Insights and New Information from Consultants

As a digital advertising and marketing professional, I’ve tried a number of methods over time. And one factor I’ve discovered is that advertising and marketing nonprofits requires a specialised strategy.

In contrast to companies, nonprofits don’t promote services or products. As a substitute, they need individuals to assist a noble trigger.

Their advertising and marketing price range can also be often restricted, however social networks come to the rescue. They’re free, run 24/7, and have a world viewers already current.

On this information, I’ll clarify easy methods to use social media for nonprofits and share a few of greatest practices when creating content material on every platform.

How you can Leverage Social Media for Nonprofits

Based on HubSpot’s 2024 Social Traits Report, 82% of entrepreneurs discovered that social media advertising and marketing was efficient for his or her manufacturers.

Consultants who’ve labored with charitable organizations additionally vouch for social media as an efficient advertising and marketing technique for nonprofits.

Will Yang, head of development and advertising and marketing at Instrumentl, says, “It permits direct interplay with the viewers, permitting nonprofits to foster private connections with their supporters — a necessary facet of fundraising and advocacy work.”

We’ve established that advocating in your trigger on social media works. However does that imply advertising and marketing on all of the social media channels is the very best transfer? Not a lot.

Whereas it’s nice to have a diversified nonprofit social media technique, specializing in too many platforms directly makes use of up plenty of time and sources.

So, as a substitute, I recommend choosing two to 4 platforms that work greatest for my trigger and sticking to them till you attain your social media objectives.

My favorites are Fb, Instagram, TikTok, and X. Since every platform has its distinctive options and person preferences, it’s best to comply with totally different methods to maximise my content material’s affect.

1. Fb

I’ve been utilizing Fb ever since I acquired my first smartphone.

However regardless that it’s one of many oldest social networks, it nonetheless stays the most well-liked amongst manufacturers. HubSpot’s analysis discovered that 65% of B2C manufacturers use Fb as considered one of their high advertising and marketing channels in 2024.

And that is true for nonprofits as nicely. The 2023 Nonprofit Tech for Good report states that 96% of nonprofits have a Fb Web page.

Think about No Child Hungry, a charity group that goals to finish childhood starvation within the U.S. The nonprofit has gained over 318,000 followers by recurrently posting about its campaigns and actions on its Fb Web page.

Numbers apart, I favor Fb on account of its simplicity and flexibility. I’ve had success selling all forms of content material, from texts and movies to infographics and polls. Let’s take a look at some methods I comply with.

How you can use Fb for nonprofits:

• Livestreaming. In comparison with pre-recorded movies, livestreams give organizations greater engagement charges. You’ll be able to present real-time updates about your nonprofit’s actions by livestreaming them. On the similar time, viewers could make donations by the livestream itself.
• Utilizing the donation button. Throughout a fundraising marketing campaign for unsheltered individuals, one professional created a devoted Fb Web page with a donation button. This made it simpler for supporters to make donations as soon as they visited the web page.
• Becoming a member of Fb teams. Teams enable nonprofits to achieve a world viewers that shares the identical ardour. You’ll be able to put up on totally different Fb teams to ask for donations or volunteers. You too can handle your personal group, the place you possibly can share updates with supporters.

2. Instagram

With 50% of B2B and 53% of B2C manufacturers energetic on Instagram, it presently ranks because the third hottest social media platform amongst companies. In truth, 23% of manufacturers obtain the best engagement on this platform.

Nevertheless, Instagram solely promotes visible content material codecs like photos and movies. This will pose a problem in the event you favor writing about your model. Nevertheless, Instagram can unleash creativity.

Utilizing varied reel templates, memes, and different social media developments for nonprofits, you possibly can flip critical charity data into enjoyable content material your viewers will love.

Hilarity for Charity’s Instagram put up not too long ago grabbed my consideration whereas scrolling by my newsfeed.

I like how they used a well-liked reel template to create a playful ambiance whereas educating the plenty about Alzheimer’s illness.

The group spreads consciousness concerning the situation utilizing its personal mascot, trending audio, and an eye catching message.

How you can use Instagram for nonprofits:

• Partnering with influencers. Influencer advertising and marketing is one of many key methods to extend viewers interplay, and Instagram is a good place to search out public figures who’re enthusiastic about charitable causes. You’ll be able to ask influencers to create reels showcasing their assist in your trigger.
• Cross-sharing. If I make a put up on Fb, I can share it on Instagram with one click on. So, even in the event you’re low on time, you possibly can rapidly run a marketing campaign on two social media platforms directly.
• Utilizing Instagram Tales. You should utilize Instagram Tales to construct curiosity amongst your followers and get them to go to your profile. Tales usually embody sneak peeks into your newest campaigns, shoutouts to supporters, and a few behind-the-scenes pictures of volunteers working.

