By: Innovative Nonprofit Team 8/30/12
Chances are your nonprofit organization has a Facebook page, a Twitter feed and a Linked In profile. But what exactly are you doing with them, and how are they helping your NP achieve its goals? Every where we look we see the Icons for social media it is important for your Non Profit. This quick guide will help you be intentional about your social media presence. Follow these five simple steps to demystify social media and start making it work for you.
- Multitask
If you’re a small to mid-sized nonprofit, you may not have money in your budget for a full-time social media marketer. If you have several people in your marketing department, assign each of them one social media account. Since each of these people will have a variety of other responsibilities throughout the day, limit them to a total of one hour spent on social media websites per day. They may want to spend the last 5-10 minutes of each hour responding to posts on Facebook or finding stellar retweet posts on Twitter. The key is to spend shorter amounts of time throughout the day, as opposed to a solid hour of work once per day.
2. Use Automation
Social media automation websites like SocialOomph.com can streamline your entire social media campaign. Services like, hootsuite, allows you to create reservoirs of posts, comments and tweets, and schedule their disbursement ahead of time. This way, your marketers can still be tweeting and posting, even when they’re actually getting other work done. Automation is great for playing social media offense, but don’t forget to respond, reply and interact with others online. Posting and tweeting like a maniac is only half the battle; social media is a two-way street.
3. Integrate Live Events
If your NP is having a fundraiser or special event, be sure to assign at least one member of your staff to document the event in real-time via social media. Post photos and video of the event to your Facebook page, inviting fans to stop by. Compose 4-5 tweets per hour, relaying what’s happening at the event and what’s next on the agenda. You can also engage event attendees by having them “check in” on Facebook or tweet their place. Reward those that do this with a chance to win a donated prize. Your Likes and followers will grow throughout the duration of the event, and the announcement of the winner will give your marketer even more to buzz about.
4. Do Less
It’s better to have one or two very active social media outlets than five or six inert accounts. If time and money are limited, have your marketer only focus on Facebook and Twitter. By linking these two accounts through hootsuite or another automation service, you’ll save even more time. Once you’re happy with your number of Likes and followers, you can expand to sites like Pinterest, Linked In, Tumblr, etc.
5. Be Consistent
Inconsistency is the death of your social media campaign. Ideally you want to be posting, commenting, tweeting and Liking multiple times per day, five days per week. It’s also very important to reply to every comment you get, follow those who follow you, and make sure that your presence on each site is interactive with and supportive of others.
Once you have these five elements in place, you’ll be ready to take advantage of the limitless opportunities social media can offer your nonprofit organization.
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