How Charities Can Take Advantage Of Social Platforms To Drive Attention
Guest Writer, Fundraising Industry
About Author: Claire Divas is a US-based freelance content writer and longtime reader about Digital Marketing trends to learn new things. She is also experienced in content marketing to make a qualified SEO. She regularly contributes to Trollishly. Trollishly is the service provider that could generate massive traffic to your social media pages.
Facebook and Instagram together have billions of users globally. The rolling out of features such as Facebook Fundraiser and Instagram Fundraiser has been availing benefits to crowdfunding campaigns to a greater extent. A few months ago, Zuckerburg launched fundraising for COVID-19 on Facebook, stating that it is anticipated to raise $20 million donations. Here, we put forth the measures on how these platforms can be capitalized on for finding potential donors.
Showcase How You Have Uplifted People’s Lives:
Today, social applications have evolved into more of a search engine. People rely on these platforms to garner knowledge on almost everything they are willing to know. A report from Facebook in 2018 noted that the platform had 2 billion searches per day, whereas it is 3.5 billion searches on Google for the same period. Nearly 65% of B2B marketers look into a company’s social media page to have a better understanding of it. Thus, social platforms play a significant role in building a company’s image—the same counts for non-profit organizations. The way a charity presents it on social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram matters the most. The foremost essential factor is that the charity must own a social media page. Through that page, it should show how it has improved the life of a person. Such real-life examples will build trust in your charity among the viewers, which eventually makes them come forward to make donations.
The cover page pops in front of a person as soon as he opens a Facebook page. So, the image you add to the cover section plays a vital role in providing the first impression. Rather than gaining the viewer’s sympathy, focus on coming up with concepts on how your charity has transformed a person’s life. For instance, let us take a girl from your charity who has attained a master’s degree from Stanford University. Add an image of her convocation photo as a cover image with the basic details about her. You can add the ‘donate’ option right below the cover image. People who see the image will feel that the money they are about to donate will help improve people’s lives and chances are high for clicking the ‘donate’ icon and making a donation. Thus adding the CTA (call to action) right below the cover page is a vital move that you should make a note.
Consistency is important
Consistency is a significant factor in driving traffic to your page. So post consistently. Make posts on every single happening that took place in your charity. If a corporate has made donations as part of its CSR (Corporate Social Responsible), make a post on your Facebook handle by thanking them. After a while, post on how the money given by them has been utilized. For instance, let us presume that you have brought laptops for the education of children belonging to your charity with the money provided by the firm. Post a video on it along with the clips of students giving a speech on how the laptop is helping them in their studies. The viewers also come to know how the money given to your charity has been utilized. This way, you can elevate the number of posts on your page. You can also add a ‘donate’ icon to your standard Facebook posts. This way, people don’t have to search for where to make donations.
Moreover, the donation can be made in a few taps, and they don’t have to leave the application. Have a look at the performance of your posts. If a post has received a good response comparatively, promote it, which drives more potential people to your page.
Take Advantage Of Live Videos:
Videos have a maximum consumption rate than any other form of content on social platforms. According to the data from GuideStar, over 500 million Facebook users watch videos every day and more than 80% of people on Twitter consume video content. Moreover, the major social media such as Facebook and Instagram have become video-centric today, with most of the content being videos. Among them, live videos have the most engagement rate. For instance, live videos on Facebook have nearly 3x higher engagement rates than ordinary posts. Considering the engagement rate of this ‘live’ feature, you should utilize it accordingly. After all, social media is a place where people try to gain attention by showing off something they feel extraordinary about themselves. Implement the same measure to raise funds.
For instance, let us consider that a girl belonging to your charity is good at cooking skills. She is good at making tasty-rich hamburgers. She needs financial aid to get enrolled in culinary schools. So, rather than just asking funds, do it by showcasing her expertise. Upload posts on your social media handle, saying that she will teach on preparing scrumptious hamburgers on ‘live.’ If people are intrigued by her show, they can come forward to provide a huge sum of money. The essential factor to drive many people to a live video is by giving prior information about it. So, 2-3 weeks before the live schedule starts informing people about it. Make posts on the program by explaining people about the motive behind raising the fund.
Once you are ready to go live, for Facebook, press live, which is at the top of the page. Then add a link to your crowdfunding page dedicated to the specific fundraiser. Crowdfunding platforms like FundRazr make the campaign creation fast and free. This will also help you in building a strong bond with the supporters.
Collaborate With Individuals:
You may find people who are active on your page and interacting with your posts consistently. Reach them out by just dropping them a personalized message. Try to build a conversation with them. In such a way, you could find whether they have the potential to donate money. Even if they can contribute only a little money, don’t discard them. Because little drops make the mightier ocean. If you see their interest, offer them to become your advocates and run DIY campaigns for you. Collect the emails of the active persons in your page. Don’t underestimate emails and discard them. Emails still have impressive open rates.
Final Thoughts:
Both Facebook and Instagram are anticipated to stay as the major social platforms for at least the next five years. On the other hand, TikTok is being accused continuously, which has also damaged its reputation to a certain extent. In 2018, it was temporarily banned in Indonesia on the grounds of pornography and inappropriate content. In June 2020, India has permanently banned the application on the accusations of transferring its user data to China. This has further made Facebook and Instagram much more crucial. Hence, having an active presence on these social applications will help you in manifolds.
