If nonprofits wish to survive and thrive,
they must have support. This support can come in many forms such as advocacy, donations, and volunteering.
Increasing
Support Doesn’t Have to Be Costly
At its heart, social media marketing allows
nonprofits to use one of the most successful, and oldest, forms of
advertising to increase its base of support: social influence, or,
word-of-mouth marketing. Social media campaigns are effective for increasing an NFP’s reach because their cost can be easily controlled
by scaling campaigns up or down.
Once the initial content is created,
connections within various networks spread the message on their own, creating
organic support and traffic without incurring additional cost. Using social
media to find and recruit supporters, however, isn’t just about controlling
costs. The following is a brief overview of two additional reasons why
nonprofits need to be using social media in their marketing campaigns and
communications.
To
Stay Competitive
Competition is a key factor that affects
the impact and growth of every nonprofit, despite the increase in
collaborations and partnerships between third parties.
Nonprofits compete to recruit skilled,
talented people to serve on boards, and as staff members and volunteers. Funds
are also a scarce resource, as there are not enough grants, endowments and
individual contributions to fund every need.
Research shows that if you want your
nonprofit to be able to recruit enough staff, volunteers, advocates and donors,
then your nonprofit must have an online presence, and be using social media to
spread the word about your cause and how others can help.
According to statistics provided in the 2016 Global NGO Online Technology
Report, most not for profits worldwide are actively online using multiple
social media channels to connect with supporters, accept donations and spread
awareness about their NFP’s mission. A full 92% of NFPs have a website and 46%
blog regularly, making it easy for online users to discover information about
their mission and projects.
75% email their supporters’ donation
requests and other news, and 75% accept donations online. 95% have a Facebook
page, 83% have a profile on Twitter, and nearly 40% use Instagram to keep their
supporters up-to-date and motivated about the good work that their organisation
is accomplishing.
To be effective, nonprofits must use social
media to stand out from all of their competitors in both the for-profit and
not-for-profit world. They should use it to firmly establish their brand, and
link their brand to their cause, their vision and the work that can be
accomplished with the support of others.
To Remain
Relevant
It’s not just other NFPs that are online. According
to data on social
media trends provided by Track Maven, nearly one third of the entire
world’s population will be online by next year. Global
Web Index statistics reveal that
most online users have about 6 social media profiles and regularly use nearly
half of them.
This data clearly illustrates why it’s so important
for your nonprofit to enter this space! A growing number of us no longer get our
news from traditional network broadcasts and media outlets. Instead, we are leveraging
our social media networks to stay up-to-date on the latest news and events. We
then share those stories that personally connect with us and then like or
otherwise express an opinion about these posts with our connections.
To become a part of these crucial
conversations and exchanges of ideas, you must be online, and using the social
media channels where these conversations are taking place. To engage with
potential supporters, you must be online where your supporters are likely to be. Otherwise your cause will go unnoticed and your projects will go unsupported. To stay relevant, nonprofits need to include
social media in their marketing strategies, and engage their supporters on the
social media channels of their choice.
If your nonprofit is struggling to build
its base of support, this is likely a sign that your social media strategy may
need some fine-tuning to return the results that your nonprofit wants and
needs.
