Incorporating Social Media into the Fundraising Strategy

Inna Tarabukhina

2013

Attitude shift – from periphery into the

center

Brief overview of top Social Media

Channels

Social Media in fundraising

Streamlining Social Media – how not to

get caught up

Social Media has moved from the

peripheral to the central

It has become elaborate and user-

friendly, making it

Accessible

Easy to use

Effective and reliable

Embracing Social Media will determine

success of a campaign or effort

Primarily an internet-based tool for sharing and discussing information

Can take various shapes – think broadly!

Facebook, Twitter, etc are optimization channels for Social Media All Facebook is Social Media, but not all Social

Media is Facebook

Social Media is a conversation on the Internet, that has been localized to various platforms

Being engaged with your donors is key

Relationships underlie both your cause and

how you plan to achieve it

Conversations on Social Media are non-

stop

This means you can tap into the conversation,

and engage people to your advantage

You cannot control the exchange of information

at large, but you can manipulate it and become

a key interlocutor

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Tumblr Pinterest

LinkedIn Flickr Instagram YouTube Vimeo

Different platforms are optimized for

different content

Content

Visual

Instagram Pinterest

Video

YouTube Vimeo Instagram

Content Heavy

Tumblr Facebook

Interactive

Twitter Facebook

Before you can get donations, you must

have donors – Audience Acquisition

Audience

Involving

Flexibility

Value

Value

Your posts must add value to the conversation

You must give to get

Share expertise, insights and opinions

Your Social Media followers are not numbers – they are people, in real time

Approach every post as you would a conversation

No one wants to talk about you all the time!

Use value to engage your audience with your cause

Provide sufficient background to make it obvious that your cause is worthwhile

Show that supporting the cause will add even more value

Use the cause or effort as a valuable contribution to the existing conversation

Make bridges, show connections and applications

Flexibility

Stay in beta – be prepared to tailor and tweak your strategy at any point

Maintains an open mind to new opportunities

Allows for effective troubleshooting and alternatives

Keeps the door open for continuous improvement

Keeping an eye on the trends

Allows to tap into the influencers quickly People or organizations who already have a

distinct presence in the target community

Jumping on the band wagon gives access to a broader network

Credibility by association

Social Media is evolving all the time (eg. Video feature on Instagram) A flexible strategy allows for effortless

adaptation

Involving

Maintain an ongoing reciprocal relationship

with your audience/potential donors:

Reply to comments

Encourage and then acknowledge Likes/Shares

Follow back

Retweet/reply to tweets

Show appreciation

Conduct opinion poles; discuss results; facilitate

discussion

Your activity on Social Media mirrors

your commitment and your vision of your

donors

Appreciation fosters mutual respect and

credibility

Make the community want to be

associated with your cause or mission

Share your story and do your research

Make your perspective relatable and easy to

understand

Find organizations or people with similar

backgrounds/passions/missions and connect!

○ Pool networks to build Internet presence

Action Points:

Video testimonials or success stories

An engaging blog/website posts on the origins

and direction

Embrace Variety Internet allows for anything from text to videos

and images – use them!

Visual images are easy to share

Videos are engaging and allow a break from text-based material○ Show, not tell

Action Points Develop an archive of visual posts optimized for

sharing

Create a small video series captioning the essence of the organization. Show the donors where and money will go and why

Go from specific to the general Find the influencers in the community and foster

relationships with them

Show your support for associated organizations

Action Points: Scout Twitter and Facebook for similar

organizations

Engage with these organizations by linking their page, following them on Twitter and tweeting a conversation

Use action words and make donations easy “Like for More” “Donate Now”

Track the flow – use popular hashtags and tags

Social Media is extensive. Take

advantage of existing optimization tools

HootSuite

Allows you to keep track of all your social

media platforms and post from one common

site

Avoids having to log into multiple sites

Registered non-profits receive a 15%

discount (free version has limitations)

It is key that posts are regular, valuable

and relevant

Use websites that allow for queuing of posts

Pre-scheduled Twitter posts

○ FutureTweets.com

Queued Tumblr posts

Link multiple accounts – Facebook with

Twitter; Twitter and Facebook plug-ins for

Websites, for cross-sharing

Take advantage of apps!

StayClassy.org

○ “Nonprofits can accept donations from a

website, create custom fundraising campaigns

for marketing, launch peer-to-peer fundraising

campaigns, and sell tickets or registrations to

events.”

○ Can be incorporated into Facebook

To get the most from Social Media, understand how it works

Internet likes content. Your content is your value.

Internet likes reliability. Post regularly, in a variety of formats.

Internet is a platform for Conversation 2.0. Give to get

Internet “evolves.” So should your strategy. Look for trends and use them to your advantage.

Donations

Building relationships via

Social Media

Valuable Content

Identify an organization with a similar mission

Using LinkedIn and the organization’s Website, find the structural hierarchy and identify key decision makers

Follow the organization on Twitter and tweet an introductory tweet

Like the organization on Facebook and post an invitation to an upcoming event/share an image/like and share an event or recent post by the organization

Contact the key decision makers to negotiate cooperation, a partnership or cross-promotion

The organization’s existing network will be an asset for building community presence and awareness

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at

i.tarabukhina@gmail.com