A solid social media strategy is critical to any marketing team. However, selecting the best social media sites for nonprofits is usually more difficult. Many marketers know that Facebook and Instagram are in vogue, but do they also work for non-profit organizations?
The short answer is yes.
We recently conducted a study on the state of small business, and while a significant number of our participants were in retail and marketing, there was a decent number of participants working in nonprofits.
When we asked our pool of participants where they saw their most important opportunity to build brand awareness, social media took the rash.
Read the rest of the instructions here.
Why social media is important
If e-mail marketing is the most effective of all digital content, why would nonprofits use social media in their digital marketing strategy?
Social media enables nonprofit organizations to connect to their target audience through an additional channel and build relationships. People turn to social media for quick information. This makes them a great tool for personal communication with your audience, especially if they have questions that need to be answered.
Potential donors want to know the people behind the charitable organization. A social media presence can also boost the trust of your viewers.
Source: American Red Cross / Facebook
The best social media sites for charitable organizations
If you are trying to identify the best social media sites for nonprofits, there is no right answer. What matters is where the public of your nonprofit organization hangs most.
However, it pays to review several social media platforms. Read on to learn more about the top 4.
With around 500 million Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms used by brands worldwide. With so many active users in everyday life, it's difficult to ignore Instagram's potential for charitable purposes in terms of brand awareness.
With 64% of Instagram users between the ages of 18 and 29, this is a platform suitable for the average non-profit audience, and for those seeking an age between 30 and 49, this is still a viable option. Considering that a certain age group consists of 40% of all Instagram users.
Source: American Red Cross / Instagram
Once known as Facebook for Professionals, LinkedIn has become increasingly important when it comes to marketing efforts for brands in many industries, including non-profit organizations. Actually, Nobel ranks it among the top three social media sites for nonprofit organizations.
LinkedIn is an incredible source when it comes to building your business Credibility of nonprofit organizations, Those who turn to this platform want to connect and develop their professional networks. Non-profit organizations could benefit immensely from partnering with leaders around the world.
While the value of a LinkedIn stock may not be equal to that of a Facebook stock, it counts where it is needed: in the overall credibility.
Anyone can share a Facebook post, and it has little weight when it comes to strengthening your credibility. However, when a business leader shares your post on LinkedIn, your audience knows you're serious.
Source: American Red Cross / LinkedIn
As far as the top social media platform for adults is concerned, Facebook is fed up 68% of adults with the platform, only crowned by YouTube. If your nonprofit wants to reach a more mature audience, it's most likely you'll find it here.
Facebook seems to be a somewhat outdated platform for many, but should not be ignored. In fact, not only is it one of the easiest platforms to navigate, it's hard to beat Facebook's Messenger app for regular communication between charities and their viewers.
The fundraiser on Facebook also makes it easy for users to fundraise their favorite nonprofit organizations to share with their friends and make donations directly through Facebook.
It may shock some to see that Reddit is listed among the best social media platforms for nonprofit organizations due to its strict community guidelines against the promotion of money-making. However, what is least explored is the ability to raise awareness on the platform.
Reddit is the # 19 most visited website in the world, ranking # 6 in the US. From 2018There were around 330 million Reddit users. These are many eyes that might look for your charitable organization.
While money-making is frowned upon, there is a place and a time for everything, and non-profit organizations tend to be the exception, especially if they are active in the community and provide valuable content to the users of the platform.
Source: Reddit / Red Cross
Other notable social media platforms
While these are 4 of our top listings for the best social media sites for nonprofits, there are many other worth considering platforms, including:
- Youtube
- Snapchat
Select the best social media sites for your nonprofit organization
Just because there are so many social media sites does not mean that you should create a profile for each one of them. Instead, you want to focus on one or two options that best fit your social media strategy.
How should your marketing team proceed to select the best social media sites for your nonprofit organization? Complete the following three steps:
1. Determine what role social media should play in your nonprofit's marketing strategy.
A simple social media profile does not mean that the job is done. Your nonprofit organization must have a social media strategy that fits into your overall marketing strategy. What do you use your social media for?
- Driving donations?
- Customer service?
- Spread brand awareness?
Remember that not every social media platform is created equally. Once you've narrowed down the role your social media plays in your larger marketing strategy, you can narrow down your list of possible platforms.
2. Define the target group of your nonprofit organization.
To select the right social media sites that will give your nonprofit organization the best reach, you need to be able to define the target group of your nonprofit organization. When defining your audience, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- Which gender is most affected by your organization?
- Which age group will your nonprofit organization consider?
- Does your ideal donor have a specific job title?
- Does your ideal donor have a certain level of education?
- Does your ideal donor have a specific salary?
Questions like these help you to imagine who your target audience is. Another way to define your audience is to find out who your competition is targeting.
Once you've gotten this information, you can access specific social media sites that are most appealing to your audiences.
3. Set SMART goals for your social media strategy.
As with any other aspect of your team's marketing strategy, you need to make sure you set SMART goals. These are goals that are described in detail down to the letter.
Source: Institute for Content Marketing
Once you've defined your goals, you can better define how your social media presence fits your overall marketing goals.
Wrap up
With a solid social media strategy, you know which platforms are best for your nonprofits and where your target audience is most likely to be.
If you're not sure where to start, we suggest searching the following social media platforms to see if they fit with your SMART goals and overall marketing strategy:
Need help building the social media strategy of your charitable organization? Be sure to read our quick guide to creating an effective social media strategy.
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