find these people more than willing to help, and if you do use a volunteer, make sure they are empowered to respond as they see fit- no micromanaging allowed!
Rule # 4: It’s consistently important to be consistent!
Whenever you choose to post, be consistent. So if you post 3X a week, make sure to post 3X a week. Want to really take it to the next level and post once a day? Great! And it’s fine to post once a week, too. Whatever the schedule you decide, just stick to it!
Rule # 5: Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your social media presence
It takes time and patience to grow your readership, but it will grow if you keep up the work Make sure to track metrics such as views and when posting links, use a free tool like www.bit.ly to track which links get clicked. Anything worth managing is worth measuring, so make sure to keep track of these important metrics!
The Team at The Biedermann Group
