Insights and New Knowledge from Consultants

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

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 finances can also be often restricted, however social networks come to the rescue. They’re free, run 24/7, and have a worldwide viewers already current.

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

How one can Leverage Social Media for Nonprofits

In accordance with HubSpot’s 2024 Social Tendencies 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 — an important facet of fundraising and advocacy work.”

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

Whereas it’s nice to have a diversified nonprofit social media technique, specializing in too many platforms without delay makes use of up lots of time and assets.

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 targets.

My favorites are Fb, Instagram, TikTok, and X. Since every platform has its distinctive options and consumer preferences, you must observe completely different methods to maximise my content material’s influence.

1. Fb

I’ve been utilizing Fb ever since I received 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 one among their prime advertising and marketing channels in 2024.

And that is true for nonprofits as properly. 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 desire Fb because of its simplicity and flexibility. I’ve had success selling all varieties of content material, from texts and movies to infographics and polls. Let’s have a look at some methods I observe.

How one can use Fb for nonprofits:

• Livestreaming. In comparison with pre-recorded movies, livestreams give organizations increased 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 via the livestream itself.
• Utilizing the donation button. Throughout a fundraising marketing campaign for unsheltered individuals, one skilled 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 permit nonprofits to succeed in a worldwide viewers that shares the identical ardour. You’ll be able to put up on completely different Fb teams to ask for donations or volunteers. You can too handle your personal group, the place you may share updates with supporters.

2. Instagram

With 50% of B2B and 53% of B2C manufacturers lively on Instagram, it at the moment ranks because the third hottest social media platform amongst companies. In reality, 23% of manufacturers obtain the very best engagement on this platform.

Nevertheless, Instagram solely promotes visible content material codecs like pictures and movies. This will pose a problem for those who desire writing about your model. Nevertheless, Instagram can unleash creativity.

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

Hilarity for Charity’s Instagram put up just lately grabbed my consideration whereas scrolling via my newsfeed.

I like how they used a preferred reel template to create a playful environment whereas educating the plenty about Alzheimer’s illness.

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

How one 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 seek out public figures who’re enthusiastic about charitable causes. You’ll be able to ask influencers to create reels showcasing their assist to your trigger.
• Cross-sharing. If I make a put up on Fb, I can share it on Instagram with one click on. So, even for those who’re low on time, you may shortly run a marketing campaign on two social media platforms without delay.
• Utilizing Instagram Tales. You should utilize Instagram Tales to construct curiosity amongst your followers and get them to go to your profile. Tales sometimes embody sneak peeks into your newest campaigns, shoutouts to supporters, and a few behind-the-scenes photographs of volunteers working.

3. TikTok

With 39% of B2C manufacturers utilizing TikTok, this video-based platform is a stable alternative for social media advertising and marketing. It helps charities not simply via 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 a superb presence on TikTok and has gained over 26,500 followers.

Xavier English, co-founder of Supermix, shares the following tips: “Should you’re attempting to succeed in a extremely broad viewers of individuals in a youthful age bracket for a trigger that has mass enchantment, you’re in all probability extra prone to discover them on TikTok, which has a youthful consumer base.”

How one can use TikTok for nonprofits:

• Creating video content material. I recurrently create movies about subject 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 instantly make donations with out spending time looking for a hyperlink.
• Importing brief movies. TikTok permits video uploads of as much as three minutes. Nevertheless, I add shorter movies which can be lower than 30 seconds as a result of these get probably 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 prime social media platform. Nevertheless, I nonetheless take into account 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 implies you may seize the eye of celebs who may be fascinated about working to your trigger.

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

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

How one 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 info, however they persuade the X algorithm that my posts are participating.
• Posting throughout prime time. The trick is to put up at a time when customers are most lively. That’s after I get the very best engagement. In my expertise, 12-3 PM is one of the best time to put up on X.
• Utilizing actionable CTAs. One other approach I enhance my engagement on X is through the use of calls-to-action like “Share for those who assist this trigger” or “100k likes, and we’ll set up free well being checks this month.” This encourages individuals to work together with my posts via likes, reposts, and feedback, growing my attain.
• Creating branded hashtags. Utilizing widespread hashtags will help you attain a big viewers. You can too 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 is determined by your objective and the demographics you wish to goal.

Meagan Jackman, president and CMO of The Harkey Group, offers steerage that can assist you select the best platform:

“If a nonprofit wants company donations, the staff 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 objective is to be the place your target market can discover you.

Assist Your Trigger By way of Social Media for Nonprofits

You’ve in all probability 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 succeed in a worldwide viewers that shares your ardour.

By following greatest practices and social media developments for nonprofits, you may 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.