How to Use Social Media for Charity Fundraising
At Modular Digital, we are proud to work alongside charitable organisations – helping them to make the most out of their digital and maximise their service to reach those who need it.
Websites and events are vital parts of fundraising , but social media can be a powerful tool to reach your audience and convey emotive, informative and potentially life saving content.
The Power of Social Media
The power of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to reach a global audience and create real change cannot be overstated. Charities can reach a larger audience than ever before. It’s unrivalled for amplifying your message and increasing engagement with your cause.
Each social media platform will have its own demographic and ways that users will enjoy engaging with content. To ensure that your efforts are effective, it’s crucial to consider which platforms are the most suitable for your charity and its message.
With over 2bn users worldwide, Facebook is excellent for creating and sharing content that can spread quickly across your network. The in-built tools allow you to target specific audiences through sponsored posts, and because your content can be easily shared by others. You can also use Facebook to create events and fundraisers to raise money for your cause.
Instagram is perfect for visually compelling content. Telling stories through images and videos featuring first hand testimonials, or messages from patrons and trustees will connect with your audience in a genuine way.
Hashtags and collaborations with other accounts will also get your message seen by more people.
For example, if we take our client Nacoa – people wanting to use their service and resources may search for hashtags like #adultchildrenofalcoholics, which has an audience of over 38k. Researching hashtags and adding them to your posts will help your content to appear in the results feed of that hashtag.
It won’t be new news that TikTok is the latest social media platform to take the world by storm, and it is rapidly becoming a fundraising tool for charities. TikTok is all about viral trends, and there are countless examples of users creating videos to raise money for charity challenges. By utilising popular music / sounds, hashtags, and challenges, you can create content that has the potential to reach millions of users and drive donations to your cause.
While not typically associated with charity fundraising, LinkedIn can be an effective platform for reaching out to potential donors and building partnerships. As a professional networking site, it can be used to showcase your charity’s work, connect with industry professionals, and seek out potential funding opportunities.
For example, researching relevant contacts at larger companies that may be the decision makers in allocating donatable funds.
Creating Compelling Content that Drives Donations
No matter whether you’re posting on Facebook, Insta or LinkedIn, one of the most important aspects of using social media for charity fundraising is creating compelling content that inspires people to donate. You need to be able to connect with your audience on an emotional level and show them why your cause is worthy of their support.
Here are some tips for creating content that drives donations:
1. Tell a Story: People love stories! Especially ones that are personal and emotional. Share stories of people whose lives have been impacted by your charity and how your organisation has made a difference. These stories may be tough to watch or listen to, but they will connect.
2. Use Eye-Catching Visuals: People are more likely to engage with content that has visuals like photos or videos. Use high-quality, eye-catching visuals that show the impact of your charity. Avoid stock images and use real people.
3. Keep it Simple and Clear: Your content should be easy to understand and share. Keep your messaging clear and concise so that people can easily understand what your charity is all about.
4. Be Authentic: People want to support genuine causes, so be honest and transparent about your charity’s mission, goals, and impact. Share stories of successes and challenges, and be open to feedback and suggestions from your audience. Running surveys can be a great way to do this.
5. Make it Easy to Donate: Finally, make it easy for people to donate to your charity. Include links to your donation page in all your social media posts, and consider setting up a fundraising campaign on platforms like Facebook or GoFundMe.
Our Head of Marketing, Verity, sits as a Trustee for the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance and created simple explainer videos that can pinned to your facebook or Instagram profile.
Creating compelling content that drives donations is an ongoing process, so be prepared to experiment and try new things. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Engaging Your Audience and Building Relationships
Once you’ve refined your audience and created amazing content, the next step is to engage with that audience and build lasting relationships with them.
Engaging with your audience means actively participating in conversations; responding to comments and messages, asking questions and regularly posting updates about your charity and its mission. This helps build trust and credibility with your followers and creates a community around your cause.
Here are some tips for engaging your audience and building relationships on social media:
1. Be authentic and genuine: People can quickly tell when someone is not being authentic. Show your followers who you are and what your charity is about. Share behind-the-scenes moments, stories, and experiences to connect with your audience on a personal level.
2. Respond promptly to comments and messages: This shows your followers that you care and value their input.
3. Create interactive content: Polls, quizzes, and surveys can be a fun way to engage with your followers and gather feedback.
5. Run social media contests and challenges: Contests and challenges are a great way to create excitement and encourage engagement on your social media platforms. They can also be a way to raise funds and awareness for your charity by the potential of these competitions being shared to other feeds and Instagram stories.
6. Show appreciation: Thank your followers for their support and contributions. Showing gratitude and appreciation goes a long way in building lasting relationships with your audience.
Building relationships on social media takes time and effort, but it can pay off in the long run. By engaging with your audience and creating a community around your cause, you can turn followers into supporters and advocates for your charity.
Leveraging Influencers and Ambassadors for Your Charity
In today’s digital age, social media influencers and ambassadors play a crucial role in helping charities spread awareness and raise funds. With their massive reach and influence, they can significantly increase your charity’s visibility, helping you to reach new audiences and potential donors.
Influencers and ambassadors are individuals who have a strong following on social media platforms, and who have built trust and credibility with their audiences. They are experts in their field, whether it’s beauty, fashion, health, or fitness, and their followers trust them to provide authentic and reliable recommendations.
By collaborating with influencers and ambassadors who share your charity’s mission and values, you can tap into their dedicated audiences and engage them with your cause. However, it is essential to choose the right influencers who are passionate about your charity, and whose audience aligns with your target demographic.
One way to find potential influencers is to use social media listening tools. These tools enable you to search for relevant keywords related to your cause and identify people who are actively discussing your cause. You can then reach out to them and introduce them to your charity.
Another approach is to engage your existing network of supporters and volunteers and identify those who have a significant social media presence. They may be willing to become ambassadors for your charity, helping to spread the word about your cause to their followers.
Once you have identified your influencers and ambassadors, it’s time to collaborate with them on content creation. This could involve creating custom hashtags, producing high-quality photos and videos that highlight your cause, collaborating on events and fundraisers, or allowing them to tell their own story about how your cause is personal to them.
As you can see from the post below, Nacoa partnered with one of their patrons, Calum Best, to promote this video. The exposure will be much greater by utilising Calum’s following, getting more eyes on the charity and connecting with an audience they might not have otherwise.
Tracking and Measuring Your Success on Social Media
Tracking the success of your campaigns and content will help you determine which tactics are working and which need improvement.
Set some goals for your social media campaigns, either increasing your following, increasing engagement with your posts, or perhaps focusing on driving donations. Use metrics such as reach, impressions, clicks, and conversions to track your progress by using the analytics tools provided by the platforms you are using. For example, Facebook Insights offer detailed reports on engagement and post performance. You can also use third-party tools such as Hootsuite, Loomly or Sprout Social to track and measure your social media campaigns across multiple platforms.
With these benchmarks in hand, you can identify which content is resonating with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly. If a particular type of post or content is driving engagement and donations, you’ll know to create more of that!. Conversely, if certain posts are falling flat, consider revising or eliminating them from your plan.
It’s important to remember that social media success isn’t just about the numbers. While the amount of followers, and your reach or engagement are important metrics, it’s crucial to build relationships and form genuine connections. Which is similar to how we approach working with clients at Modular.
Balancing that nurture of your existing circle while also trying to expand it will no doubt serve your socials well.
If you would like to chat to us at Modular about digital support in Marketing or maximising your fundraising potential via your website, reach out to emma@thisismodular.co.uk. We’d love to help!
