Social Media Best Practices for Nonprofits

Ilia Jones | May 2021

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If you’ve searched around for social media marketing tips, you’ve probably noticed that most are geared toward the needs of for-profit businesses. Nonprofits have unique marketing goals, though, so most of the tips out there don’t apply to you.

You don’t have to struggle alone, though. You can do a few things to take charge of your social media marketing efforts and get results. Here are some tips to help you move your nonprofit’s social media presence to the next level.

Create a Strategy

Social media success starts with a solid plan. First, consider your audience. There are some key questions you can ask to help develop a user persona for your target demographic, including what challenges they face and what approach is likely to appeal to them. If you’re seeking donations or lining up volunteers, think of your existing donors and volunteers. What approach would most likely win them over if they’d just heard of your organization for the first time?

Add Followers

In order to ensure your messages have the most reach, you need to work at growing your following. Make sure at events you encourage sharing using an event-specific hashtag. That will help get your nonprofit in front of new consumers. You can also hold a contest that encourages people to take some type of action, such as liking a post or leaving a comment, then choose one to win a prize.

Include Compelling Images

Social media users are bombarded with text as they scroll through their feeds. Keeping that in mind, it’s no surprise that posts with photos get more engagement than posts without. You can use free stock photos, but for best results, share photos straight from your events. At the finish of a fundraiser, snap photos of the results of the money that was donated. Whether the money went to build homes for those in need or to fund a camping trip for a youth group, donors love to see those images.

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Interact with Followers

Nobody wants to be marketed to 24/7. Make sure that you interact with your followers. Reply to comments on your posts and share photos that your followers post from your events. If people feel as though you’re interested in what they have to say, they’re more likely to continue to engage in the future.

Be Consistent

It doesn’t matter whether you post every day or once a week. The key is that you’re consistent. If you disappear for months, then come back wanting donations or volunteers, your followers won’t be as responsive. For best results, pay close attention to the best times to post on social media for each platform and consider using a scheduler if you don’t want to deal with being in front of your computer at those times.

If you’re ready to set a strategy for your social media marketing efforts, ArcStone can help. We offer social media marketing services, as well as delivering strategies that you can implement yourself. Contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss how we can help you with your nonprofit marketing efforts.

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