The Importance of Social Media for Nonprofits

It's 2020 folks... social media is a must!

For nonprofit organizations, staying off social media is a thing of the past. Now more than ever it is critical to stay up-to-date with social media trends, and utilize different platforms to reach target audiences. While it's true that many 'older' donors still prefer to connect through print marketing, 2 out of 3 individuals get their news from social media. Did you know the fastest growing population on Twitter are grandparents?

So what can social media really do for nonprofits? It can:

• Reach target audiences

• Connect you with the community

• Raise funds through campaigns

• Increase brand awareness

• Recruit board members, volunteers, and donors

The first step that every nonprofit should take it to develop a social media strategy. An effective social media strategy should be the cornerstone of every organization’s communications and marketing outreach initiatives. There are many resources you can use to help create an effective strategy including best practices for each platform.

It's also important to remember that social media is ever-changing! You can't assume that something you learned last year will still apply. With so many social media sites already out there and even more popping up each day,where do you begin? Do you create a Facebook account or do you hop on whatever “the new Pinterest” is today? Here is a snapshot for some of the top recommended platforms nonprofits can use to their advantage:

• Facebook: With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the most popular platforms for nonprofits. Fans of your business come to your Facebook page to find out what’s going on with your organization, see pictures of what’s going on, or explore events. You can also utilize targeting advertising to reach a specific audience for donations, events, volunteers, and more.

• Twitter: Twitter is fast-paced, concise, and easy way to connect with your audience. Make sure you’re also building relationships with followers. Twitter is as useful for driving traffic as it is for customer service.

• LinkedIn: Users mainly go to LinkedIn to showcase their job experience and professional thoughts, making it one of the more important platforms to use for those in Business-to-Business (B2B). A great way nonprofits can gain more reach through LinkedIn is using the group feature. Groups are where you can meet people from the same industry or with similar interests, ask and answers questions, and engage in conversations.

• YouTube: Videos have proven to be more engaging then simple images, in addition to aiding your search rank in Google. Be aware that when creating videos for YouTube, quality matters. There should be a purpose and value to what you’re uploading and sharing.

• Instagram: The platform has over 700 million users, and 200 million of those users visit at least one business profile per day. Continually growing, Instagram allows nonprofits to interact with users in unique ways that generate engagement. You can also utilize Instagram Ads to target specific audiences.

• Pinterest: It's not for every nonprofit, but Pinterest can be a very popular platform for nonprofit with tangible products. Each post is a clickable picture and a short caption. Pinterest is a superficial platform, so it's important for every post to be high-quality.

What social media platforms tend to work best for your nonprofit?