3 Steps to Improve Your Nonprofit Social Media Marketing

Social media is a powerful tool that is incorporated and interconnected in a person’s daily life. Throughout this decade, the market has expanded with new and innovative methods to inform and engage end users. In previous articles, we briefly touched on the importance of nonprofit social media marketing; this piece will expand those thoughts to help you optimize your social media ranking.

1: Understanding Social Media Platforms

The first question you should ask yourself is: “what social media outlets will best attract my audience?” If you believe that all platforms are similar, then that is your first problem; it would be parallel to thinking that all cars operate identically. If you have trouble differentiating the benefits offered by each platform – no problem, we are here to save you some time.

Pinterest

Predominately female-oriented [44%] and upper-middle class income, Pinterest is great for networking with consumers who are interested in baking/cooking, travel, home decorating, and/or event-related pictures. Pinboards primarily are not used to display the user or the company’s logo, but rather the service or product they provide, while pinning ideas, products, or services that correlate with their business.

This site enables companies to interact with consumers, by pinning their image onto their own board; encouraging potential shoppers to return the favor by pinning your content onto their board and granting them the opportunity to directly notice your content. Pinterest is great for up-and-coming businesses and organizations that thrive on connecting with customers on a more personal and emotional level.

Instagram

Instagram users are more inclined to receive likes and shares, since Instagram’s features are extremely mobile and user-friendly. Earlier, I mentioned the importance of a blog page. If blogging is your main focus, then this would not be the appropriate outlet to use. Unless you sparingly mention your blog page with an engaging picture and link, end users [55% range from 18-29 years old] are interested in engaging pictures that speak to their emotions [32% live in an urban area], inspiring them to visit your website to get involved.

Twitter

Does your organization love to post short bursts of information? Great! Twitter excels in producing mass amounts of data, due to its 140 character limit. Are you worried that your posts will be lost under a pile? Well, there is some good news! Over time, you will be added into groups by random users. Ordinarily, an admin of a group page will add users that have posted hashtags that resemble their group’s interest. Every time you post or retweet content which is identical to their hashtags, your post will be displayed on the group’s newsfeed. This is a tremendous opportunity to reach new people; you want to be included in as many group pages as possible! Twitter is your go-to social media platform for reaching consumers in real-time, since followers regularly check their Twitter feed for businesses and high-profile accounts.

Facebook

A benefit of Facebook is that the content typically endures longer than other platforms. On the other hand, the downside is that it is more challenging to connect with strangers, in comparison to Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn; organizations utilize Facebook to share lengthy posts that require more time commitment for end-users, due to having a much higher character limit.

If you are seeking to attain thousands of likes and additional engagement on your company’s Facebook page and posts, then you need to reach out to your Facebook friends and ask them if they could like and share your content with their friends. Word will spread, which eventually leads to numerous followers.

2: Investigate New Trends in Nonprofit Social Media Marketing and Magnify their Potential

Are you an adventurer? A sure-fire strategy to boost your nonprofit social media marketing is to search for promising social media outlets that are on the verge of popularity such as Periscope, Quora, Goodreads, and link with users before the popularity of these potential platforms explode; enabling you to establish your brand and following before other competitors do. It is also important to stay informed on the latest updates from current social media outlets. Did you know that Facebook has a new and improved feature called Insights? This option permits high-profile users to track when their fans are online.

Are you trying to connect with a younger audience? Did you know that 13 -17 year olds are leaving Facebook and reaching out to alternative sites? Trying to reach senior citizens? They are the largest growing demographic on Facebook! Always remain current on demographic shifts to maximize your profits.

3: Watch the Time!

Time is the biggest factor when optimizing your social media performance. Knowing when your audience will be awake and using a particular social media outlet is the key to boosting your nonprofit social media marketing capacity. Understanding their time zone and season cycle is critical for effectively making connections.

Did you know that each social media platform varies in activity levels throughout the day? Twitter is more engaged on Mondays and Tuesdays, compared to Facebook. Acting accordingly to when your followers will be active gives you more opportunities to boost your online engagement.