153. Back to Basics Social Media - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE

Digital StrategyMarketing
Written By Julie Confer
Social Media for Nonprofits with We Are For Good

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Overview

Having a social voice and online presence matter more today than ever before. And without a solid goal and plan in place, those looking to digitally plug in with their pet charities will see their loyal fans moving elsewhere in a noisy online space. Tune in Friday because we're breaking down why social strategy needs to be a key priority of this year's development plan. We're discussing its benefits, how to define goals, audiences, messages and more. Then we finish off with our best Pro Tips and simply where to start. And if that's not enough, we built a ton of resources into a toolkit to help you make that first leap. We got you, friends. 👊

“You need to know who you are. You need to know your why. Align your values accordingly, and live those out loud on your social media.”
— Becky Endicott, CFRE

Episode Transcript

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Episode Overview

  • More than 50% of nonprofits reported they are investing more budget into their social media (2:50)

  • Digital giving has grown by 21% in 2021. (3:30)

  • The benefits of leveraging social media (4:00)

  • Back to basics: social media (8:30)

  • 27 examples of content ideas (22:00)

  • Policies and procedures tips (25:00)

  • Utilize a content calendar! Leverage a syndication mindset (26:00)

  • Social media pro tips to take your social media to the next level (28:00)

Powerful quotes

“Your social media is where you have presence today.” -Jon

“Social media demands for you to be authentic.” -Becky

“The digital space is a great place to just try stuff.” -Jon

“We’re all thinking bigger. We have challenged you this season to dream bigger. Social media allows you to have a global audience.” -Jon

“You need to know who you are. You need to know your why. Align your values accordingly, and live those out loud on your social media.” -Becky

“Saturation is not the name of the game. Targeting, understanding your audience and how they take in your messages is key.” -Becky

“Allow your impact to create awareness about your organization.” -Becky

“If you’re feeling overwhelmed it’s probably because you don’t have a plan.” -Jon

The Benefits of Leveraging Social Media

  • Builds the digital soul of your organization in a humanizing way

  • Allows you to share your message on both a global and local level

  • Allows you to better target your ideal donor/prospect and inspire them to action

  • Allows organizations with even the most limited budgets to reach a wide audience in a quick, cost-effective way. 

  • Provides a place to engage in conversation about your cause on a larger scale

  • Allows you to share impact

  • It’s free!!

  • Allows you to tests what’s working, what’s not, and what content resonates most

  • Allows you to be nimble and respond to the happenings of your org and our world

  • Allows you to leverage a variety of tools (ie: photo, video, graphics, etc.)

  • Balances building awareness, solicitation, stewardship, storytelling and engagement

Back to Basics: Social Media

  • Value and goal alignment is your starting place

    • Your social media strategy should be integrated with your overall marketing strategy and aligned with your nonprofit's goals and target audiences. 

  • Build a dang plan.

    • Your social media strategy should be integrated with your overall marketing strategy and aligned with your nonprofit's goals and target audiences. Specific staff members, interns or volunteers should be dedicated to keeping up with social media.

    • ...and a content calendar to go along with your plan 🎉

  • Align the right platform with the right audience

    • While it might seem tempting to try to get your message out on as many platforms as possible, you need to first determine what platforms your target audience uses and go from there.

  • Social Media is a team sport, not a job for interns only.

    • Specific staff members should be dedicated to managing your organization’s social media presence.

  • Work to be an active listener

    • Don’t just post. Make sure you’re responding, emoting, thanking, uplifting, sharing, etc. 

    • Frequent posts and interactions can promote visibility and community engagement. 

  • Make whatever you post shareable

    • There’s power in allowing your rabid fans to talk about why your post meant something them.

  • Sharing your impact with the world is the ultimate humble brag.

    • It builds transparency and trust as you detail how funds were spent.

    • It uplifts the good work your nonprofit is doing.

    • It allows donors and champions to celebrate your wins.

    • Creates awareness about your mission and its impact on your community/world.

Your Playbook to Get Started! 👇

  1. Determine Your Goals (should be actionable)

  • Should always drive to website 

    • Then work to secure email address

  • Fostering deeper community engagement

  • Sharing news

  • Cultivating brand awareness

  • Educating others about your cause and mission

  • Fundraising

  • Volunteer recruitment

  • Donor recognition

  • Acquiring and retaining donors

  • Establishing thought leadership in your sector

  • Trying stuff and track your progress. Then pivot.

2. Define Your Audience


3. Defining Messages


4. Determine Platforms

  • Audit channels now and determine effectiveness

  • Do not try to add platforms at the onset

  • Establish who will post across platforms

    • We recommend this responsibility is shared among staff (or possibly some volunteers as well)

27 Content Ideas (Curated by We Are For Good and Katie Sehl, HootSuite) 🎉

  • Casting vision

  • Campaign previews, insights, milestones

  • Values

  • People profiles (ie: Members, staff, board, volunteers, teen board, young professionals, etc.)

