When you think of charitable organizations, you often think about the many great causes they are fighting for and how they are always looking for new donations and resources to help those in need.
However, when looking at a charity, it’s important to also consider them a lot like any other business, in that they need these incoming resources and financial donations in order to stay up and running. And even with a ton of volunteer work in place, the work being done in this space is simply never done.
The good news is, as the internet and world of technology continues to progress, it’s also making the process of starting a charitable organization and marketing it’s message and cause to the masses a whole lot easier.
With so many different ways to promote an organization online, social media is quickly becoming one of the major focus points for businesses, brands and individuals of all sizes. And with this in mind, today we are going to highlight some of the best ways for nonprofit and charitable organizations to get in on the action.
How Charitable Groups Should Be Using Social Media
Social media is great for a number of reasons, but the most obvious reason is in how it quickly connects everyone together, while also giving brands and organizations the opportunity to build a new following and list that they can reach out to at any given time.
In addition to those obvious reasons, here are a few more to focus on.
Use Facebook Pages for Community and Engagement Groups
One of the most popular social platforms ever, Facebook, has made the process of getting an organization or business online extremely easy with their “Facebook Pages” and “Groups” options. In this process, all one needs to do is create a Page for their charitable organization, and then start redirecting users to it, which can then follow, like and share content.
This is a great way for organizations to build their social following, while also having a social mailing list in place that allows them to contact their audiences at any given time. To see this in place, we recommend taking a look at how WE Charity has done this with their own Facebook Fan Page, and now has almost three million followers in place.
No matter how big or small a charitable group or effort might be, Facebook is definitely a great place to start.
Social Profiles Rank Higher in the Search Results
Every charitable organization probably already has a website full of their company information and the many causes they are working towards. In addition to having a site, it’s important to make sure your site URL is listed on all of your social profiles as well, as this can help rank your site higher in the search results.
This can easily be accomplished by adding a site URL to profiles made on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
And it’s also important to note that Google loves to rank social media profiles in their search results above other sites. So, this means each of your social profiles can rank right at the top of Google when someone is searching for your charity organization name. The more rankings you have in place with your own site and social media properties, the more likely they will find what they are looking for and hopefully contribute to the cause.
Social Media and Influencer Marketing Opportunities
Social media has changed a lot of things in the world today, and it’s also helped create a massive following among micro-influencers. In short, influencers have large followings that are attracted to the original content that each one of them create, and their audiences often pay close attention to every tweet or social update they make.
With that in mind, charitable organizations that connect with influencers can end up driving a lot more attention, awareness and potential donations back to their charity. This is quite similar to how we’ve seen celebrities help bring awareness to causes in the past, but now through the internet and social media, it’s a much easier process with a lot more opportunities.
Using Hashtags and Trending Topics for More Exposure
Just like how people are using Google to find information online, they are using #hashtags to search for the latest trends and topics of interest on social media. This is especially true on social platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
For charitable organizations that are looking to increase awareness and engagement through social media, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of. And it’s not just a matter of using hashtags like #charity or #volunteer, but instead to also make relevant content and posts for any other trending topics and hashtags that might be getting attention.
If you take a moment to look at any charities that are using social media to grow their audiences and reach, you will start to see how important hashtags can play in this process.
The Best Ways to Gain Attention for Your Charity
With more people getting online than ever before, and with social media being one of the most active places to engage with others, it’s simply a no-brainer for non-profit and charitable organizations of all sizes.
It’s not enough to focus on just one social platform, as you will be missing out on massive exposure. We recommend you start with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even setting up a business profile for your organization on LinkedIn, and then scale out to any others like Pinterest or Snapchat.
At the end of the day, the best way to reach new audiences, possible volunteers and those interested in donating, is through the use of valuable and engaging content. Focus on all of the elements above, and you will quickly see the huge benefits of social media.
