How to Convert Social Media Followers Into Donors
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
E-GUIDE • 5 Fundraising Myths Debunked How to Convert Social Media Followers Into Donors Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 1 Table of Contents Turn Your ‘Likes’ Into Donations ........................................4 Create Faithful Stewards..... ............................................... 11 Social Media Cheat Sheet ..................................................14 ABOUT NETWORK FOR GOOD Since 2001 Network for Good has played an instrumental role in helping thousands of nonprofits raise more funds by engaging supporters and donors in a more meaningful and impactful way. Refreshingly easy to use, our suite of tools, including Donor Management Software, Fundraising Pages, and Personal Fundraising Coaches, provides nonprofits with a complete fundraising solution, saving them time and enabling them to succeed in fulfilling their mission. “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” —Eleanor Roosevelt Marketing to donors has changed dramatically thanks to the internet and the advent of social media. Organizations can now maintain continuous contact with their supporters at little to no cost. But all the ‘likes’ in the world don’t mean anything if they’re not converting into donations to your nonprofit. How you choose to engage with your donors via social media is vital. Both to increase the amount of gifts to your cause, and to amplify your organization’s message. In this guide we will show you how to acquire new donors via social media, how to engage your existing supporters through social media channels, how to turn their support into donations, and how to create stewardship programs. And we will also provide you with an actionable social media cheat sheet. Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 3 Turn Your ‘Likes’ Into Donations How to Engage Your Existing Supporters and Turn Followers Into Donors Through Social Media Since Facebook’s launch in 2004, the growth and expansion of social media sites has been unprecedented. With the inclusion of Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, approximately 69% of Americans are on social media (according to the Pew Research Center’s report, “Social Media Use in 2018”). That’s approximately 225 million people in the United States alone. Social media has had a profound impact over the last fifteen years, both domestically and internationally. It has become an essential method for your organization to build an audience and, in turn, generate donations. So how do you choose which social media sites to include in your efforts and what type of messaging your nonprofit should post? This guide offers tips for utilizing the top social media sites to your advantage, top post ideas to use and a social media cheat sheet. For nonprofits, social media allows you to: • Build awareness for your organization • Expand your outreach and network • Promote your fundraising events • Direct traffic to your website • Control the messaging for your organization • Engage with your followers in real time Your social media followers are crucial in helping to spread the word about your organization and its cause. As you set up your social media pages, there are several things to consider. Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 4 Facebook Beginning in 2017, Facebook has allowed users to create birthday fundraisers to encourage their friends to donate to their favorite charity or cause. In 2018, Facebook users donated over $300 million on birthday donations. That’s one of the many reasons your nonprofit should have a presence on this site. Your Facebook profile is typically the first thing people see when they search for you on social media. One of the ways to make it easy for people to find you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is to use the same name and profile picture for each site. For Facebook and Twitter, you’re allowed a profile picture and cover photo. The profile picture should be your nonprofit’s logo. With the cover photo you can get more creative and change it often to promote upcoming events, news about your organization, or to show pictures of recent success stories. As you create your Facebook page, it’s imperative that your ‘About’ section is up-to-date with the following information: • Your location and contact information • Your website address • Your company info and a brief bio Be sure to list any upcoming events for your organization on the ‘Events’ section. Now that you’ve created your Facebook page, it’s time to think about content. Focus on posts that will drive engagement and build awareness for your organization. Be personable, approachable, and fun. Posts with images, either video or photos, typically result in a stronger engagement level than text-only posts. Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 5 Shareable Content Fundraising Campaigns While your content shouldn’t focus solely on obtaining gifts from donors, it can be a driving force for your fundraising. When you add content for fundraising purposes, be sure to include links to your donation page, the event page, or wherever you’re trying to drive traffic and increase awareness. Press and Announcements Keep your followers up-to-date on everything from grants and awards to press mentions and job postings. Events Let your followers know about upcoming fundraising galas, community events, performances, panel discussions, town halls, etc. Take plenty of pictures at these events and post them afterward. Let your followers see what they’re missing! Thank Yous Take the time to acknowledge major donors or fundraisers for your organization. Publicly acknowledging them with a photo and explanation of their gifts on your social media pages is a great way to take show your appreciation. Tips • With Facebook you can track your engagement peak times so be sure to use this information to your advantage by planning content during these windows • Advertising on Facebook can be a cheap and effective way to reach a broader audience by tagging other organizations and supporters with similar missions. Do you have an upcoming gala where you’re honoring a celebrity onor? Make sure to tag them so their social media followers know about the honor and your organization. Again, always be sure to include a link to drive the audience to the donation or Event page to help build awareness • Facebook also allows you to “boost” special posts to reach targeted audiences based on location, demographics, and/or interests. Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 6 Twitter It’s hard to remember a time when the word ‘hashtag’ didn’t exist. Thanks to Twitter users know about world events, social causes and breaking news instantly. With 330 million active monthly users, 100 million active daily users, and 500 million daily tweets, creating your own presence on Twitter is a necessary marketing tool. As with creating content for your Facebook page, refining your subject matter is necessary to get the most out of your tweets. Even though you are able to share your news with up to 280 characters, shorter tweets still perform better, so it’s important to condense your message, include a link to your website, and create hashtags to boost your success rate. Shareable Content • Post tweets that are concise • Link to your website, event, or donation page to drive traffic. Use a site like bitly or tinyurl to abbreviate links • Add images to create engaging visuals • Use external hashtags that will drive additional outside viewers to your tweet (e.g. #GivingTuesday). Tips • Create hashtags (#) for your organization and specific events, and encourage your followers to use it in their tweets and retweets • Include your Twitter handle on your website, other social media pages, and in all communications to build followers • Invite your e-newsletter subscribers to follow you on Twitter • Pin an important tweet to the top of your feed, so all visitors to your account will see it first • Reply to all tweets and direct messages within an hour (if not sooner) • Twitter users typically engage with breaking news, social movements, political activism, business announcements, and of course, celebrities and influencers. If you advertise on Twitter, target your ad to capture those interests for best results Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 7 Instagram Instagram has become one of the fastest-growing social media sites with 800 million active monthly users, 500 million active daily users, and 95 million photos shared daily. You can use this channel to really showcase your organization’s personality to your followers. Use the story feature to post photos and videos that vanish after 24 hours. Use images to strengthen your fundraising campaigns. Make sure a link to your website, event or donation page is included in your bio. Shareable Content • Stream live video from an event, town meeting, or rally • Post photos of thank-you notes you have received from people who directly benefited from your organization’s mission • Highlight your volunteers with photos and a brief description of the great work they do for you • Promote events, campaigns, programs, and merchandise with images of invitations, venues, logos, etc. • Share testimonial videos from your followers about why they support your work » Create hashtags and use additional ones to drive readers to your posts Tips • Share candid images as well as professional photos from events (avoid stock photos) • Keep videos short to meet Instagram’s 60-second limit • Add searchable hashtags to your stories • Use Instagram’s Live Video feature to connect with your followers in real time. Save your videos and share them again later • When advertising on Instagram, use eye- catching imagery for a higher engagement level and use those photos in your next ad. Donor Management Made Easy NetworkForGood.com 8 YouTube Launched in 2005, YouTube is the leading video-sharing site on the internet, hosting everything from movie trailers to social movements.