Around 4.8 billion people globally log on and zone out to social media platforms every single day. That is about 60% of the total population swiping up their stories, sharing funny cat videos, and messaging family about reunions that are still years away.
If you want to engage with this audience, you need a powerful social media presence that resonates with their needs and showcases your goals. For nonprofit organisations, having a strong online presence on Facebook or TikTok can make all the difference in reaching your target audience and growing your funding.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a healthcare team in Australia, not-for-profit initiatives, or any other group benefits from NDIS funding. You need social media in some way and marry it with stellar web design and website development practices. That is the surefire way to engage your high-valued clients, investors, and team members.
Which Social Media Platform is Right for My Non-Profit?
The easy way to identify the right platform is to determine where your audience spends their time. There are many different social media platforms, each targeting different demographics and user bases.
As a starting point, consider:
- Facebook: Perfect for community engagement and live sessions while targeting older users and other businesses.
- Instagram: Image-centric and ideal for younger audiences that love curated visual media or short videos with trending sounds.
- TikTok: Trendy, short video content to entertain and inform. This is the most popular and up-and-rising platform currently in the market.
- Pinterest: Visual pinboards for projects, inspirations, and tips and highly popular with 25-55-year-old women, especially mothers.
- YouTube: For longer, impactful video content and storytelling. YouTube is on the same level as Google when it comes to SEO, rank, and potential audience.
- X (formerly Twitter): Real-time updates and engagement with a broad audience, but there has been some pushback with the platform as it experiences growing pains under new management.
- LinkedIn: For professional networking and partnerships and a great way to build a blog that is highly underutilised by most NDIS nonprofits.
Don’t worry. You don’t need to have an account on every single one of these platforms. Yes, you should secure your username, but start with only one platform to build content. As you get a consistent foothold into what works and what doesn’t resonate with your target audience, you can expand to other platforms.
Keep things simple in the beginning and then naturally grow at your own pace. This isn’t a race. It’s a long-term marathon.
Tips for Integrating Social Media in Your NFP
Start with Specific and Measurable Goals
Whether it’s increasing your number of followers, boosting conversions for donations, or building a community—having clear goals sets a focused marketing strategy.
We suggest the S.M.A.R.T. method of goal setting. That will give you:
- Specific goals aligned with your unique needs.
- Measurable objects to show how well you’re progressing toward your goals.
- Attainable goals considering your time, budget, and human resources.
- Relevant ideas that match your mission and long-term vision.
- Time-based goals with deadlines to keep you and your team motivated.
Create a Content Calendar Aligned with Your Not-for-Profit Goals
A content calendar is a roadmap to your online engagement. This tool ensures your social media posts and blog posts resonate with your objectives.
With this calendar, you can stay ahead of the curve and build a storyline that is consistent and drives viewers toward your CTA. There are many free tools for scheduling posts that will work with your content calendars. Hootsuite is a good starting point.
Have Methods to Measure Success
Dive deep into analytics and KPIs. Understand what’s working and refine what isn’t. You need the data to drive decision-making and understand where you should be pouring your time and effort to engage with your audience.
For some nonprofits, this may include number of followers, how many conversions you get to your website, or the size of the community you are building.
Get Everyone On Board
Set clear guidelines and policies. Everyone, from the intern to the CEO, should be in the loop. You are doing this to support your omnichannel initiatives.
This has a lot to do with tone. You need a brand identity that everyone can recognise. If you’re using a humorous tone in your writing, you wouldn’t want a team member to post highly emotional images that may “shock” your regular audience. This risks lowering your conversion rate and community engagement.
Make All Your Accounts the Same
Omni-channel branding ensures that visitors know they’re engaging with your brand, no matter the social network. This has just as much to do with the visual presentation of your nonprofit as it does with contact points.
If you have three social media accounts all pointing to different landing pages or contact information, you risk losing essential funding, volunteers, and clients due to confusion. Keep everything the same as far as your brand is concerned.
Post Sharable Content
Engage your audience with the types of content they want the most. This doesn’t have to feel like reinventing the wheel. Simply let your content speak the essence of your nonprofit
A trick of the trade is to watch your competition or look at similar accounts to your NFP. What posts resonate the most with their audiences? How can you mimic this appeal with your own content calendar?
Drive engagement through posts using:
- Images
- Videos
- Infographics
- Motivational Quotes
- Statistics and Facts
- Tips and Tricks
- Trivia
- Engaging Personal Stories
- Featuring Staff Members
- Community Outreach
- Fundraising Goals
- Volunteering Opportunities
- And more!
Keep Your Conversations Authentic
Be transparent with your journey—celebrate your wins and share your challenges. Let your audience see that you are vulnerable to the same challenges they face on a daily basis. This allows them to emotionally connect with your authenticity as you ride the rollercoaster of building an organisation.
If you’re stuck on what this means, try sharing user-generated content (UGC). This provides real-life testimonies to the overall impact of your team through the eyes of your target audience. UGC is digital gold!
Engage With Your Audience
Be more than just a poster. Comment, feature, and genuinely interact with your community. Answer questions out in the open on your social media platform of choice so other “lurkers” can read the results.
The more engaged you are online, the more your community will respond. They will see you as accessible and interesting, which you can easily leverage toward your goals.
Add Buttons to Your Website
As far as practical advice – integrate social media posts and buttons in your footer, about page, and blog posts. You want to make it as easy as possible for your readers and website visitors to share your content on social media.
However, avoid placing them at the top of the page. You won’t want visitors leaving too soon after they’ve just arrived at your landing page.
Use Video the Most
The digital age is visual. Videos tell stories, evoke emotions, and are shared more often. More than 66% of consumers report that short-term video is the most engaging form of social media content they seek out. That is why Instagram Stories, Reels, and TikTok are the most popular pathways for going viral at the moment.
Most Importantly – Be Consistent!
Consistency in posting and engagement builds trust and reinforces your presence. It demonstrates that you are active in the community and gives your viewers something to expect. If you go from consistently posting to a week off, your viewers will notice and reach out to make sure you are still operating. Trust us, they are watching!
Conclusion
Embracing the best practices of integrating social media into your NFP website isn’t just about staying updated. It’s about amplifying your mission. With dedication and a touch of creativity, your nonprofit will not only achieve its digital goals but will also make a lasting impact.
Take your time and test out different styles of posting to see what works best for your brand. If you want more help getting the streamlined website design needed with integrated social media features, reach out to our team at Web 105. We work with healthcare, government, and NFP organisations all the time. Our professional team will help you build the online presence you need to grow.
FAQs
What is the best social media platform for charities?
Different charities have different audiences. If your target audience is older baby boomers in Australia, you may want to stick to Facebook. If you’re targeting younger, hip audiences, try out TikTok. Go where your audience lives online.
How often should a non-profit post on social media?
Consistency is way more important than quantity. When you’re just getting started, shoot for around 3-5 times a week around the same time.
How is social media used in fundraising?
Social media platforms have tools and features that support fundraising campaigns, such as donation buttons, fundraisers, and more. It may take some time to learn how to use these tools, but don’t be afraid to experiment. What you’ll discover will be just as important as how well it works.