Did you know: 73 percent of first time donors do not give again?
There are many reasons contributors leave; sometimes they don’t feel appreciated, or don’t feel like part of the organization. While gaining new donors is always important, keeping them is even more so. If you can maintain just 10 percent higher than your current retention rate, your donations could go up 50 percent. By getting just a few dozen more donors to return, you can see an extreme boost in your budget.
So how do you increase your retention rate and your donations? Social media can play a large factor in helping your non-profit. Here are the top three tactics for increasing donations through social media.
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Give updates through Twitter
Before they donate, people typically want to know what is going on with your organization. When hosting a fundraising event or campaign, be sure to consistently tweet out your goals, milestones and results. Pair with relevant photos and links to landing pages so your past and potential donors know where to go to make a contribution. When people do donate, send thank you tweets to acknowledge them and let them know they made a difference.
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Test your campaigns during high donation periods
The most effective time for non-profit fundraising is typically during key holidays and milestones that relate to your cause. For example, if your organization focuses on breast cancer research, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month would be an ideal time to drive for donations. Create campaigns that highlight these key dates and time frames so people will be more willing to donate to further your mission. Facebook is especially good for campaign promotion, as it gives users the option to boost or promote posts, giving them additional paid reach among followers. Twitter ads can also help increase traffic by allowing you to quickly reach followers that may convert into donors, advocates and followers.
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Tell your donors’ stories
According to the Center for a Just Society, 67 percent of people who like a non-profit’s Facebook page do so because they want their friends and followers to know they support charitable organizations. While this may not be the ideal reason for someone to follow your organization on social media, it is one that may help you retain donors and followers. Put a spotlight on donors and their contributions by sharing their stories through your social media channels. How has your organization touched their lives? Why did they choose you to donate to your organization? Why do they care about your kind of work? Regularly write brief blog posts and share them on social media so your donors feel more appreciated and involved with your organization. This will compel them to come back and donate more in the future.
At TECH IMPACT, we help our non-profit clients with a range of digital marketing, social media and content marketing needs, all for less than the cost of a full time employee through our npSocial services. For more information, click HERE:
