A guide to enhancing your charity social media strategy

Shaf Mansour

Not For Profit Solutions Specialist

Posted 29 September 2022

As digitisation has undoubtedly impacted how we process information, not for profit organisations must utilise effective charity social media as part of their marketing strategy.

According to Data Reportal, over half the world’s population now use social media [1], with the Global Web Index showing the average user spending almost two hours a day scrolling [2]. Using these stats as an indicator, it suggests a perfect opportunity to advertise your charity. But with so much going on in the digital space, it can all be quite daunting.

That’s why we’ve put together some top tips to help your charity get social.

How can charities use social media?

Social media can support charities in achieving their fundraising goals by providing an opportunity to attract new audiences and share the effects of their work. As social media and charity fundraising can go hand in hand, you should prioritise implementing an engaging charity social media strategy to help reap the rewards your not for profit deserves!

Social media for charities can therefore be used for a number of reasons. Some of the most popular include to:

Promote your values

As a charity, you should strive to be unique and clearly outline your ethos. Social media is a great medium to showcase this. Confidently share your not for profit’s values and mission to new followers and take pride in the new initiatives and campaigns that you organise.

Highlighting this crucial information makes it easier to connect with people, which leads to our next point…

Build better donor relationships

Good fundraising is all about relationships, and social media is the perfect tool to build them. A two-way process, it doesn’t just give people the chance to get to know you, it gives you the chance to get to know your people – and to use that learning to improve on and offline donor journeys.

Social media allows you to grow your connections by creating channels and groups whereby people can engage with and share your resources. Engagement such as this also makes it more likely to contact individuals such as volunteers, speakers and advocates of your charity.

Highlight your impact

Social media is an excellent platform to share your accomplishments with connections and followers. More importantly, you can inform your donors of the value their contributions have made, having the ability to see the tangible improvements for themselves.

Sharing achievements and acknowledgements such as this provides a strong trust signal that is more likely to attract increased support for future campaigns.

Inspire social action

We all want to change the world and social media can help raise public awareness and inspire action. It’s a dynamic platform, so don’t be afraid to get ‘stuck in’ and use it to share stories, data and articles about your work and the context that surrounds it.  

Enhance digital fundraising

In the early days, there was a bit of a disconnect between social media and charity fundraising. Not anymore. As platforms embrace their non-profit market, you can use social media to direct traffic to your website, run campaigns and even process direct donations.

What do charities post on social media?

Now that we have a better understanding of how charity social media can be used, we can delve into what you should be looking to post on your platforms. Generally, you want to highlight your values, the impact your work has on others, and how those reading your posts can get involved. Put simply, your posts should reflect your organisation.

Areas to consider include:

Donation and fundraising campaigns

Fundraising social media posts will probably be a prominent feature across your platforms. This is where you share posts that outline information such as the aim of your cause, who/where will benefit, and what is required for the proposed cause to prosper (generally by setting a donation target). Regardless of which platform(s) you opt for, they will provide you with the ability to either share links to your website’s donation page, or better still, to donate directly from the respective post itself. For this reason alone, charity social media is a must for any not for profit.

Promoting success stories

Content that shares real success stories that have affected real people tends to strike the right chords with potential donors. This could include topics including reaching a donation target for a campaign, organising a successful event, or sharing a case study of how your charity has tangibly improved somebody’s life.

Whatever you choose to post, ensure that it represents the values that you hold dear. Luckily, given the amount of social media platforms available, you can easily portray your success stories through text, images and videos. More about this later…

Upcoming events

Throughout the year, you will no doubt be planning to host a number of exciting events. Why not use social media to shout about them and spread the word? Upload posts that provide all of the key information such as what cause it is for and the schedule. Above all, provide a ‘check in’ function that allows your followers to confirm their attendance ahead of the event.

Remember, the more frequently you share the fantastic events you’re organising – along with the money raised – the more likely it is that people will get involved and support you.

News and advice

Not everything you post has to relate directly to your charity. If you’re involved with certain causes e.g. mental health, it’s a great idea to post news surrounding this subject matter. You can also provide your own insights and advice around the subject matter in formats such as blogs and infographics. Sharing relevant content from other organisations can also be effective as it potentially leads to collaboration for future projects.

Although this won’t necessarily directly benefit your organisation, sharing relevant content will match the interests of followers. This also encourages them to share your content which can lead to gaining new followers across your social media platforms!

Humanise your charity

Above all, remember to have fun! As a charity, it’s important to put a face to your organisation. Better still, show several faces by letting your hair down and providing an insight into your office environment. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love to see an office dog?

Humanising your charity will ensure a suitable balance with the more serious subject matter, providing a personal touch that your followers are likely to appreciate.

Which social media platform is best for charities?

With the consistent introduction of new social media platforms, every year the list gets longer. However, rather than spreading yourself too thin, the trick is to choose one or two and do them well. Not sure where to start? Here’s a low-down of several headline platforms and their charity features.

Facebook

Facebook continues to be recognised as the largest social media platform worldwide, with approximately 2.9 billion users since January 2022. Although younger demographics have arguably moved on to newer platforms, Facebook continues to be effective for storytelling and sharing information about your charity. This is due to the platform enabling posts to incorporate images, text and videos which users can engage with by commenting and/or sharing.

