Today, nonprofits and social media go hand-in-hand. Social media platforms help nonprofits share their message and gain support. Chances are, you are already using a few of these platforms in your digital marketing campaigns. But what about LinkedIn? Is it worth your time?
We are here to tell you why LinkedIn is such a good tool for nonprofits, and give you some tips to help you make the most of this platform.
Chances are, you have encountered LinkedIn in some form before. You might have set up a profile when looking for your first job. You might have used it to learn more about candidates applying for positions in your organization. Or, maybe you have an active account you use regularly.
Regardless of your personal experience with LinkedIn, you are probably wondering how useful it is for your nonprofit.
LinkedIn, like all social media platforms, is not perfect. However, it is the single largest platform for professional networking. According to LinkedIn, it has over 875 million users in at least 200 countries.
Given its reach and the nature of the platform, LinkedIn provides your nonprofit organization with a unique opportunity to share your message, make new connections and strengthen existing ones.
When used right, LinkedIn can help establish your nonprofit as an impactful organization, with skilled members who are leaders in their field.
Whether you are creating your nonprofit's LinkedIn page from scratch or updating your existing one, here are our top tips to leverage the platform to share your message and build support.
One of the best ways to create a powerful and impactful LinkedIn page for your nonprofit is to look at what others are doing.
Have a look at the LinkedIn profiles of other nonprofits in your industry, especially the top organizations.
What are they doing right? What areas could be improved? If you see something you like, try to emulate this on your LinkedIn page.
If you see gaps in the content of your competitors, try and fill these! For example, if you notice that similar organizations are not posting a lot of video content, here is your chance to use video content to reach a wider audience.
Chances are, potential donors or job candidates will look at your organization's social media (including LinkedIn) when considering whether or not to donate or apply for a position. You need to make sure that, when they do, all of your important information is easily accessible.
If any important information is missing or not up-to-date, this can appear very unprofessional and be off-putting to viewers. On top of this, it could make it difficult for potential donors or job candidates from contacting your company!
Here is some information you should make sure is included and accurate:
A common mistake people and companies make on LinkedIn is not optimizing their photos. You need to make sure that you are using high-quality pictures that reflect your organization.
Everything on your LinkedIn page is an extension of your brand, including your images. If your images are blown out, or pixelated, this comes across as tacky and unprofessional. They will make it difficult for you to win over new viewers or keep the trust of old ones.
The image that you use for your profile should ideally be 400 pixels by 400 pixels. We do not recommend going any lower than that. You should always err on the side of higher quality. However, your file must be less than 8 MB, or else LinkedIn will reject it and you won't be able to upload your image.
The image you use for your cover photo should ideally be 1548 pixels by 296 pixels. Choose your cover photo wisely. It's a great opportunity to show a bit of your personality and what your organization is all about.
A nonprofit organization is only as strong as its people, and you need to make sure that your staff is putting the best foot forward.
Encourage all of your staff to create a profile on LinkedIn, and keep it up to date. They should put all of their achievements and qualifications on their profile, and ideally be quite active on the platform.
Their profiles must, at the very least, be complete and accurate. It is a good idea to even invest in professional-grade headshots for all of your staff to create a sense of uniformity and professionalism.
Creating and posting content that is informative, relevant, and interesting is one of the best ways to promote your organization and make new connections.
Invest in creating quality content that will drive engagement and appeal to your target market. For example, you could write good blog posts or announce important events and updates relevant to your cause. Get creative! You know what sets you apart - make sure everyone else knows too!
You also need to make sure that you are posting regularly. If you want to maximize engagement and click-through rate, we recommend you post between 2-3 posts a week on LinkedIn.
However, don't post a lot of content in one week and then nothing the next. You want to be consistent, so we recommend scheduling your posts.
When used right, LinkedIn is a powerful tool you can use to forge new connections and strengthen existing ones. It is the biggest networking platform in the world, and you would be doing your nonprofit a great disservice if you don't try and make the most of it.
Now you know why your nonprofit should be using LinkedIn (as well as our top tips to make the most of this platform) what are you waiting for? It's time to start making those connections!