Social Media Strategy for Nonprofits: 11 Best practices for increasing engagement

If you are reading this blog post, chances are that your nonprofit has an active social media page. However, to maximize benefits and ensure that your social media handles provide a thriving space for engaging conversations and support, you need an effective social media strategy for your nonprofit page. The benefits of engagement should go beyond likes, shares, and followers, and result in actionable change – such as getting more donors, volunteers, or supporters.

Simply put, to get the right support, your social media content should be strong and diverse enough to build a thriving online community for your audience.

Benefits of using social media for Nonprofits

1. Raising awareness

Educating and communicating your mission is the first step to gaining champions within your community. Use social media to share your message, campaigns, and provide ways for your audience to engage with your goals.

2.  Building community

Social media can be leveraged by nonprofits to recruit new volunteers, advocates, and collaborate with experts to educate audiences on your cause. By creating groups and channels for audiences and empowering them with relevant knowledge, nonprofits can bring followers closer to the nonprofit’s mission and help them stay informed.

3. Driving fundraising efforts

Partnership, social media challenges, and user-generated content are some of the most effective ways to meet fundraising goals. Engaging followers and incentivizing them to support fundraising can truly help nonprofits achieve their fundraising goals.

Which social media channels are the best fit for your nonprofit?

Before we take a look at how you can diversify your social media content, you need to decide which social media channel suits your mission

Here are a few steps to follow, to choose the right social media platform for your nonprofit:

1. Define your nonprofit’s goals on social media:

• Fundraising
• Recruiting volunteers
• Raising awareness

2. Identify your target audience by

• Age
• Country
• Devices used
• Interests
• Job title

3. Analyze the demographics of all the platforms
4. Study the tools that different platforms have to offer

You may also like to read our blog "10 Helpful Facebook & LinkedIn Groups for Nonprofits" to find out more about the scope of these platforms for non-profits and list of non-profit groups on these platforms you might want to join.

Now that we’re sorted on the channels, let’s look at the 11 best practices to create and improve your nonprofit’s social media strategy and engage with your community better.

11 Best practices to improve your nonprofit social media strategy

Here are some top ways nonprofits can use social media to engage their communities;

1. Go behind the scenes

Social media is a hub for creative, informal content. There are a million ways for you to craft immersive content that tells your story.

Behind the scenes (BTS) is one such type of content. Instead of just showing your donors and volunteers the impact of your nonprofit through planned posts, BTS shows your audience the raw and real work behind building a campaign or a successful event. Not only does this give your audience a deeper understanding of how your nonprofit works, but also makes them feel involved.

Some examples of BTS content are staff interactions, ideation sessions, event preparations, fun videos on fundraising processes, etc.

2. Create engaging infographics

65% of Facebook users use Facebook to view photos. Users on Twitter are also more likely to engage in a post that includes a photo. Images that attract attention offer a break from an otherwise content-packed feed and have a higher chance of being shared.

The use of infographics, a creative combination of images and minimal text, is an effective way to grab the attention of the audience. You can use infographics for stating helpful information, raising awareness, announcing events, etc.

3. Let data speak for you

Numbers tell stories. Especially those that can be accurately attributed and are based on research.

For instance, an impact report packed with data – number of beneficiaries, funds raised, volunteering hours – shows your audience the impact of your project tangibly. It motivates the reader to further support your cause and even share your success story with their network. Besides showcasing your success, it also proves your legitimacy and fosters trust.

Pro-tip: We highly recommend sharing your nonprofit’s quarterly progress on your social media pages.

4. Show your journey through diverse storytelling ideas

“What makes a good story?”

“People.”

Storytelling is a beautiful art form – it brings your audience along your journey. Use emotional and informational elements to demonstrate your nonprofit’s impact.

You can select an individual or a group of individuals that your nonprofit has helped, and use written content, videos, images, audio files, slideshows, etc. to tell your story through them.

Pro-Tip:  The average engagement rate for Facebook video posts is 0.26%, while the average engagement rate overall is just 0.18%! We hope this is encouraging enough for you to incorporate videos into your social media content. Here are some of our favorite client stories: Robin Hood Relief Fund: Hurricane Sandy, LYB Yoga FC

5. Make your team, ambassadors, and interns the heroes

It is very important to acknowledge your staff and their contribution. Photos and videos about employees tend to get a lot of attention and applause on social media – be it about new hires, retirements, promotions, etc.

You can create a specific template to feature your staff for specific campaigns.

6. Throw the spotlight on events and campaigns

Your virtual event is one place where your supporters collectively get to participate in the causes you both support. A virtual event amplifies the sense of community and camaraderie and results in improved engagement.

Following are some ways to creatively promote your event:

• Creating save-the-date posts
• Using unique hashtags for social handles
• Sharing countdown graphics/videos
• Encouraging reposts from volunteers, supporters, etc.

Pro-tip: Use visuals and large text on the photo to grab attention and also include additional details in your caption.

7. Appreciate your volunteers

There are many reasons why volunteer gratitude posts get a lot of engagement. Firstly, these posts inspire many people to read about the work done by someone for the cause they support. Volunteer gratitude posts are also often reposted and shared by the volunteer’s family and friends.

Volunteers are one among your audience, making them more relatable to your community. Your audience will resonate more with your volunteers’ struggles and learnings than with yours.

A few ways to show gratitude to your volunteers online are

• A thank you video
• A blog post celebrating your volunteers
• A “Volunteer of the Month” campaign to recognize outstanding contributions

Pro-tip: Post photos or videos of your volunteers alongside beneficiaries. This can help build trust with donors as they see your organization’s impact in action!

8. Say thank you!

Thanking your supporters goes a long way in building a meaningful relationship with your audience. While there are many creative ways to show your appreciation, you must make it actionable.

Resolving complaints quickly, making handwritten notes of gratitude, sending anniversary cards, etc. are a few ways to make your gratitude actionable.

‍Pro-tip: Tag all your supporters in your ‘Thank you’ social media post!

9. Share inspiration with your network

Inspirational quotes can motivate followers to take action.

Create a template that you can modify for each new inspirational quote you share. It’s very admirable how organizations, like Audiopedia, post inspirational quotes on Instagram.

Pro-tip:  Make sure to include your logo or website URL so you can drive traffic there!

10. Show off your swag

If your nonprofit has merchandise that you sell, create image posts about it and clarify where the profits will go, in the caption.

11. Write value statements

Value statements help nonprofits communicate their mission, vision, and goals. As content saturation increases, value statements are a bold and effective way for nonprofits to convey their message.

Revamp your social media content strategy

Now that you know the different content types that will get you more engagement, here are a few additional tips to give you a head start.

• It is crucial to have a mobile-friendly website mainly because over half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices
• Add a chatbot to your website to stimulate engagement.
• Schedule your social media content in advance.
• Set ambitious targets for the number of likes, shares, and comments.
• Occasionally share light-hearted memes, gifs, dog photos, etc. to liven up your feed.

We hope that you follow these best practices in this blog to craft a more compelling social media strategy for your nonprofit. If you found this blog useful, don’t forget to share it with your network or with whoever might find this useful!

Additional Resources: Infographic templates for nonprofits.

You might also like to read: 26 Inspiring Nonprofit Leaders Who Will Impact the World in 2023

‍