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Using Social Media To Boost Your Fundraising Campaign

Written by Adie M. | Aug 14, 2020 11:01:47 AM

Almost everyone is on one social media platform or the other these days, so why not use it to your advantage? Social media can be a powerful marketing tool for your fundraising campaign or online auction if you use it correctly. 

It is fast becoming one of the most popular methods for nonprofit and charity organizations to raise funds. This is because social media channels provide a quick and easy way to engage with people. Not only this, but nonprofits and charities can reach a wide range of people and easily connect with their supporters. 

So, if you’re interested in how social media can boost your fundraising campaign or online auction, keep reading!

Why Is Social Media Promotion Beneficial?

There are multiple reasons why nonprofit and charity organizations should put some effort into social media promotion. 

Expands Your Reach

First things first, social platforms are one of the best places to connect your organization to like-minded people and causes. You can connect and engage with people around the world with just a few clicks. This massively broadens your reach so that people all over the world can donate to your cause. 

People also share what they’re interested in through social media. So, if you manage to catch the eyes of people interested in supporting your fundraising campaign, you can encourage them to share your posts with their friends or networks. Through sharing and word of mouth, you can reach far more people than you would just through emails for example. 

Boosts Traffic

In addition to expanding your reach, promoting your fundraising campaigns through social media can help make your organization easier to find and boost traffic to your website. This is highly beneficial because your website is where people can learn more about what you do and how they can support you. 

Build Better Relationships

As people begin to support you or donate to your cause, they can also follow you on social media. This is a great way of keeping people engaged and up to date. By building a following of loyal supporters and interacting with them, it will help you raise funds for your future campaigns.

Helps You Raise More Funds

Ultimately, all of the benefits of using social media to boost your fundraising campaign lead to one thing. You will raise more money. By connecting with more people and spreading the word, you are bound to receive more donations from people becoming aware of your cause and wanting to support it. 

How To Use Social Media To Boost Your Fundraising Campaign

Now that you know why you should be using social media, let’s get into how you can use it. Here are some quick and simple social media tips for nonprofit and charity organizations to use. 

Customize Your Posts For Each Channel

Different types of people use different social platforms. Not only this but each social platform has its own type of format that works best. So, you need to customize your posts to suit each one. 

For example, the way you word your messaging on LinkedIn will be quite different to how you would on Twitter or Instagram. With only 140 characters to work with your Twitter posts need to be straight to the point. Whereas on Instagram, you can focus more on the images you use to catch peoples’ attention. 

Think about where your ideal audience hangs out the most and make sure to customize your posts to reach them on those specific platforms. Videos are also the best way to hold someone’s attention so making use of videos is a must!

Interact With Your Supporters

Social media isn’t just about posting updates. You need to engage and communicate with your audience and supporters. Interact with your donors, thank people for supporting, and show them that you listen to them and appreciate their support and donations. 

Convey Urgency

Things move very quickly on social media. It’s all about the now. So, conveying some urgency is a good way to give people that extra push to donate or make a bid in your online auction. 

To do this, you can post updates on the progress of your fundraising campaign and how far you still need to go to meet your goals.

Focus On The Impact Or Cause

You’re raising funds, or hosting an online auction, for a specific cause. Focus on this so that people know exactly what they are contributing to. Emphasize your cause and the difference that people can make by donating. Break it down into simple terms so that people can truly see the impact. 

Create Events

For fundraising campaigns like online auctions, creating events on Facebook can be very beneficial. People can click to show that they want to attend or are at least interested in your event. This can give you a gauge of how many people may participate or donate.

Facebook events also notify people when events are coming up or starting. This can serve as a useful reminder for people to attend. Then they can simply click through to your website from Facebook to participate. 

Include A Call To Action (CTA)

Including a call to action in your social media posts is a good way to get people to take the next step. Whether it is “share this post” or “donate now”, a simple CTA can nudge your supporters to spread the word and actually follow through with a donation. 

Share!

As we have mentioned, sharing on social media can be incredibly beneficial. By encouraging people to share your posts with their networks, you can expand your reach exponentially.

Reach out to your followers and even a few community influencers and ask them to share your cause. This can have a massive impact on your fundraising campaign.

Final Thoughts

Social media is a powerful tool for promoting fundraising campaigns. By actively engaging and posting on social media, nonprofit and charity organizations can not only boost their campaigns but build a following of dedicated supporters and donors.