3. TikTok

With 39% of B2C manufacturers utilizing TikTok, this video-based platform is a strong alternative for social media advertising and marketing. It helps charities not simply by fundraising but in addition by rolling out new options.

For instance, in 2023, TikTok donated $250,000 to the Uncommon Affect Fund whereas introducing options like sleep reminders and screen-time limits to assist psychological well being.

TikTok’s demographics largely consist of individuals beneath the age of 34. This implies I can simply attain Gen-Zers and youthful millennials on the app.

Different nonprofits additionally use TikTok for development and elevated attain. American Most cancers Society, as an illustration, has constructed an excellent presence on TikTok and has gained over 26,500 followers.

Xavier English, co-founder of Supermix, shares the following tips: “In the event you’re attempting to achieve a very large viewers of individuals in a youthful age bracket for a trigger that has mass enchantment, you’re most likely extra more likely to discover them on TikTok, which has a youthful person base.”

How you can use TikTok for nonprofits:

• Creating video content material. I recurrently create movies about area actions, fundraising campaigns, and occasion planning. This reveals supporters how I’m spending their donations.
• Utilizing Donation Stickers. I additionally be certain that so as to add Donation Stickers to all my movies. This fashion, followers can straight make donations with out spending time trying to find a hyperlink.
• Importing brief movies. TikTok permits video uploads of as much as three minutes. Nevertheless, I add shorter movies which are lower than 30 seconds as a result of these get essentially the most engagement.

4. X (Previously Twitter)

Fashionable companies are shifting their focus to video-based platforms, which explains why solely 31% of B2C manufacturers view X as a high social media platform. Nevertheless, I nonetheless contemplate X an awesome nonprofit advertising and marketing channel.

However it’s not simply me. Different nonprofits have had nice outcomes on this platform. Think about Oceana Worldwide, an NGO devoted to saving and restoring the oceans. It has amassed greater than 496,000 followers on X.

X has a large superstar presence, which suggests you possibly can seize the eye of celebs who is likely to be inquisitive about working in your trigger.

Creating content material on the platform can also be straightforward, because it permits customers so as to add brief captions to pictures and movies.

Nevertheless, what’s tiring about X is that I have to put up every day. In any other case, engagement charges rapidly die down, and it turns into tough to extend your attain as soon as extra.

How you can use X for nonprofits:

• Organizing content material into threads. X posts (previously tweets) have a restrict of 280 characters. However I’ve discovered that threads are an effective way to get across the restrict. Not solely do they permit me to share extra data, however they persuade the X algorithm that my posts are partaking.
• Posting throughout prime time. The trick is to put up at a time when customers are most energetic. That’s once I get the best engagement. In my expertise, 12-3 PM is the very best time to put up on X.
• Utilizing actionable CTAs. One other method I enhance my engagement on X is through the use of calls-to-action like “Share in the event you assist this trigger” or “100k likes, and we’ll arrange free well being checks this month.” This encourages individuals to work together with my posts by likes, reposts, and feedback, rising my attain.
• Creating branded hashtags. Utilizing widespread hashtags might help you attain a big viewers. You too can create your personal hashtags and encourage followers to make use of them of their posts.

Equally, tons of of different nonprofits have efficiently created social media campaigns on platforms like Reddit, Threads, and LinkedIn. The platform you select will depend on your purpose and the demographics you need to goal.

Meagan Jackman, president and CMO of The Harkey Group, gives steering that can assist you select the perfect platform:

“If a nonprofit wants company donations, the group ought to flip to LinkedIn. If there’s a youth nonprofit seeking to converse to folks, they need to leverage Fb. If the message is informational, YouTube is a good medium.”

The last word purpose is to be the place your target market can discover you.

Assist Your Trigger By Social Media for Nonprofits

You’ve most likely confronted a fair proportion of struggles when advertising and marketing your nonprofit organizations. Nevertheless, constructing a robust social media presence on Fb, X, TikTok, and Instagram made it simpler to achieve a world viewers that shares your ardour.

By following greatest practices and social media developments for nonprofits, you possibly can leverage your social media accounts to create model consciousness and interact together with your target market.

Editor’s notice: This put up was initially printed in June 2022 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.