Work Smarter With Social Media, Not Harder Without It
Social media has opened doors for many people, companies and organizations to share their stories, but is it always used to its full potential? With technology constantly evolving and new platforms constantly popping up, it’s important to stay up to date on how to do it right!
With trends constantly changing—now moving at a much quicker pace than ever—it’s essential for organizations to keep up in ways that attract their audiences to see better results.
The 2021 Charitable Giving Report stated that the percentage of total fundraising made from online sources steadily grew from 2013 to 2019. In 2020, there was a significant increase, with 13% of fundraising coming from online donations, a record high.
The pandemic forcibly shifted everyone online and it comes as no surprise that digital fundraising would be a vital tool for nonprofit organizations today, so long as they have a strategy to use with their helpful gadgets.
X (Formerly Twitter)
X Analytics play a vital role in figuring out how your audience — of about 600 million active monthly users (according to Elon Musk on X)— is responding to your marketing strategies. This tool allows access for organizations to see profile growth in visits, follows and mentions.
Users can access their account data through X Analytics. If your engagements and impressions aren’t up to par, here are some ways to tweak your marketing style through X.
Purposeful Posting: Regularly tweet with intent.
Visuals: Use images, GIFs, videos and links.
Engagement: Encourage retweets from employees, volunteers and supporters.
Interaction: Utilize live chats, live-tweeting sessions, account takeovers and thank-you messages.
Training and technical assistance in the following areas:
Facebook has 193.8 million active monthly users from the US and Facebook’s Audience Insights makes it easier to get a read on your audience through your organization’s “business page” linked with Meta (a parent company that owns both Facebook and Instagram). Giving users an insight into demographic information, page likes and activity/engagement, it can help you identify who the audience is and what their preferences are.
Moreover, Audience insights give access to location/language along with device usage, which can help you tailor your content and page specifically to the region you're trying to reach, as well as the device those people are more likely to be using.
Facebook also facilitates donations through Facebook Charitable Giving tools and PayPal Giving Fund, which allows to raise funds directly through the platform, making it accessible and convenient for Facebook users. You can access and apply for Facebook’s fundraising tools and get some tips to boost engagement below.
Target Audience: The age group that uses this platform the most is 30-49 year olds.
Clear Goals: Define goals and complete the “About” section with valuable information.
Facebook Ads: Boost presence and track visibility with ads.
Donations: Enroll in PayPal Giving Fund for easier donations.
Networking: Engage with supporters through Nonprofit Facebook Groups.
Instagram gives users with a business profile access to their insights through their mobile devices, where they can track impressions/reach, engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares and saves on posts), audience demographics (age, location and times they’re active), follower growth, content performance and Instagram Stories analytics.
Similarly to Facebook, Instagram partners with PayPal Giving Fund to make fundraising go smoothly. With 2.4 billion active monthly users, here are some ways to amplify your marketing efforts on Instagram.
Stories: Show behind-the-scenes actions, share updates and set up fun initiatives through Stories.
Consistency: Post consistent images, videos and reels.
Engagement: Engage with supporters through comments, DMs and Story posts.
Links: Include links in Instagram Stories and Bio with appealing infographics and stickers.
LinkedIn has many resources for analytics on their platform, including content, followers, visitors, leads, competitors, employer brand and newsletter analytics. Users can see how much they can access through LinkedIn Analytics.
With 200 million LinkedIn users in the United States alone, it’s crucial to know how your network is connecting to your content and whether your marketing methods are working, but if they’re not, here are some ways to spruce up your presence.
Profile: Make your organization’s profile stand out.
Regular Posts: Post content regularly.
Hiring and Recruiting: Hire staff and recruit volunteers through LinkedIn.
Engagement: Encourage members to link to your page and connect with others to boost visibility.
TikTok
TikTok Insights is a research tool available to help creators and organizations better understand their audiences. Users can filter their searches to find specific data on their audiences, insights, industries, holidays and events.
Through TikTok’s Creator Tools, users have access to analytics of their posts as well as monetization opportunities. One of the perks includes the Creator Rewards Program (formerly TikTok Creator Fund), which allows cash incentives for creators.
With about 1 billion active users on TikTok, here are some ways to increase your organization’s use of the platform.
Trends: Use trending sounds and hashtags.
Regular Posting: Post regularly to stay relevant.
Optimization: Optimize content for TikTok’s algorithm.
Profile Link: Add a nonprofit link to the organization’s profile.
Engagement: Connect with Gen Z and Millennial users, who are more likely to give frequently online.
The hard part is over, now time to work smarter...
Social media is not the enemy and it’s certainly not something to leave behind on your checklist.
For marketing purposes, social media is great for outreach and retention, thus using it will benefit not only you and your team, but also your nonprofit’s goals. Figure out which platform works best for your organization and remember to use the tools at your disposal.
Social media is here to stay, so let’s make the most out of it.
References:
Ilma Ibrisevic (2023). 10 Twitter Best Practices for Nonprofits | An Ultimate Guide
Ilma Ibrisevic (2024). Facebook for Nonprofits – 10 Tips and Best Practices | Donorbox
Ilma Ibrisevic (2023). Top 10 Instagram Tips for the Modern Nonprofit
Ilma Ibrisevic (2023). 10 Powerful LinkedIn Tips for Nonprofits
Marlene Greenfield (2024). Leading countries based on Facebook audience size as of April 2024
Namchul Shin (2024). The Impact of Social Media on Charitable Giving for Nonprofit Organizations
Oskar Mortensen (2024). How Many Users on Instagram? Statistics & Facts
SEO.AI's Content Team (2024). How many users on TikTok? Statistics & Facts
World Population Review (2024). LinkedIn Users by Country 2024