Social media has become one of the preeminent marketing tools for nonprofits looking to engage with donors and raise awareness about their cause as well as companies and social enterprises looking to incorporate a charitable component into their businesses.

It allows organizations to reach a large and diverse audience quickly and inexpensively. It can also be a way for organizations to connect with potential donors on a more personal level by sharing stories and updates about their work and community impact.

Philanthropy on social media helps those in need of donations to connect with a broader audience and raise awareness about their situation. And social media enables even more assistance, going beyond financial support to provide a way to mobilize volunteers and supporters.

However, it’s important to remember that social media can be a crowded and noisy space, and it can be difficult for nonprofits to stand out. Organizations need to develop a clear and consistent message. Companies and individuals can create powerful opportunities for charitable donations and acts of service by engaging with their audience in sincere and meaningful ways.

The effects of social media on philanthropy

The growth of social media has significantly impacted philanthropy for communities and those in need worldwide. Consider the effect of China’s “99 Giving Day,” which was the product of goodwill organizations and social media crowdfunding. Every September, Chinese companies donate millions to charity; their contributions are matched by the Chinese Internet company Tencent. Through this combination of social media marketing and philanthropy, millions have been raised for those needing medical treatment.

These viral social media campaigns have made it easier to learn about charitable causes, connecting philanthropists with organizations that align with their values. Social media campaigns have also enabled donors to share their philanthropic activities with their social networks, inspiring others to give. Remember the viral ALS Bucket Challenge in 2014? That social media campaign produced massive results for ALS research, netting more than $115 million and producing a life-changing new ALS drug.

The explosive growth of social media has also led to some challenges for philanthropy. Due to the large volume of social media posts and viral campaigns, it can be difficult for organizations to stand out in a crowded and noisy online space. It also presents a problem when measuring the impact of social media efforts on charitable giving. Additionally, the proliferation of online fundraising platforms has made it more difficult for donors to determine which organizations are reputable and which ones may not be using their contributions effectively.

Strategies to stand out from the crowd

For those seeking to bring social media into their philanthropic efforts, here are five strategies that can help organizations stand out from the crowd.

1. Develop a clear and consistent message: It’s crucial for nonprofit and social good organizations to have a clear and consistent message that reflects their mission and goals. Distinct messaging will help differentiate the organization from others and make it easier for potential donors to understand the mission statement and values.
2. Engage with your audience: Social media is a two-way conversation, so engaging actively with your audience is essential. Organizations and individuals should respond to comments and questions, share updates and stories about their work, and solicit feedback and ideas.
3. Use visually appealing content: Social media is a visual medium, so it’s important to use visually appealing content to capture your audience’s attention. This might include photos, videos, infographics, or other types of media that help to tell your organization’s story. Last year Project Angel Food partnered with the television network KTLA to create a successful telethon, raising over $1.1 million in an effort to combat food insecurity.
4. Use hashtags and tagging: Hashtags and tagging can increase the reach of your content and make it easier for people to discover your organization on social media. Use relevant hashtags and tag other organizations, influencers and individuals who may be interested in your work.
5. Partner with influencers: Influencer marketing can be an effective way to reach a larger audience on social media. Consider partnering with influencers who align with your mission and values and who have a large and engaged following. In 2019, I partnered with MIT for its Pi Day 24-Hour Challenge. We donated $15,000 to support the efforts of teams worldwide, all creating innovative new solutions for global problems.

By using social media effectively, organizations and philanthropists can connect with thousands of worthy charitable causes worldwide, bringing aid to millions of people (and animals) in need. The awe-inspiring power of bringing people together to assist one another is one of the most significant technological innovations of the century. Let’s use it to do some good.

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This is the second part of a two-part series on creating a strategy for your nonprofit or social cause. J.D. conducts two webinars a month on “6 Steps to Create a Powerhouse Social Strategy for Your Nonprofit” at CharityHowTo.

Target audience: Nonprofits, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, cause organizations, brands, businesses, government agencies.

How many nonprofits do you know that have incorporated social as part of their overall strategy, or even their communications strategy? Let’s go further: How many nonprofits really have a strategy?

Apart from the largest nonprofits, the list is painfully small. And that’s too bad, because here is what happens when strategy is not at the heart of your organization’s actions: On a good day, you bounce around from putting out one brushfire after another. On a bad day, the fire wins.

Sound familiar?

At the Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco on April 5, my Socialbrite partner Carla Schlemminger and I will be leading an interactive session titled You Need a Strategy, Dammit, Not a Twitter Account (with the Twitter hashtag #12NTCDammit).

