Despite larger, medium-size and even smaller sized charities knowing the usefulness of social media, many are often unsure about where to begin with social media. But, fear no more! In this article you’re going to learn how you can utilise the major social media platforms to help improve your charity.

 

Let’s start with the most well know social media platform out there – Facebook!

 

If you’re not already on Facebook, or if you’re not posting consistently then you need to change that ASAP! There are around 2.23 billion monthly active users on Facebook, and it’s currently the biggest social media platform out there.

 

Here’s the three best ways to use Facebook for your charity:

 

  1. Create visually appealing content. Create exciting images and videos, it’s all about creating content that’s engaging. Live video is something that is becoming extremely popular on Facebook. 80% of people would rather watch live video than read a blog. You could use Facebook live to post behind-the-scenes footage or host live Q&As. These will really help in building relationships with your followers.

  2. A great way to grow awareness and reach more people for your charity is to offer  incentives and competitions for people who can help volunteer or donate. It doesn’t have to be an expensive giveaway, it could just be as simple as a free T-shirt or mug. This is really helpful in building relationships and encouraging people to support your cause.
  3. Engaging with your audience. It’s called social media for a reason, it’s all about socialising. Taking the time to reply to people’s comments and questions. You don’t want to just promote all the time. Communicating with your audience and offering value, will help to gain loyal followers.

 

So, how about Instagram?

 

  1. Similarly, to Facebook you should focus on visual content. In fact, this is all you should be posting, as Instagram focuses on visual marketing. Every post should be engaging and focus on the impact your charity has. Post about your history (aka #ThrowbackThursday), share pictures of your volunteers in action and post testimonials of all the good things people have to say about your charity.

  2. Utilise hashtags. Using hashtags can allows users to find your posts via the hashtag links and can help increase the number of likes and comments on a post, whilst also helping to increase the amount of followers you have. Hashtags are a great way to boost awareness for your charity.

  3. Use this platform to focus on reaching young people. Users under 35 make up more than 70 percent of Instagram’s more than 800 million active accounts worldwide. Instagram users are highly engaged in the platform and respond very well to images and videos that foster goodwill.

 

Finally, but not least, let’s talk about Twitter!

 

  1. Responsiveness is very important to Twitter users. 71 percent of Twitter followers expect a response from you the same day they ask a question. In fact, 32 percent of Twitter users expect you to respond within just 30 minutes. Taking time out to acknowledge people and listen to them means they are far more likely become loyal followers in the long run.

  2. Like Instagram, Twitter is a great place for using hashtags to get your posts noticed. So, make sure to do this to help increase likes, comments and followers.

  3. Remember to keep your posts short and sweet! Twitter imposes a 280 character limit. This forces you to be direct and concise, so make sure you don’t forget to choose your words carefully!

 

That’s the three main social media platforms covered! Make sure you implement these suggestions and you’ll be well on your way to growing your charity on social media. And remember it’s called social media for a reason, so stay social!

 

facebook instagram twitter