Everyone has a voice, and with social media, that voice has the opportunity to be heard across the globe. With so many engaged social media users on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram every day, nonprofits have used social media to successfully share stories, communicate with audiences, grow awareness, and raise money for their causes.
In our upcoming #SocialSixty panel, three social media and nonprofit leaders discuss how they’ve ensured their voices are heard. Join us to learn some essential social media tips for nonprofits:
Here are 3 examples of how to use social media to grow your nonprofit:
1. Educate Audiences
Education plays a major role in gaining support, and social media provides you with the opportunity to educate your target audiences. If people understand the reason and history behind your cause, how they can get involved, and how their support can facilitate change, they will be more likely to get involved.
2. Celebrate Wins
Sharing uplifting stories and successes from your nonprofit can help drive engagement and encourage sharing. Chances are, your supporters are emotionally invested in your cause and enjoy seeing how their contributions make a difference. When you celebrate your success across social media, supporters will be more likely to connect and engage with content about triumphs they have contributed to.
3. Share Stories
Social media storytelling is a powerful tool for nonprofits. Stories contain the ability to connect with your audience on an emotional level. Encouraging your audiences to share their stories will also help generate a conversation around your cause, growing awareness.
“Nonprofits are all about the story,” says panelist Connor Galway. “More than corporations or startups, nonprofits exist to spread an idea and achieve something together. Spreading ideas is the main reason why social media exists, so the opportunity for nonprofits is to find the communities that care about their stories and empower them to spread it.”
Panel Details
#SocialSixty: Social Media Tips for Nonprofits
Date: April 30th, 2015
Time: 8:00am PST
Meet the Panelists
Mark Harvath, Founder, Invisible People, @hardlynormal
Everyone talks about social media’s potential to democratize and empower those less fortunate. Mark actually makes that happen. Mark is an internationally recognized activist who tells the story of the countless individuals without a voice– those living in shelters, motels, tents, alongside streets and under highway bridges. His platform InvisiblePeople.tv is a poignant storytelling destination that not only helps solve the systemic, but scaled problems of homelessness by destroying stereotypes.
Nick Carranza, Social and Web Marketing, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, @PlanetSpeck
Creative, analytical, and passionate about cause marketing, Nick helps strategize, produce and distribute content for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. There he utilizes nearly a decade’s worth of content marketing experience to help illustrate CHLA’s mission to help treat kids better. In addition to nonprofit work, Nick has 15 years of experience as a music industry art director and photographer, truly making him a digital marketing “jack-of-all-trades.”
Connor Galway, Co-Founder, Junction, @Connor_G
Connor is the Director at social & advertising agency @JunctionYVR. He is also an instructor at various universities and loves to talk about social media, usually on social media. A previous success includes working with the Heart & Stroke foundation on the Quitters Unite social campaign, where they inspired thousands of youth to think about what they’d rather do with their cash than waste it on smoking, resulting in hundreds of idea submissions, thousands of votes and YouTube views, and millions of online impressions. Most importantly, over 500 committed to quit smoking through their online system.