As discussed in the previous four posts in this series, developing a long-term strategy for engagement requires that you first take stock of the current state of your organization’s assets and audience. This helps you highlight where you are hitting the mark and identify opportunities for improvement.
This post focuses on the fifth element in our six-part how to.
- Messaging
- Segmentation
- Website
- Emails
- Social Media
- Multi-channel Integration
Social Media
Start with a simple analysis of your existing community and channels. How many followers or likes do you have? Are the demographics of the community what you would expect or different? Is your brand consistent across all channels?
Next, document your social media results over time to understand trends. For example, look at growth on a monthly or quarterly basis since you began using a particular social media channel. See if you can establish a correlation between any increased activity (e.g., likes, shares, tweets, or re-tweets) on the site and other marketing campaigns undertaken at that time.
Also, look for trends along topics and types of content. For example, you might find that sharing volunteer selfies correlates with increased activity more than stock photography.
The amount of time and effort dedicated to specific social media channels should be tailored to the demographics of your nonprofit’s target audience. Given donors’ desire to be connected to a community of ‘like-minded’ people, nonprofits should use social media to support acquisition, conversion, and retention opportunities.
Keep in mind that older audiences are more likely to be on Facebook, whereas younger audiences typically favor Twitter. Beyond simply broadcasting a promotional message “to donate” or “to volunteer,” you should use precise, directive language to encourage donors to “get a friend to donate.”
By making it easy to spread the word about a call to action you send to your donors, your nonprofit can boost the likelihood that a donor will share information with a friend or family member and tap into your donors’ social networks.
To learn more, download A Guide to Long Term Donor Cultivation or check back next week for the last post in this series.