One of the most time-consuming pieces of digital media strategies for nonprofits is the demand to come up with fresh and exciting ideas for social media each day. This task can be daunting to volunteers and committee chair persons. Engaging your social media donor base is critical for audience growth, post reach and a return on your investment.
Here’s a list of six creative ways to diversify and liven up your nonprofit’s social media feed.
1. Make Them Laugh
Who doesn’t enjoy a witty play on words or fun pop culture reference? Memes, GIFs, and images are easy ways to catch your audience’s eye. Pair with a quick reference to your organization or your own funny quip and it is engagement gold. Plus, it’s a chance to acknowledge challenging things about being a nonprofit without bringing down the vibe.
2. Educate
The only constant is change. Taking time to educate your audience about new technology initiatives, introduce them to key employees, or explain changes to the organization are ways to provide your donors a peek behind the curtain. Not only does it build trust, it can also help improve support for organizational changes when donors understand the why.
3. Start a Relevant Conversation
Your donors are a great source of information. Asking for their opinion is a fabulous way to engage your social media audience. The key: be sure to only ask for feedback when you’re open to the results. You can keep it light with polls about color choices for an upcoming gala or broach more serious topics like asking for guidance after a perceived misstep by the organization. Before embarking on a serious conversation, make sure to include all stakeholders and HR to ensure that the organization is ready to reply succinctly and consistently to the conversation.
4. Connect Your Audience with Resources
This is an excellent way to thank sponsors and partners. By sharing resources from sponsors to your audience, you are creating engaging content while also returning the support shown to your nonprofit.
5. Share Pertinent News
This should really read, share pertinent news to your audience. If your organization is location based, this may include local news like resources after a natural disaster however, for many national or global organizations the news posts should be limited to organizational change, industry news, etc.
6. Make Their Life Easier
Who doesn’t love a hack that simplifies a daily task? This is where knowing your audience is vital. With the demographics of your donor audience in mind, share information that can help improve their life. If your audience is interested in health and wellness, then a kitchen hack about how to quickly cut vegetables is perfect. For affluent audiences who enjoy luxury vacations, information about a new resort opening in the area would be more suitable. Think about the pain points in the life of your ideal donor and then find content that helps make those better.
Where can you find content for these categories? Glad you asked.
- Writing Guide/Content Calendar
- Brand’s Website
- Top Performing Organic Content
- Industry Associations
- Industry Media
- Local Market News
- Days of the Week/Hashtag Holidays
- Competitors
- Behind-the-Scenes Content
- Charity or Affiliate Content
- Employee/Board News
- Newsfeed
- Trending
These ideas provide a launching pad for overall engagement with your clients and fan base. Focusing on engagement will build ownership in your nonprofit and, in turn, will increase likes, follows, and shares of all your social media. Get started by contacting us!
Written by Cristin Burns || Amazon Specialist & Social Media Maven