When America got soaked in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which rained in $115 million in donations, the power of social media as a tool for nonprofits was raised to a whole new level. If you’ve been hesitant to self-promote or don’t know how to connect your nonprofit’s social media to volunteer or donor development, here are a few links and resources to get you started.
10 Things to Do When Getting Started on Twitter
For most things you want to carry out in life, getting started is often the hardest part of the process. The same is true for social media. Whether it’s the anxiety of not knowing what to do, or the fear of possibly looking dumb—it’s easy to put off signing up for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram until tomorrow … or next week … or next month…So, to help you stop procrastinating and start achieving your social media goals, check out this list of the first 10 things you should do to get started on Twitter.
Grant Chat @Grant_Chat
JOIN THE GRANTCHAT COMMUNITY: GrantChat is a diverse group Grant Development and Grants Management professionals. There are numerous ways to connect with the #grantchat community across the different social media platforms. Weekly chats on Twitter happen on Tuesdays 9am PST. Follow the link to learn more.
10 Facebook Page for Best Practices for Nonprofits
With more than 1 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. More than two-thirds of its users log in every day and three-fourths do so on a mobile device. Without a doubt your nonprofit’s supporters use Facebook on a regular basis. Therefore, Facebook Pages should be your first priority and entry into social networking. but to stand out from the other 50 million pages regularly active and all vying for likes, comments, and shares, you must excel at Facebook in order to stand out from the clutter and the 10 best practices from thus article will ensure your nonprofit is on the right path.
Facebook Go helps advertisers learn how to get the most from their advertising spend on Facebook. Businesses that invest $25 or more per day on their ads for 30 days will be able to work with a dedicated Ads Specialist to grow their business. During this time, the Ads Specialist will help:
• Develop a customized strategy for advertising on Facebook
• Provide guidance on creating targeted ads
• Measure and optimize campaign performance
Interested? Fill out the form at this link or call them at 1-800-601-0077. They’ll give you a $50 ad coupon at the end of the program.
Custom Audiences: Sometimes the most valuable audience is one you already have a connection with. You can use Custom Audiences to connect with your existing contacts on Facebook. Or remarket to people based on the actions they take in your mobile app or on your website. Securely upload this information and create engaging ads designed for these groups of people. When you upload a customer list, this data is kept secure. All of the information is hashed, which means that no one can read it or un-encrypt it, including Facebook. You can create a Custom Audience in the ads create tool or in Power Editor.
Lookalike Audiences: Connect with people on Facebook who share traits—like location, age, gender and interests—with your best customers, so your ads reach more people who’ll care about your services and products. Facebook can help you build a lookalike audience based on:
• The people who like your Facebook Page
• Customer contact info, like emails or phone numbers
• People who visit your website
Go to Ads Manager, then click Audiences. Click the Create Audience button, then select Lookalike Audience.
What is Google Ad Grants? Google Ad Grants is the nonprofit edition of AdWords, Google’s online advertising tool. Google Ad Grants empowers nonprofit organizations, through $10,000 per month in in-kind AdWords™ advertising, to promote their missions and initiatives on Google search result pages.
Is your nonprofit eligible for Google Ad Grants?
To be eligible for the Google Ad Grants program, organizations must:
• Hold current and valid charity status, as determined by your country; please see your country’s charity status definition below.
• Acknowledge and agree to the application’s required certifications regarding nondiscrimination and donation receipt and use.
• Have a functioning website with substantial content
Please note that the following organizations are not eligible for Google Ad Grants:
• Governmental entities and organizations
• Hospitals and medical groups
• Schools, childcare centers, academic institutions and universities (philanthropic arms of educational organizations are eligible). To learn more about Google’s programs for educational institutions, visit Google for Education.
To help you activate your cause, tell a compelling story, and launch an effective campaign on YouTube, we now have a couple of resources for nonprofits. Learn how your nonprofit can use these benefits and make the most out of YouTube by downloading the Playbook for Good and the Top 10 Fundamentals For Nonprofits PDF.
Benefits of joining
• Donate button: Viewers can use your channel’s Donate button to contribute to your cause online right from your YouTube videos. Available only in the US and UK at this time.
• Live streaming: Stream video footage live onto your YouTube channel; great for events, conferences, and reporting.
• Call-to-action overlays: Place a Call to Action on your videos, which viewers can click to visit your website, donate, or learn more.
• Video annotations: Use annotations on your videos to encourage users to subscribe to your channel or click to visit your website.
• Production resources: Get production access to shoot or edit your videos at YouTube’s creator studio in Los Angeles, Space LA.
11 Nonprofits that Excel at Social Media
Your nonprofit can learn a lot from the 11 (mostly large) nonprofits listed in this article by simply following, liking, and subscribing to their e-newsletter, blog, Facebook Page, Twitter, YouTube Channel, etc. and then studying and duplicating their methods. Besides the ones listed here, we are big fans of Charity Water and Girls on the Run L.A. among others. Keep an eye out for winning messages and see what you can adapt for your own development efforts.
Social Media for Nonprofits is the world’s only conference series dedicated to social media for social good. Instead of abstract concepts and theory, their focus is on sharing practical tips and tools for fundraising, marketing, and advocacy with nonprofit decision-makers.
Original post date: January 2015
Very good post. I’m facing many of these issues as well..