Social media is incredibly useful for businesses and I’ve already addressed how entrepreneurs can benefit from it, but it can also be utilized for philanthropies. Since so many people around the world use social media, it’s a great way to get the message out about your philanthropy and attract new donations, volunteers, or even just awareness. Follow a few simple tips on how to use social media for your philanthropy and you’re sure to see success!
Create succinct design
As you begin creating your social media sites for your charity you’re using a succinct design across all platforms. While some layouts and other small details differ from site to site, you can control the major aspects. As you create your social media accounts, make sure you use the same username across the sites, so anyone searching for your philanthropy can easily find it. Create a new logo, color scheme, and themes you can use for all sites. You want your social media look to be easily recognized so volunteers and people who are interested in your cause can find your accounts.
Regularly update
Something you certainly want to avoid is creating an abundance of social media accounts and then never updating them again after the first few weeks. Instead of making an account on every site possible, choose carefully which are the most popular and can help your charity out the most. Research when the best times to post on each site are and begin making regular posts. Try to post something at least once a month, ideally every week. The more original content you generate, the more traffic you’ll attract to your sites, but make sure what you’re posting is good quality!
Engage your audience
Even if you regularly update your sites, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t actively engaging your audience. Avoid mindlessly posting and sharing content, because that won’t excite your following. Put thought into what you’re posting and try to make and find unique posts. Consider giving away free raffle tickets to a random social media follower if they interact with a post or just make sure what you’re posting is eye-catching and thought-provoking.
Start a blog
Research shows that charities most commonly use Facebook and Twitter to promote their cause, but there are plenty of other platforms and methods you can use. A great way to generate a larger following and make more people aware of your cause is by creating a blog where you post unique content. Update it regularly; once a month shouldn’t be too difficult to do! Make short write-ups about your events and news for your philanthropy and share events on a calendar. Include important contact information, forms for volunteering, and anything else that might be important on your site so anyone who’s interested can easily access it. You could even create positions for volunteers to run your site; crafting social media skills is useful and there are a lot of people who want to get more experience doing it!