How Charities Use Social Media

Unstoppable social media expansion in recent years is imposing new rules in the world of marketing. Changes are arguably most noticeable in the domain of charity organizations, where these networking platforms have opened unprecedented possibilities for marketing strategists allowing them access to a previously unreachable audience. Here is some advice on how to make the most out of the most popular social media platforms, especially if you represent a charity.

Facebook

While charities are generally very active on Facebook, there is a general consensus that many of them would benefit from more visual content. Images alone can be a great tool for inspiring feedback and attracting attention to the attached text, and even more, can be achieved with a simple video. If charities could find a way to visually appeal to their audiences, or find something to offer back to the people in return for being charitable, they would get significantly more donations.

Personalizing news and stories is a great way of engaging people and getting more “likes”, which is crucial on Facebook. A skillfully implemented personal touch makes a big impact on the success of a post or a campaign. Although posting links to news articles and videos is generally a good idea, they should always be followed with an engaging comment and/or a good image.

In that respect, originality can go a long way in inspiring some sort of engagement, whether in the form of a donation, a call to action or simply sharing and forwarding.

Also, be very careful with your notifications, as nobody cares for spam. If you are sending a group message, be sure you have a good reason for it. Otherwise, it can only harm what you are trying to achieve.

Twitter

Try to implement personality in your tweets whenever it is appropriate. A giggle or two never hurt anybody, and it can have a big influence on your charity’s image.

Develop a distinctive style. Being recognizable will help you create a virtual character of your organization that people can imagine as their friend, which will make you much more appealing to your potential benefactors.

Avoid taking a negative stand whenever possible, or try to offer a solution that people will relate to and understand easily. Otherwise, people will simply start subconsciously connecting you with negative feelings, which will be very hard to change.

YouTube

Google recently offered a special type of YouTube account to charities. Be sure to study the platform carefully before planning your campaign. Video is still regarded as the most engaging media, commanding attention more than any other type of content, thus it is no wonder that the rise of using video for both personal and professional means has no end in sight. You should thoroughly research your target audience and shape your video presentation accordingly in order to use the most of what YouTube has to offer.

Try to make your video as visually appealing as possible. The people simply like pretty images. On the other hand, many cannot bear to watch those inflicted by famine, disease and poverty.

Use skillfully implemented graphs, on-screen text and similar features, as they can be of big help in presenting information in an easily digestible manner.

Don’t limit your campaign to the big three. Pinterest, 4Square and Instagram are growing exponentially, offering other ways for getting your point across. For example, Pinterest is a perfect platform for presenting engaging images. However, keep in mind that every social media is a media in its own right and as such requires a somewhat different approach.

Anita is a social media manager who went freelance and realized that it is better to work from a shared office (co-working space) than from what she thought was her dream – to work from home. She loves to share her thoughts with others.