Charities - Make Social Media Work for You !
Charities can have a difficult time finding ways to spread their message and promote their work with their limited funds. Social Media offers a free way that charities can use to not only spread the word about their cause, but about connection, nurturing relationships, and building networks. It’s about bringing your followers closer to you and helping you grow your audience.
1. CHALLENGE - Make a Specific Ask That is Effective & Measurable.
Individuals know charities require help, but we’re not quite sure how we can help or if our involvement or contribution will make any difference. Think about a clear vision that your social media strategy needs to aim for.
Tip: Don’t create a digital identity just because everyone’s doing it
2. CHALLENGE – Not finding the time
It’s not often you hear a charity or social enterprise of any size tell you that they have all the time, staff, and funds to do everything they wish they could do – the scope of the world’s social problems is unfortunately too great. We understand you have may resource constraints but social media doesn’t have to be a full-time job.
Tip: Schedule multiple posts in the pipeline to save on time
Tip: Your success does not hinge on written content alone, but it’s often some of the easiest material to procure. Example, if you host an event, snap a couple of photos on your phone and post them on your page – Individuals like being acquainted with the actual groundwork (Facebook’s mobile app allows for seamless picture uploads instantly). Individuals love feeling part of a community.
3. CHALLENGE - Interesting content
Involving your charity in interesting events such as the ADHM may help get the ‘hooked’ element. This will help grow your influence in your community, and increase your engagement, followers and traffic. Share individual stories of impact. Share stories to demonstrate why the need is so great. Individuals love feeling part of a community.
Tip: Follow the people who are doing great things. This not only includes people supporting other causes but also your volunteers and donors – show them your appreciation. Give them special incentives from time to time.
Tip: Solicit stories or photos from their supporters, and posting them as content on a Page. It really puts the people that support and champion you at the center of everything you’re doing.
4 CHALLENGE – Influencers
Social media allows you the opportunity to connect with people who you otherwise might not have been able to reach – activate them. Don’t be afraid to reach out to influential people in your community and ask them for retweets and shares to some of your updates.
Tip: Explain your cause to garner the support you envision
5 CHALLENGE - Find allies in your field
More often than not, multiple charities function under the same vertical supporting the same cause – simply finding that common ground you form a stronger team to tackle the real cause at hand. By championing your allies, you are essentially helping promote the real cause, increasing the likelihood of success. Try interacting with them on social media to build the desired momentum and then utilize the snowball effect – when more people hear about the same cause at the same time, it makes it easier to reach out to the true supporters.
Tip: Inter-share blog content clearly giving the originator credit for the post
6 CHALLENGE - Thorough involvement
Ensure you are frequent in your communication with your followers and promptly respond to their queries so as to keep them engaged with your cause. Individuals need the sense of something real and tangible and want to know how their money is being used, if at all they donate and similarly HOW they can volunteer if they so desire. Folks want to see what is happening with the project as close to ‘real-time’ as possible. Individuals love feeling part of a community.
Tip: taking a few minutes each day to read your Twitter timeline and check what your network is up to on LinkedIn may be the fastest method to stay on top of the latest developments.
7 CHALLENGE - Be authentic
Social media shouldn’t be about competing with others, instead should be a reflection of your Charity’s personality & ethos. It should be about doing the best that you can and speaking with the voice that you want to. Also being authentic reduces the pressure; you are an expert on your own charity
Tip: speak as if you are talking directly to an individual
Tip: Get Non-Profit executives to actively engage through twitter
8 CHALLENGE - Pose thoughtful questions to keep your followers engaged – it also provides for an effective data collection tool to understand the community perspective
Your social media presence is too important, and too easily damaged, to leave it to someone who cares about your organization, but isn’t fully in tune with the public face you want to put on things. It needs to be thoroughly understood and then put your best foot forward!
Most Importantly – Be PROACTIVE and create an emotional connect. The funds will follow.