And our message will be: Folks, it doesn’t have to be this way. Be proactive instead of reactive. Create a Social Media Strategic Plan to help your nonprofit get aligned, to begin working as a cohesive unit and to achieve real-world impact.

Your strategy must be extend beyond one department

Every organization will take a different journey to get there. But you must start with a plan. Too many nonprofits begin with the tools, and as much as we love Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus, the tools should flow from the strategy, not the other way around. The Strategic Plan is your blueprint, the animating force that connects goals to actions.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to hire an outside consulting firm like us to create a plan for you – you can have someone in-house add five to 10 pages to your annual communications plan, assuming you have one. But the plan needs to be cross-departmental and include development, fundraising and programming in the discussion alongside communications and marketing. A social media strategy should support the overall organization, not just a single department.

What goes into a Strategic Plan? Some of these are strictly optional, but here are seven elements Socialbrite often includes in our clients’ plans:

1Overall assessment. Begin with a 360-degree assessment of your nonprofit’s current social media capabilities. What are you doing well? Where are you falling short?

2Goals. Move on to the heart of the matter: Spell out your organizational goals, seen from not only the executive director level but from the vantage point of key stakeholders and decision-makers in the executive and extended leadership teams. Where do you want to be six months from now? A year from now?

3Metrics. Tie your goals to metrics. You can create a separate metrics plan, but at a high level you should identify the goals you want to track and how you’ll measure them.

4Assess your community. Include an assessment of your online community. Identify who they are and how they might want to be involved, and don’t be afraid to ask, using online survey tools like SurveyGizmo or Wufoo. Remember that you don’t have a single online audience but a myriad of audiences: constituents, partners, funders and supporters with varying levels of passion for your cause.

5Consider the tools. Only now, after you’ve laid your foundation, should you include in the plan an outline of which social tools and platforms can help you reach your goals and create impact in the community.

6Assess internal capacity. You might also include recommendations on expanded capabilities you’d like to see. Do your team members feel well equipped to tell stories, to share updates, to post photos from live events? If not, a series of training sessions on storytelling, mobile or social media might be in order

7Assess the competition. Finally, a Strategic Plan sometimes includes a competitive or peer analysis, a look at how you’re doing when assessed against others in your sector. Don’t be afraid to steal good ideas. You think everything Steve Jobs or Bill Gates did was original?

That covers only a small portion of what we’ll be presenting at NTC. Hope to see you at You Need a Strategy, Dammit, Not a Twitter Account!

The post The 7 elements of a Strategic Social Media Plan appeared first on Socialbrite.

Answer: Me!

Yep, I’d love to volunteer for your nonprofit for free.

Who am I?

My name is David Spark, founder of Spark Media Solutions, a custom publishing/social media firm. So many companies and organizations want to be seen as leading voices in their field, but they try to do it with marketing, branding, and public relations alone, which is not possible. To develop thought leadership, organizations must create editorial content, just like any other media outlet does in order to create voice. And that’s exactly what our organization does. We help companies build their industry voice.

Please feel free to look at my bio, my blog, and my business site.

I’d love to help your nonprofit be seen as an industry leader.

Why I want to volunteer for your nonprofit

• While I’m very busy, I’d like to reserve 10-15 hours a month to volunteer for a nonprofit.
• I’ve been on a couple of nonprofit boards in the past and I’ve really enjoyed the experience.
• I’m eager to experiment with many different publishing and social media techniques.
• I’m looking to work with a nonprofit to generate stories of what works and what doesn’t work in social media.

What I’m looking for in a nonprofit

• I’d like to assist a nonprofit that’s already engaged in social media and is eager to do something more aggressive.
• OR I’d like to work with a nonprofit that’s sold on social media but just doesn’t know what to do first and needs some guidance.
• I’d also like an organization that has the staff to actually engage in social media. Even if they’re overloaded right now, there are ways to shift current efforts into the social sphere.

What I’m NOT looking for in a nonprofit

• I’m not looking for an organization that needs convincing that they should be spending time and money engaging in social media.
• I’m not looking for an organization that just wants me to do all the work for them.

Are we a good match?

Please just leave a comment on this blog post and let me know who you are, the name of your organization, what you’ve done, where you’d like to be, and ultimately how I can get in contact with you.

When will I make my decision?

Depending on response, I expect to make my decision by the end of the first week of December. I will be picking only one nonprofit for now.

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