Image courtesy of Home Business RotatorWe all know that using social media to engage with constituents is a good idea. We understand it shows how involved and dedicated we are to the the communities we’re serving.
Aside from showing your dedication, can social media really help with fundraising, though? The answer is an emphatic yes. The more ways your nonprofit is generating leads when fundraising, the better. And social media is one of the most effective digital means for generating leads
Over 70% of adults in the United States are using social media, and 42% are using multiple social media networks. Reaching out to constituents through multiple networks, and using these powerful social platforms in a targeted way can help take your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts to the next level.
Here are 5 tips to help your nonprofit take the next step in its social media fundraising efforts.
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Follow more
The best way to establish your new shiny social media accounts is to follow a lot of people. Most, if not all, social media platforms will notify users when they have received a new follower with an email, push notification, or other alert. These alerts usually shows your avatar and often time your bio.
Make sure your avatar and bio information is up to date and start actively following as people in your community. One of those leads could turn into a life long donor or volunteer.2. Visual storytelling
One of the biggest things donors look for before donating to a nonprofit is their level of transparency. Donors will often do online research before giving to a charity, but what they find when doing that online research depends on your level of transparency.
Use social media as a portal to show potential donors what goes on behind the scenes at your nonprofit. The more legitimate your nonprofit appears, the more interested they will likely be to give.3. Experiment with new strategies
There are countless ways for your nonprofit to use social media for social good. Depending on what your nonprofit does, where it’s operating, and who it is serving, the way you use social media will vary.
If you’re a nonprofit that has a lot of events, use Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to share pictures and videos from those events in the community. If your nonprofit doesn’t get a lot of face time with the public, try focusing more on Twitter to share your thoughts, ideas, and what you’re working on with the world.4. You have to ask
By ingraining yourself in the community through your content marketing efforts, you’ve made asking for donations a lot easier. Your followers are used to seeing your posts and interacting with them, so when you make a request, they will be more inclined to interact with your donation request, too.
It’s also a good idea to ask for retweets, shares, and even likes. The more interaction a post gets, the more likely it is for a lot of people to see it. According to research done by Dan Zarrella, calls-to-action within the tweet do get more interaction.5. Target #hashtags
Before starting any donation campaign, target a few hashtags you want to associate with that campaign and use them with every post. This creates a linear pattern to your campaign, and gives your followers something to hold on to even when your tweet is not right in front of them.
