Social media doesn't have to be all cute cat videos or television spoilers. Social media can also be used for social good. The real power of social media comes through engaging a wide audience. What better way to do that than with a nonprofit fundraising campaign that people can feel good about?
Here are some simple ways to spread the work about your fundraising campaign:
1. Make good notes about the campaign. It is necessary that you understand the fundamental elements evolving around the social media fundraising campaign you wish to start. Know your goals. Then, know who your target audience is. Make sure that donors, volunteers and advocates who can potentially help your campaign are identified, including their preferred social media platform. This then will be your determinant where to start a conversation.
2. Customize your message. Each social media channel is unique, so posts should be written to fit each specific audience. Don't apply a "cut and paste" approach over different platforms. Instead, customize each post to fit the channel. For example, Twitter has a limit of 140 characters per post so brevity is a necessity, Instagram is all about pictures and imagery, and you'll need to create videos to use YouTube.
3. Call for a connection and be connected too. It is a two-way street when it comes to social media that when you start with it, you should be able to "drive" conversations. Donors need to be responded to individually even when it only calls for simple "thank you". Establish involvement in the conversation you have generated for your followers where you may retweet some of the posts and links from your influencers. Seek out companies and organizations you may be able to work with and be in groups in Facebook or LinkedIn as well as Google+ communities with them.
4. Try out various types of content. See if other approaches actually work. You can continue in the direction pointing to the week, time or the type of post which garnered the most response. Check with feedback given by followers so that you can create adjustments suiting what truly appeals to them. You may find that analytics are now being used by some social media platforms which can help you measure response and effectiveness.
5. Convey urgency. Social media is all about the present. Provide real-time updates on the progress of your campaign and how far away you are from meeting your goals. Seeing a post that says there is less than a few hundred dollars to go could inspire someone to pull the trigger on donating to help cross that monumental mark.
6. Share your results. Social media can be used to thank donors and volunteers and include how their gifts will be utilized. They could clearly see the impact of their "giving" when you present to them what would really happen like "donating $50 will give children in need about 5 pairs of shoes". A thank you video from recipients should also be in place. Maybe volunteers and donors sharing their testimonies on how their participation in your campaign actually affected their lives can be highlighted as well.
7. There should be a call to action. This is something that should be present in some of your posts in social media venues so your followers can take the succeeding step. They can be reminded to "help spread the word" or "share this" and even "get your tickets here" or "click here to donate now" should they be interested to share your story.
8. Turn your network into an army. All of your hard work to build a successful network of real-world volunteers, donors, and ambassadors can translate into a similar approach for fundraising efforts via social media. Invite followers to chime in with their ideas and testimonials. Encourage them to raise money or promote your campaign through their own channels. Contests are great ways to drive participation and expand your network of contacts. By asking people to share your campaign, you are increasing exposure since now their own friends and followers will become aware of your efforts.
In order materialize nonprofit fundraising, social media maybe one powerful tool for you to use. Be conversational rather than approach aggressively. Instead of asking your followers for something it is best that you come up with a conversation relative to your campaign - one that your followers may be willing to share. It will be through this that connection can be formed between your organization and your followers which can result to your campaign gaining an advantage over the others.
Using a service such as InstaGive can make this whole process as easy as possible. Not only will collecting and tracking donations be simple, spreading the word on social media sites is easy as well. For more information about InstaGive, go to Truist.
Here are some simple ways to spread the work about your fundraising campaign:
1. Make good notes about the campaign. It is necessary that you understand the fundamental elements evolving around the social media fundraising campaign you wish to start. Know your goals. Then, know who your target audience is. Make sure that donors, volunteers and advocates who can potentially help your campaign are identified, including their preferred social media platform. This then will be your determinant where to start a conversation.
2. Customize your message. Each social media channel is unique, so posts should be written to fit each specific audience. Don't apply a "cut and paste" approach over different platforms. Instead, customize each post to fit the channel. For example, Twitter has a limit of 140 characters per post so brevity is a necessity, Instagram is all about pictures and imagery, and you'll need to create videos to use YouTube.
3. Call for a connection and be connected too. It is a two-way street when it comes to social media that when you start with it, you should be able to "drive" conversations. Donors need to be responded to individually even when it only calls for simple "thank you". Establish involvement in the conversation you have generated for your followers where you may retweet some of the posts and links from your influencers. Seek out companies and organizations you may be able to work with and be in groups in Facebook or LinkedIn as well as Google+ communities with them.
4. Try out various types of content. See if other approaches actually work. You can continue in the direction pointing to the week, time or the type of post which garnered the most response. Check with feedback given by followers so that you can create adjustments suiting what truly appeals to them. You may find that analytics are now being used by some social media platforms which can help you measure response and effectiveness.
5. Convey urgency. Social media is all about the present. Provide real-time updates on the progress of your campaign and how far away you are from meeting your goals. Seeing a post that says there is less than a few hundred dollars to go could inspire someone to pull the trigger on donating to help cross that monumental mark.
6. Share your results. Social media can be used to thank donors and volunteers and include how their gifts will be utilized. They could clearly see the impact of their "giving" when you present to them what would really happen like "donating $50 will give children in need about 5 pairs of shoes". A thank you video from recipients should also be in place. Maybe volunteers and donors sharing their testimonies on how their participation in your campaign actually affected their lives can be highlighted as well.
7. There should be a call to action. This is something that should be present in some of your posts in social media venues so your followers can take the succeeding step. They can be reminded to "help spread the word" or "share this" and even "get your tickets here" or "click here to donate now" should they be interested to share your story.
8. Turn your network into an army. All of your hard work to build a successful network of real-world volunteers, donors, and ambassadors can translate into a similar approach for fundraising efforts via social media. Invite followers to chime in with their ideas and testimonials. Encourage them to raise money or promote your campaign through their own channels. Contests are great ways to drive participation and expand your network of contacts. By asking people to share your campaign, you are increasing exposure since now their own friends and followers will become aware of your efforts.
In order materialize nonprofit fundraising, social media maybe one powerful tool for you to use. Be conversational rather than approach aggressively. Instead of asking your followers for something it is best that you come up with a conversation relative to your campaign - one that your followers may be willing to share. It will be through this that connection can be formed between your organization and your followers which can result to your campaign gaining an advantage over the others.
Using a service such as InstaGive can make this whole process as easy as possible. Not only will collecting and tracking donations be simple, spreading the word on social media sites is easy as well. For more information about InstaGive, go to Truist.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup loves writing about philantrophic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. For more details about company charitable giving campaigns, or to find help setting up a charitable fund, please go to the Truist.com site today.
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