Fundraising Fundamentals for Social Media Campaigns
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While almost all nonprofits have integrated social media into their development strategies, the majority have not yet had notable success using this tool for fundraising. If social media is the number one reason that people in the US use the internet today, shouldn’t there be a better way to grow your organization through this medium? Over the past seven years, Well Aware has raised over $500,000 using social media. Sarah Evans from Well Aware shared what they learned, and why raising funds through these channels is easier than you think.
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Fundraising Fundamentals for Social Media Campaigns
- 3. THE FUTURE IS HERE
- 4. COLD CALLS DON’T WORK, AND NEITHER DOES COLD SOCIAL MEDIA
- 8. #3. TELL THE STORY, SAVE THE ASK
- 9. #4. PICTURES AND VIDEO
- 10. #5. BE RELEVANT
- 13. SHOWER STRIKE
- 15. GOALS
- 16. STRATEGY
- 17. CONTENT
- 18. PESTER PEOPLE, DO IT!
- 19. DONOR PSYCHOLOGY
- 20. FOLLOW-UP
- 21. #WATERTHX
Editor's Notes
- About me About WA and our social media campaigns
- A decade ago, most people were still relying on print for their news, and the majority of charitable giving was made via checks in the mail. But, today, the most popular way to get our entertainment and news is online, and so is our giving. As a result, more and more nonprofits are turning to social media to raise support for their causes. But, only a small percentage of smaller nonprofits have found significant success raising money by using or leveraging their social media channels. I’m really not a social media expert, but we have learned how to use it as a powerful tool to bring funds and visibility to our organization.
- While there are exceptions, organizations won’t have much luck with an online campaign unless their social media channels are already well nurtured and active. That might not be what you want to hear- because it was with much resistance that I finally embraced this myself- but this is truth. So, before I go into specific tools for making your ask, I’ll cover some basics on building up your channels.
- DONORS ARE 34% MORE LIKELY TO DONATE TO RESPONSIVE WEBSITES. But not many people are familiar with this term. It refers to websites that look the same on any platform – computer, tablet, phone – that is, sites that respond to the way a person is viewing it. Big move of web use more and more towards mobile. … there is more traffic on the internet via mobile phones than computers in the US today. Average conversion rates for small and midsized nonprofits is 10% on responsive sites and 7.5% on nonresponsive sites 20% of nonprofit event registration happens on a mobile device
- But where do you focus your attention? Unless you are a large organization with full time staff to handle social media, you probably want to pick the channels that will best the best ROI for your org. When making that choice, it’s helpful to know which channels are being used and by whom. In a HubSpot survey of small-to-medium non-profits in the U.S., here’s the breakdown of the top 10 social networks used by non-profits:
- The most regularly accessed channels. And users spend the most time on Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram
- Nearly half (47%) of non-profits think that the pinnacle of social media interaction is a donation (according to a late 2014 study by the Case Foundation.) BUT, the focus really ought to be on Engagement, not Donation. Social Media audiences, whether for non-profits or big brands, want to be involved, not just sold to. They respond better to storytelling than to marketing messages. Fewer than one out of five posts should even mention money. Instead you want to provide content that informs, makes people think, makes them want to ask or answer questions.
- Photos uploaded to Facebook get five times the interaction and engagement rates than posted links. Visually compelling photos uploaded to Twitter double retweet rates. And Pinterest and Instagram, two of the most popular new social networks, are entirely image- and video-based. This reflects a seismic shift away from text to visual content. If you want your nonprofit to be highly shared, retweeted, repinned, and liked, then you absolutely must have basic photo-editing skills and a digital image library to work with.
- From Facebook to Instagram, very few nonprofits create enough quality content to have an effective content strategy when utilizing multiple social networks. Regularly getting in the habit of searching, sourcing, and posting, thus curating, interesting content to your social networks is a must-have skill for your new media manager. Some of your highest interaction and engagement rates will occur when you create and distribute content that is timely and relevant to news stories that are going viral. But don’t, don’t, don’t glom on to just any event or trend. You’ve got to be able to make a connection between you and the content that makes sense. Re facebook and relevance. Algorithm and dead posts effect all later posts.
- Some nonprofits seem to like a tone that is too familiar or personal. Too first-person. It’s OK to be personable, but you're a nonprofit, not a person. You want a tone that is smart, well-informed, and communicated with conviction. Building a strong personal brand requires “being human” on social networks, but building the brand of your nonprofit should focus more on becoming an expert resource and a compelling storyteller. Engaging authentically when making the ask- can be genuine in your enthusiasm if the motivation matches the request.
- Now that you’re social media is ready for crowdfunding, let’s talk fundraising.
- Annual shower strike Multi-channel campaign, used social media more and more and now our main channel
- Prepping for fundraising campaign: Host campaign somewhere Create strategy Theme/Goals/TIME Strategy (audience, channels, incentives, etc.) Messaging consistency Appealing/compelling content (not all asks) Delegate clear roles for staff Communication calendar across all platforms Recruit advocates/fundraisers Recruit supporters (who will post for campaign) Add pledges in advance if possible Create and distribute toolkit to advocates
- Goals to set (and make visible, use in messaging): Specific Measurabe - Set realistic fundraising goal (or set it low) -- Other metrics for success- number of participants, number of donations, number of new donors, social media activity, website traffic, etc. (to measure efforts after) Achievable Time sensitive, deadline for donations ** discuss ss smetrics
- Line up donor match and other incentives Theme if needed, if regular campaign (helps messaging consistency) Clearly defined team roles Tools: communications calendar and toolkit for advocates (on communications calendar, make sure messaging is consistent and compelling)
- Needs to adhere to all of the general social media guidelines already mentioned. AND, a couple more rules. 1. Putting something visual on your campaign page will certainly improve your results. Images boost return pretty well, but video is the sweet spot for donors. Campaigns with personal video raise more than 105% more than those that don’t. Even a quick mobile phone video clip amplifies giving.
- Couple more quick tips… Here’s another good stat: It takes an average of seven “touches” before a donor prospect converts to an actual donor. A touch is an email, text, tweet, post, call, etc. And, while it may feel like you’ve exhausted everyone’s patience with your pleas, it really does just take that much messaging to break into audience’s routine daily lives. Your words are important here, too. Tell the story about why you’ve taken on this campaign, but keep it under 500 words. Campaigns that lack the who, what, and why are less likely to succeed. Change things up a bit, too, from time to time. Fundraisers with regular updates (announcements of milestones reached, new product/project news, etc.) raise a whopping 126% more than those with none.
- - Make your plea relatable. Many products and causes are not a part of your network’s daily lives. When setting up your campaign and visuals, create a message that is most relatable to your audience for better results. - Focus on the progress that has been made for the problem so far instead exploiting the pain and tragedy. There has been a major shift in effective fundraising toward highlighting the positive. - Create a sense of urgency. Be sure to emphasize the importance of contributing to your campaign now. - Make the donor the hero. Include in your message how important the donor’s help will be in the success of your project.
- Opportunity to retain and recruit Thank you notes, progress reports, advocate gratitude