A Strategic Guide To Social Media Marketing For Nonprofits

• Updated on: 2020-11-11
• Read original article here

Let me start with the truth - a lot of people do not donate to nonprofits because they do not know if they will use the money for its intended purpose, or how nonprofits will invest the money or people might think if their donations can make a real difference!

This shows a type of trust issue among potential funders and followers of nonprofits. If there is no trust then it is also difficult to inspire people to volunteer and attend your events.

In this case, social media marketing is a great way to build trust and regularly inform your community about what you are doing.

I know that you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account to promote your nonprofit activities.

But you know what?

Social media in the nonprofit world is beyond adding subscribers!

It is all about following the right social media marketing strategy.

Engaging with new supporters on social media has never felt this challenging due to the enormous amount of distractions that we see on social media pages. Such distractions prevent you from keeping your cause at the top of your target’s news feeds.

To tackle this challenge, we’ll discuss ideal social media marketing practices for your nonprofit organization. Eight tips mentioned here are exclusive to nonprofits, making this the right strategic guide for nonprofits.

A well-defined mission and objective are one of the prerequisites for an effective social media strategy.

Let me give you an example!

Suppose one of your organization’s goals is to ensure adequate natural resources to society to meet its present and future needs. In that case, you need to post content regularly that is related to sustainability and environmental protection. Your posts should unveil efforts taken by your organization towards ensuring a safe and sustainable future.

In the example given below, check out how N.C Forest Service has aligned its social media goals with nonprofit goals.

Simply put, your brand identity should replicate your social media posts!

Note that your entire team also needs to be on the same page for better coordination and clarity.

This is because a person handling your social media will be more confident when provided with the necessary information regularly. As a result, it will be easier to achieve the desired objectives.

Once you are clear about your audience, find out the most used and suitable social media platforms, and focus on your efforts accordingly.

This is important. Do you know why?

Rather than posting on every social media, it is advisable to use 3-4 social platforms to market your nonprofit endeavors.

I have enumerated the benefits of four major social platforms- Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Using these social platforms, a non-profit agency can amass more followers and audience.

It is advised to identify your audience based on demographic data and information about individual members of your target audience.

If you assume your social media posts are enough to engage your audience, then you might be wrong. Yes, you read it right!

Another important factor to consider is the type of content that you might want to share on social media.

If you are handling a social media handle of a university, think about the trending topics in education and what your university and college can offer to students. Your university website can provide some exposure about the courses offered, but students want to see what goes around in your college.

In the example cited below, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is motivating aspiring students to explore the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field.

Furthermore, do not just inform and engage your audience, go one step ahead, and solve their major problems.

By doing this, you will develop a reciprocal relationship and ultimately built trust and potential followers.

While creating a content strategy for your non-profit, it is also essential to realize why people follow and like specific brands. This is where you might need to work on storytelling abilities.

Yes, storytelling is the key here.

Look at how other nonprofits tell their respective stories.

After you share, do not hesitate to ask your followers about the kind of activities or post they wish to experience or read going forward. For this, try gathering information via emails, surveys, etc. and identify their sincere wishes.

Analyze your social data and see what has worked and what has not. This will help you identify what type of content resonates most with your audience.

Now you know what your followers want!

This is when you should get creative and think beyond texts and images.

If you want writers for your team, try Narrato.in. This is a platform to hire quality freelance writers.

Your not-profit agency should post a variety of content like images, videos, GIFs, data-based visuals, etc. Focus on the emotions that your content can trigger rather than hackneyed social media promotions. Make sure that your content is mobile-friendly for an effective social media engagement.

You should also use content curation tools to power your marketing strategies.

Social media is an excellent platform to cultivate an emotional touch that helps supporters feel connected. Such engagement on social media will showcase your nonprofit's transparency and accountability. Your audience will recognize how you help society, and this will gradually acquiesce with your not-profit motives.

This can be done via cross-promotion.

Let’s look at a few cross-promotion ideas:

As discussed in the introduction, budget allocation issues are not uncommon for non-profit agencies, and so it becomes necessary to allocate funds.

Why not try paid social ads?

Here are the benefits of paid social ads:

Although SocialPilot provides substantial discounts to non-profits, it is still essential to allocate budgets. When leveraged strategically and thoughtfully, social media platforms are an excellent way for nonprofits to connect with stakeholders, cultivate loyal donors, and expand their reach and audience.

As we know, influencers are well-positioned to market and wield not-profit thoughts effectively.

The thing to note here is it is not always necessary that a highly paid or a venerated influencer can only help you out.

Who can help if not social influencers?

Let’s talk about these special people who can pave the way for your nonprofit’s success!

For example, John Haydon is one of the influencers who has helped hundreds of nonprofits realize their best marketing and fundraising results.

How can you take advantage of them and build a mutual relationship?

A combination of social media management and social media listening will enable you to inspire people and have empathy towards not-profit goals.

Usually, nonprofits manually search network groups and people, and they tend to spend more time on networking efforts. Nonprofits can monitor multiple networks and report data almost immediately using social listening tools.

Let’s talk about the process and benefits of social listening:

You will be able to gain all the benefits of social listening if you closely follow all the strategies mentioned above for an effective social media strategy.