If you had a magic wand that would inspire donations, would you wave it?
Probably.
It would make your job a lot easier, that’s for sure.
Magic wands aside, what if there were a way to harness a tool, which could have, well, magical effects?
Social media marketing is becoming the go-to strategy for nonprofits to fundraise. It’s the space for nonprofits to engage supporters and attract potential donors. And, it’s also a powerful tool to create a fun and friction-less process for donors to:
- Learn why they should support, and then…
- Give — immediately. No extra trips to new pages or forms.
How Does Social Media Marketing Help Nonprofits?
The fact is, social media marketing has helped nonprofits drive up donations in some pretty incredible ways — even during the pandemic.
Take a look at these stats…
Social Media Marketing:
- Captures donors. 29% of online donors say that social media is the tool that drives their donations. (2019 Global Trends in Giving Report)
- Creates legacy donors. 88% of donors who have used Facebook Charitable Giving Tools will use the tool again. (2019 Global Trends in Giving Report)
- Creates easy ways to donate. During the obstacle-ridden, events-forbidden pandemic, Facebook fundraising increased 14%. (2021 M+R Benchmarks Report)
- Engages donors in fun ways. Facebook photos and videos have the highest engagement score at .31%.
Now, let’s look at how YOU can easily leverage the power of social media marketing for your nonprofit.
6 Ways to Strengthen Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
They might not be magic wands, but these social media marketing strategies are tried and true methods to attract donors and build your supporter base. Try implementing them into your overall social media strategy.
1. Step Back, and make a plan.
Yes, make sure you have a plan so you don’t end up making random posts about office activities that your supporters don’t care much about. Your social media strategy should include a plan for:
- Time and frequency of posts
- Channels you’ll use, which make sense for you and your audience
- Type of content you’ll share (inspirational, links to your blogs, showcasing awesome work of your nonprofit in action, highlighting amazing volunteers, etc)
- Calendar to record and monitor your plan
2. Post Regularly.
It seems pretty obvious, but we can’t leave this tip out. Nonprofits (and any business or organization) who post sporadically are asking for willy-nilly supporters and lazy donors.
The day of the week generally doesn’t matter, but consistency counts. Regular, engaging posts keep people interested in your organization. Plus, when fundraisers do come up, social media fans already feel connected to you and your valuable cause.
3. Lead with a great hook.
Simple explanations and information have their time and place, but they can get boring. Lead with a question, an inspiring quote, a staggering statistic, or a brief story that will grab a viewer’s attention.
Whether it’s a regular post, or the description in your fundraising page, capture your viewer’s attention. Show them why they should care. Get them to think about what’s at stake.
4. Add a video.
Videos are a great attention-grabber, practically begging viewers to press play, listen to you and watch your story. Stay under two minutes, and you’ll increase your chances that your whole video will be watched. Including a video is a great opportunity to increase your chances that a donor will decide to give!
Pro tip: Video doesn’t only mean YouTube and Facebook Live. Micro-videos on TikTok and Instagram are becoming increasingly important.
Consider making short videos on Instagram to boost your presence: 15-20 second Reels or Stories are a great way to attract attention of your fans as well as those who might just be scrolling by…
5. Write a strong Call to Action.
When you are fundraising through social media, your call to action (CTA) is your last chance to push a donor toward giving, so make it count. Your CTA will be in the text of your fundraising page, but also in a much shorter spot — the button people click to donate.
When you’re writing the longer portion of your CTA think of these tips:
- Use clear, strong words
- Remind your reader of the benefits of donating
- Emphasize urgency
When you’re choosing the text of your donate button, think of this:
- Stick to one word or concise phrases
- Use strong action verbs
- Avoid fluff, but some uniqueness is okay (i.e. “I want to end childhood hunger” is better than “I want to end the crisis of local children starving.”)
6. Invest in Paid Ads.
The 2021 M+R Benchmarks Report showed that nonprofits’ Facebook posts reach only about 4% of their fans. BUT 29% of the audience reached by each post was not already a fan. Paid ads are helping nonprofits expand their reach.
What’s the benefit of this? These ads can help you fold in the exact audience you are looking for. For example, if you are an environmental nonprofit, you can target your Facebook ad to users who indicate that they support environmental protection. They’ll see your ad, learn more about your cause, and perhaps they will start engaging with you. If you’d never paid for the ad, they might never have found you.
Did you know that Spicy Lemon Marketing specializes in helping nonprofits develop social media marketing campaigns? With a combined background in fundraising and social media marketing, we can help your nonprofit develop a successful social media campaign for your next fundraiser.