  • Impact report details

  • Event announcements and details

  • Quotes

  • Stats

  • Key Messages

  • Gift announcement

  • Anniversaries or key dates

  • Community partner info

  • Gleaning data/feedback

  • Recruiting volunteers

  • Photos

  • Videos

  • Infographics

  • User-generated content

  • Organizational news

  • Behind-the-scenes preview

  • Industry or relevant news

  • Polls & surveys

  • Tips

  • Freebies

  • Memes

  • Product previews

  • Direct mail / mail integration


Quick Tips to Get You Started - written by Quebec-based writer Katie Sehl for HootSuite’s blog

  1. Set up accounts as nonprofits

    • Make sure to enroll as a nonprofit in order to access nonprofit-specific benefits from platforms like FB, IG, TikTok or Youtube.

  2. Add donation button

    • If your non-profit collects donations, make sure you’ve added donation buttons on Facebook and Instagram. Both platforms have fundraising tools, too. But you never know when someone may discover your nonprofit on social media and want to contribute.

  3. Take advantage of free training and resources

    • There are tons of free resources available on social media for nonprofits. So many, in fact, that the time it takes to wade through them almost outweighs their benefits.

      • Katie pared down the top social media resources for nonprofits into a concise list, sorted by platform, and they’re included in our social media guide below.

  4. Develop social media guidelines and policies

    • Nonprofits are often run by lean teams and supported by a network of volunteers with varied backgrounds, schedules, and skill levels. A social media policy allows organizers to provide structure and maintain flexibility.

    • Guidelines include a voice or brand style guide to ensure the organization is speaking with one voice (and keeps people from feeling like different personalities are speaking on the platform)

    • A social media policy for nonprofits should include: outline of team members, roles, and contact information, security protocols, guidance on how staff and volunteers should behave on their own accounts, and a privacy policy.

  5. Create a content calendar

    • A content calendar is a good way to keep your nonprofit team on the same page. It also allows you to plan ahead so teams with limited resources aren’t stretched too thin or left scrambling to put things together at the last minute.

      1. Balances solicitation, stewardship, storytelling, etc.

      2. Allows for teasing events/announcements early

      3. Determine frequency

      4. Anticipate key events that are important for your cause. For example, a nonprofit that champions women will likely want to plan content for International Women’s Day, Mother’s Day and Gender Equality Week. Don’t forget traditional holidays or important anniversaries either.

Platform-specific links for nonprofits:

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Pinterest

How To Add Donate Buttons to your social media 👇

Facebook

  1. Go to your nonprofit’s Facebook Page.

  2. Click Add button.

  3. Select Shop with you or make a donation. Pick Donate and click Next.

  4. Click Donate through Facebook. (You’ll need to be enrolled with Facebook Payments for this to work.)

  5. Select Finish.

Instagram

  1. Go to your profile and open the menu.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. Tap Business then Donations.

  4. Turn the slider on beside Add Donate Button to Profile.


Free Training Links 🎉🎉

Facebook and Instagram nonprofit resources:

YouTube nonprofit resources:

Twitter nonprofit resources:

LinkedIn nonprofit resources:

Snapchat nonprofit resources:

TikTok nonprofit resources:

Hootsuite nonprofit resources:

Learn How to Use Hootsuite for free

We Are For good Social media pro Tips 🤩

  1. Setting social media goals ensures your balancing all the demands of donor engagement with adding value to your followers. Set quantitative and qualitative goals. (Be consistent!🎉)

  2. Whatever you do, push them to action on your website. Remember: it’s the front porch and digital storefront for your mission.

  3. Add links to your social media accounts to your website, newsletter and email signatures. Make it easy for people to connect, and give them confidence they’re following official accounts.

  4. Employ frequent posts and interactions that promote visibility and community engagement

  5. Create relevant hashtags to aggregate content more easily

  6. Never miss an opportunity to engage. If someone comments - even with an emoji - respond. This is your chance to humanize your organization.

  7. Share stories about people

  8. Post shareable content.

  9. Integrate with online giving campaign appeals

Social Media Podcast Playlist! 🎧

5. Transform Your Nonprofit's Social Media - Chris Fox

69. How Nonprofits Can Collaborate with Online Influencers + Build a Movement - Nick Lynch

70. How to Level-Up Your Nonprofit's Online Marketing - Dana Snyder

130. How to Launch a Digital Fundraising Program in 21 Days - Jeremy Haselwood


FREE Workshop! Write less and engage more, today!

Episode Sponsored by

Studio Selfie

Jon McCoy, Pippa, Becky Endicott & Julie Confer

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