Archive for month: November, 2017

Steps for #nonprofits to grow your following

November 20, 2017

Here are some tips for leading up to #GivingTuesday and beyond!

For non-profit organizations planning on executing #GivingTuesday social media campaigns to encourage donations that day, it’s critical that social media posts will be seen and read by appropriate prospective donors. If you already have a strong following/liking on the various social media platforms you employ such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, we applaud you, but there’s always room for improvement, regardless of whether you have 50 followers or 500, right?

To make sure you don’t speak to an empty #GivingTuesday room, employ these best practices to grow your social media followers and page likes in the remaining days leading up to #GivingTuesday:

#1 Learn from your peers!
Find similar organizations and see what they do! Especially, look closely at the successful ones (with a large engaged following). Don’t have ones in your city? That’s ok, even better to emulate organizations that are in other cities or other countries!

#2 Ask!
If you have an email list, make a big call for your users to share your profile and give them a heads up that you’ll need their support related to your upcoming #GivingTuesday campaign.

Consider asking someone to make a matching donation for #GivingTuesday that you can, then, promote to encourage other donations.

#3 Follow to get followed back
Follow and like pages and profiles of individuals and organizations whom you believe might likely make a #GivingTuesday donation to your organization; for example, individuals and organizations who like/follow organizations similar to yours.

#4 Use hashtags in your posts and bio
Be creative about using hashtags that will resonate with the individuals and organizations whom you deem most likely to donate to your cause, particularly hashtags that you see frequently used.

For example: If your organization offers after-school arts programs for Boston-area children, be sure to include hashtags like #Boston, #arts, #artprograms, #enrichmentprograms, #kidsartprograms, and #artsmatter in your posts.

0 Comments/in Marketing /by Kalman Gacs

Let #GivingTuesday Donors Know Where Their $$ Will Go

November 1, 2017

In our 5 Simple Tips to “Grow Big” on #GivingTuesday post, we shared how critical it is to the success of fundraising campaigns to share specifics about services provided to constituents, i.e., where past donations have gone. But, in the days leading up to #GivingTuesday, and particularly on the day itself, we believe it’s even more important to share where #GivingTuesday dollars will go.

Let’s face it. Whether they’re investing in a product, service, or a cause, “smart” consumers, having ready means to do so via their “smart” devices, gather whatever information they require before they hit the online “checkout”, “purchase” or “donate” button. Your job is to make prospective donor’s research jobs easier by:

Including in social media posts examples of how #GivingTuesday donations will be spent
- “Just a $50 donation will ensure three children receive new, warm winter jackets.”
- “It only takes a $10 donation for us to provide a one-hour counseling session.”
- “Every $200 we receive, means five more people have a bed on a cold winter night.”
- “Your $60 donation will help send one low-income child to camp.”

Launching a website page dedicated to #GivingTuesday that details how donation $ will be spent
Through “call-out boxes”, headers, or footers, or other means, highlighting in your printed or e-communications, i.e., letters, flyers, e-newsletters, or e-mail blasts, where donations will go
Creating and sharing an “elevator pitch” for use by all organization employees, regardless of role, so they can readily answer when asked, “what do you do with all your #GivingTuesday donations?”

The bottom line. The more frequently you communicate with prospective donors about where dollars will go, the more the size and number of #GivingTuesday donations you receive will be grow!