One of the number one marketing tools for nonprofits is social media. It’s FREE, fast, and reaches donors and the general public in one fell swoop. You can quickly establish a presence on any given social media platform with the proper account setup and a few engaging posts that highlight your cause.

New to social media? No problem! We advise you to start off with a little spying to really understand the platforms and their unique etiquettes. Start a personal page and follow, like, subscribe, and watch how other similar organizations conduct themselves and what posts get the most interaction. Then, when you have a good feel for it, jump in to creating your nonprofit’s business page. Always check to see if there’s a business-type account on the network you want to use. For example Facebook has Facebook Pages, YouTube has Nonprofits on YouTube channel, and so on. These specialized accounts provide great features that your nonprofit will need, like analytics, to see and track the action your page receives.

Before you start generating your following, you’ll want to fill out your profile and get some content posted so when you do get new likes or follows, there’s something there for them to look at. People generally will interact with your nonprofit more when you “humanize” it by including pictures of events or staff/client profiles (make sure you get their permission first). After all this is social media – BE SOCIAL!

Next, build your connections. Many platforms will interface with your email account (like Gmail or Yahoo) or allow you to upload an Excel or text file of contacts, which they will then try to match with individual accounts. You can also find people via keyword searches and many social networks will suggest people to follow. NOTE: These suggestions will get more personalized the more people/accounts you follow.

See great content- share it! Having your post shared is the ultimate cyber pat on the back. Do it for others and the favor will be returned to you (as long as you are making an effort to post provoking, content-rich information that will appeal to a broad audience). When others share your content, it opens your business up to a whole new audience, which may gain new followers. Also, get other people/organizations’ attention by tagging them in your posts where applicable.

Make your presence known. Add social network buttons on your website that link directly to your accounts, add social logos to your print collateral- newsletters, stationery, flyers, etc. Spread the word and watch your network grow.

 Stay tuned for more advanced tips in future posts on our blog or contact us at 610-373-2446 for any help with your marketing strategy.