Facebook also makes it easy for:

Not for profits to post authentic stories that bring their work to life in an instant
Eligible organisations to activate ‘Donate’ buttons and ‘Stickers’ to mobilise action
Donors in certain areas to set up their own Birthday and other personal fundraisers

Instagram

As the second largest social media platform with people spending an average 29 minutes per day scrolling through, Instagram has proven to be a popular choice among millennials.[3]

It’s USP? It focuses on visual content such as images and videos (via reels and IGTVs). This therefore provides a unique storytelling opportunity of your volunteers, donors or a respective cause, encouraging your followers to engage with more digitally appealing media.

Benefits to Instagram include:

Create conversation through poll and question features on the ‘Stories’ functionality
Encourage direct donations via donation features on the platform itself
Cross-promote your content with Facebook as both platforms are owned by the same company!

Twitter

The ‘Twittersphere’ is always chirping and it’s a great space for charities to get creative. Not only is this platform great for sharing information and news, but it is also home to journalists, celebrities and opinion leaders. Who knows, with the perfectly executed charity social media campaign, you may gain a high-profile donor!

However, be aware that Twitter has a character limit, so ensure that your content is concise.

Twitter allows you to:

Capitalise on (or high-jack) trending hashtags and advocate their issue or cause
Use new Twitter Spaces to connect directly, tweet and talk to your supporters
Host live chats and ‘Twitter takeovers’ that give donors the chance to interact with your team

LinkedIn is predominantly for business to business professionals who are looking to connect with others who share relevant content. In your case, certain professionals in the charity sector will be actively scanning for not for profit organisations that provide valuable information.

While not the right place to share personal life updates, this IS a suitable platform to promote content, data and relevant news about both your organisation and the charity sector generally.

Not just a virtual business card, LinkedIn comes into its own when organisations:

Join the dots and use networks and connections to open new doors
Share opportunities and use LinkedIn to recruit, diversify and expand their team
Use #BetterTogether webinars to learn new skills

YouTube

Youtube is the world’s second largest search engine [4]. Let that sink in. This alone is a compounding enough argument that prioritising a YouTube channel is a must for any charity.

Highlight the impact your charity has by spotlighting specific campaigns with case studies, interviews, or even sharing footage of an event! The good news? Video creation can be too time consuming for some, so going above and beyond with video optimisation will be sure to help you stand out and reap the rewards.

YouTube gives eligible organisations the chance to:

Boost donations with YouTube Giving
Unlock the power of visual storytelling and learn from their ‘Creator Academy’
Use ‘Link Anywhere’ cards to drive traffic to their website and campaign landing pages

TikTok

TikTok is a more recent platform and has really taken off with a younger demographic. The simplicity of its functionality is part of its appeal, as it allows you to upload 15-60 second videos on your phone that can be customised with effects, sounds, graphics, captions and filters.

Taking the social media circuit by storm, TikTok is a great way to:

Reach a younger audience with dynamic, bite-size video content
Raise your profile and boost supporter engagement through promoted hashtags

Read our blog for everything you need to know about using TikTok for your charity.

Top tips to make the most of your charity social media posts

Once your page is live, you need to build a following, and we’ve got a few tricks to help get the ball rolling.

Tip #1: Join the conversation

As well as posting, you need to listen and respond. Whether it’s a news story, event or national day, use hashtags to find, follow and join relevant conversations. A comment here, a share there – every interaction is a potential new connection.  

Tip #2: Create opportunities for supporter engagement

All good conversationalists ask questions, and you should too. It might feel strange at first, but it’s perfectly okay to ask questions and run polls – in fact, we advise it. What better way to get to know your audience and build trust in your brand than inviting their opinions, comments and responses?   

Tip #3: Run and attend LIVE events

Live chats and streamed events will help you rise above the noise (#CharityHour anyone?). People will love the chance to connect directly, ask questions and chat in real-time. The same goes for other people’s events. A little bit of live-action tweeting will help you grow an organic social media following.

Tip #4: Add visuals

Did you know Twitter posts that include images get 35% more engagement? [5]. Or that image-based LinkedIn posts get twice as many comments? [6]. It doesn’t stop there. As Instagram’s Adam Mosseri puts it, "[video is] driving an immense amount of growth online for all major platforms" so don’t be afraid to press record! [7].

Tip #5: Remember the person behind your profile

When it comes to writing charity social media posts, you need to keep it real. You might represent an organisation, but you’re still a person talking to another person. It’s good to respond, interact, joke, use emoticons and have (sensitive, well-informed) opinions. People will like you all the more for it.

Tip #6: Spice up your charity social media posts with a call to action

If you really want to get your message out there, why not try building a direct call to action? Whether you’re looking for shares, retweets, comments, or donations, if you don’t give people a way to get involved, they won’t!

Tip #7: Don’t be afraid to do your homework!

Make the most of the mountain of free resources regarding social media training for charities online and stay on top of new trends, functionality, and best practices!

How to create shareable content for social media posts

Another great way to build your charity’s social media following is to create sharable content that aligns with our innate need to…

Be social: Sharing content helps create connections, either by maintaining lapsed relationships or sparking brand new ones.
Add value: We share because we want to give others great content - so take the time to develop and link to blog posts, news articles, tool kits and services that add genuine value.
Feel part of something: Sharing information makes us feel more involved in the world and adds to our sense of self-worth (especially if people comment, like and re-share).
Be who we are: People like to share content that’s an expression of their personal values, so link your posts to current news, affairs and trends that fit supporter motivations and interests.
Give back: Sharing content is a great way for people to rally behind causes and inspire others to get involved in issues they care about.*

 *This list was inspired by The New York Times [8]

And finally… Always base your next decision on DATA

Knowledge is power. Use your analytics to find out what works and what doesn’t. Create content that resonates with your audience and use it to write your own recipe for charity social media success.