Monday Mixtape 020: Social Media Fundraising in 2018

Monday Mixtape 020: Social Media Fundraising in 2018

It never fails.

Just when we’ve got social media all figured out, something changes.

New algorithms prioritize different content. Suddenly, your Facebook followers see everything from their Aunt Agnes in their newsfeeds, and nothing from you.

New features change how people use social networks, like IGTV (wait .. what the heck is IGTV?).

Young people abandon one social network to start using another, like Snapchat (wait … do you understand Snapchat? … I don’t!)

Social media is always in flux, and in today’s hyper-connected world, we can’t afford to ignore the changes. We’ve got to learn, adapt, and ride the waves in order to inspire and rally folks around our causes.

Luckily, there’s one constant amidst all that change: Your community.

Your community is the key to cutting through the noise, prioritizing your content, and growing your network. A community-driven approach to fundraising empowers your community to share, lead, and become advocates for your cause.

This week, we’re looking at ways to inspire, activate, and rally your community on social media.

Here’s this week’s mix:

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” —Coretta Scott King

Track #1: Mimicking the Best Nonprofit Social Media, On a Budget by Chloe Mark at The Nerdy Nonprofit

We can’t all be the Red Cross, but we can definitely steal (ahem, “be inspired by”) their good ideas. Chloe uses four major organizations’ social media as examples and highlights best practices that don’t cost much. We can learn a lot from UNICEF, the World Wildlife Fund, the American Red Cross, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

It’s easy to be intimidated by big organizations and their social media budgets, but this post has lots of inexpensive ideas, like quoting the people you serve, engaging with world events, answering comments, using positive statistics, forming partnerships with brands and organizations, creating simple graphics, sharing other people’s related content, and surprising folks.

An extra-nice thing about this post is that it isn’t solely focused on Facebook. It also looks at Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Track #2: [Interview] Hilary Sutton on Social Media Marketing For Nonprofits at Rally & Engage by CauseVox

In this interview, Hilary Sutton talks with our own Noah Barnett about social media, relationship fundraising, social monitoring, and more. Hilary is a social media professional, marketing consultant, creative, and storyteller.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to use social media to enhance your donor-organization relationships, and how to tie your social media to your goals. Hilary reassures us that we don’t have to be on every social media network (3 or fewer is good for most nonprofits), or do every possible thing in order to use social media well. She also talks about the potential of live video streaming (which has only increased since this episode was released), paid advertising, and social listening.

Weekly Wow

In the last 12 months, Facebook has launched an array of new tools for nonprofits. This includes a better donations tool, groups, events, and peer-to-peer fundraisers. Additionally, Facebook has made three major shifts to how it prioritizes content in the News Feed. All these changes can be tough to keep up with. What should your nonprofit do? Should you use these tools?

Our social media expert, Julia Campbell, and Noah Barnett (Marketing at CauseVox) have been asked by dozens of nonprofits these questions, so (after a spark-filled discussion) we decided to GO LIVE and answer your questions in a 20-minute debate, specifically around the pros and cons of Facebook fundraisers.

You can also watch the debate on-demand here.

Track #3: 7 Social Media Trends to Watch and Capitalize on in 2018 by Neil Patel

Social media changes can present big opportunities for your nonprofit. But which trends are worth hopping on? What, exactly, should you be doing?

Marketing expert Neil Patel recommends seven trends to try in 2018: social listening, live streaming, and video, influencer marketing, Facebook as the pace-setter, engaging on messaging platforms, Instagram Stories, and augmented reality. That’s a lot of trends!

The great thing about this post is that it explains each trend, backs it up with stats and data, and then gives clear guidance on how to get started. If you want to know more about any of these trends, or if you’re looking for a straightforward way to begin implementing them in your strategy, this is the post to check out.

Track #4: 5 Tips For Pitching Your Campaign On Social Media by Tricia Mirchandani at CauseVox

As you know, fundraising on social media is more than posting links to your fundraising website on your Facebook and hoping for the best. To get the most out of social media, you’ve got to be strategic.

This post is from 2015, and social media has certainly evolved since then. However, Tricia’s tips still hold true. In this post, she encourages nonprofits to create visual content, choose a platform that is suited to the campaign, build their networks before starting a fundraiser, tag and promote followers, and respond and engage with comments and questions.

I like this post because it’s a reminder that even when things change, things like engagement, listening, and community-building are constants. We don’t have to re-learn everything, just because platforms made changes.

Bonus Track:

If change makes you anxious …

By the way…

We know that social media strategy probably isn’t your only job. That’s why we keep up with the changes and create tools and resources to help you cut to the chase. Want a roadmap for navigating Facebook’s recent changes? Check out How Nonprofits Must Adapt to Facebook Changes in 2018.

This webinar is co-hosted by digital strategist Julia Campbell and covers what’s new, where to put your energy, and how to measure your success. It’s free, and you can watch the recording whenever you like.

Thanks for reading!

– Megan

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P.S. Questions about this week’s mix? Suggestions for next week? Don’t leave me in the dark. Let me know by emailing me at blog@causevox.com.