Social media marketing may seem challenging for any business, even non-profits.

But MDG Advertising has created a super informative infographic citing just how stellar non-profits are doing on social media, as it’s become an integral part of fundraising. According to the infographic, the average donation through social media continues to increase each year, and “incorporating social media can dramatically benefit a fundraiser, with the addition of Twitter generating almost 10 times more money raised.” 68% of people are also more likely to take the time to learn about a charity if they see a friend posting about it on social. To find even more stats, check out the rest of the infographic here.

With that, we’ve found examples of inspiring non-profits that are hot on the social media trail. We’ve broken it down by each of the popular social media networks:

Facebook

The key to success with Facebook is mixing it up with fun and inspiring posts. Using images and videos engages people and gets them to your website. You can then use the built-in analytics on Facebook known as Insights, to find out what your followers like and interact with so that you continue to post more of what they want.

The San Francisco and Marin Food Bank has found success on Facebook doing just this. They incorporate a variety of posts, including videos and images, both behind the scenes and of those of volunteers, and they share lots of fun events they host, or are participating in. Posting on a regular basis and including their Facebook page on their website and emails has gained them a following nearly 12,000 strong and growing.

Tip: Facebook has great tips for non-profits on their Causes page.

Twitter

With just 140 characters to communicate your message, your Tweets need to be short and succinct  but they can still have major impact.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust used Twitter to get 6,000 visits to their website, receive hundreds of donations, and gain a 92% increase in Twitter mentions. They used promoted Tweets and trending topics to get attention, and even got Twitter influencers to tweet messages as well.

Tip: Twitter has a helpful page for businesses of all kinds, including non-profits, full of inspiration.

Pinterest

With Pinterest, it’s all about the visuals, so pin interesting, engaging images. Great ideas include: Behind-the-scenes pictures of your organization, events that you host or attend, people that you’re helping, projects you’re working on, goals for your organization. You can even create boards of things your staff or supporters are interested.

If you sell products, pin them and include the price. You can also pin donation opportunities with a recommended dollar amount. Make sure you link your images back to your website to help drive traffic, and donations. And remember your audience when you pin; most Pinterest users are women, about 80%, and women also tend to make household spending decisions, so make your pins appealing to them.

charity: water has embraced Pinterest and the hard work has paid off. They have over 5,000 followers, and they’ve created all kinds of relevant and useful boards. They share pictures of the people being helped by their work, fundraising ideas and videos. Videos are highly interactive, interesting and can drive people to your website, blog or YouTube page.

Tip: Pinterest has a section for businesses with great tips and examples.

Pinterest also offers analytics to help you. Business accounts include information like how many pins come from your website, how may repins you have, and which pins are the most popular. This will help ensure you’re pinning what people are interested in.

The key things to keep in mind when posting to any social network include:

1. Know your audience, what they like and what appeals to them.
2. Have a goal or purpose that you’re working toward.
3. Share on all your social networks and let your followers share as well.
4. Be yourself and let your personality shine through –  Show readers what’s happening behind the scenes and with your volunteers.

How will you incorporate these non-profit examples into your social media plans?

© 2013 – 2018, Contributing Author. All rights reserved.