Prime Suggestions From BGCGW’s Director of Donor Relations

“Whether or not you’ve got a full-time workers member liable for social media or somebody that posts often, I extremely suggest having some sort of social presence — no matter that appears like.”

This recommendation comes from Terri Johnson, Director of Donor Relations & Particular Occasions on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW). 

Johnson’s crew wears many hats (as many nonprofit staff do), and that features managing BGCGW’s social media technique.

I believed she’d be the right individual to ask how nonprofit organizations can faucet into the ability of social. Let’s check out her high ideas.

Desk of Contents

Why Social Media Issues for Nonprofits

Earlier than we dive into the how, let’s speak in regards to the why — why is it vital to your nonprofit group to be on social media?

For starters, we will take a look at the information: 55% of people who interact with nonprofits on social media find yourself taking some type of motion. This consists of donating cash, volunteering, or taking part in neighborhood occasions.

I can really communicate to this personally.

I’m an enormous animal lover. I not too long ago got here throughout a submit from The Humane Society on Instagram, and began scrolling by way of their feed.

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Wow, they actually do such nice work for all sorts of animals, I believed to myself. So nice in actual fact, it prompted me to make a donation to the trigger.

Social media offers you the platform to:

• Generate consciousness of your trigger — Shortly meet your audience the place they’re with details about your mission.
• Showcase your impression — Use this as a possibility to spotlight the significant work your group does.
• Develop your fundraising efforts — Maximize the attain of your campaigns, and accumulate donations immediately from the platforms.

It additionally doesn’t damage that it’s free to get began. And if you do, listed below are 10 ideas it’s best to bear in mind.

Social Media Greatest Practices for Nonprofits

In an interview with Terri Johnson, BGCGW’s Director of Donor Relations & Particular Occasions, we mentioned a few of her favourite social media greatest practices for nonprofits.

Let’s take a better take a look at what she shared.

1. Work out your social media objectives.

Terri says, “It’s onerous to measure success when you have nothing to match it to.”

That’s why it’s vital to set benchmarks to your social media actions. And from expertise, I can affirm that that is true for all advertising efforts.

She provides “You may all the time map these objectives again to your broader strategic targets when you’re having hassle.” For instance, use social media to assist a bigger fundraising or model consciousness goal.

Backside line: Set clear objectives so you may quantify your social media work. That method you may assess whether or not the “juice really is worth the squeeze” (as they are saying).

2. Select the correct platforms.

As a nonprofit, your assets could also be restricted. Terri can “completely relate to this” because it wasn’t way back that BGCGW had the same problem.

The excellent news is you don’t have to submit on all platforms to make an impression.

In reality, Johnson suggests the next: “Be sure you perceive which platforms are extra standard along with your goal demographic.”

She continues, “At BGCGW, we use Instagram to attraction to our teen members and younger professionals.”

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“On Fb, we prefer to give attention to content material that’s extra related to oldsters and adults.”

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And it’s true. Information says that 31% of Instagram users are ages 18-24. And 49% of Facebook users are ages 25-44.

Backside line: Don’t really feel like that you must be on each single channel so long as you’re assembly your audiences on the correct ones.

3. Use visuals to inform your story.

For mission-driven organizations like nonprofits, an image can actually be price a thousand phrases.

“Inform your story by way of imagery,” Terri suggests. “That’s what we do. Our mission is pushed by the younger individuals we assist, so we like to spotlight them on social media each probability we get.”

These are a couple of of my favorites from their Instagram feed:

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Backside line: Present individuals what your group is all about and why they need to put money into you. 

4. Be real and use an genuine voice.

“Social media is an effective way to indicate and inform — to offer your audience an inside view of your group,” says Terri. 

Authenticity is essential if you wish to inform your model story in a compelling method and draw extra supporters to your mission.

Johnson provides, “It lets you showcase what makes you distinctive and can assist separate you from the noise.”

Backside line: Be sincere, be actual, and imagine in what you say. For those who can encourage belief, individuals are extra prone to hear.

5. Construct a neighborhood round your model.

Your neighborhood on social media is extra than simply the viewers you’re attempting to achieve. It consists of your group’s assist system, too.

Terri says, “We like to say our companions and sponsors as a method to shout them out whereas constructing model recognition.”

“It additionally permits these firms and people to showcase their dedication to supporting our communities,” she provides.

Backside line: Social media is supposed to be social. Begin conversations, work together along with your followers, and provides props to maintain individuals engaged along with your mission.

6. Leverage social media perks for nonprofits.

There are a variety of social media assets to make it simple for nonprofits to advertise their model and meet their objectives.

Listed here are two examples:

• Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits: Google presents free and discounted search advert credit for nonprofits. Terri famous that her crew has tapped into this chance “a number of instances” and seen constructive outcomes.
• Platform-Particular Instruments: Most channels, together with Fb and Instagram, supply built-in fundraising instruments for nonprofits. For instance, you may simply add a “Assist” button to your profile or a clickable “Donate” sticker to your Story.

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Backside line: Do the analysis to see what perks your model can leverage, so that you’re getting probably the most social media bang to your buck.

Alana’s Bonus Tip: Make the most of AI writing instruments.

AI isn’t excellent, however it might nonetheless prevent time in the case of content material creation.

I’ve tried it out a couple of instances, and it’s an amazing supply of inspiration for me as a marketer.

I like to make use of conversational AI (e.g., ChatGPT) to generate subject and title concepts for weblog posts and summarize long-form data into bite-sized nuggets for social.

These are a couple of social media writing prompts you may check out:

• “Create a submit for Instagram selling [insert event name and description] in [insert number] phrases or much less.”
• “Write a Fb submit summarizing our new initiative [insert initiative description].”
• “Draft a tweet asking for assist for [insert cause description].”

HubSpot additionally has free AI tools obtainable that will help you draft compelling social copy.

Begin Crushing Your Social Media Objectives

Now is a superb time to be social, particularly for nonprofits.

Even when your technique isn’t excellent or your assets are restricted, you may all the time begin small and refine issues as you go.

In time, you’ll be effectively in your method to social media success.