A Strategic Guide To Social Media For Nonprofits - Sprout Social

9/17/2020 A Strategic Guide to Social Media for Nonprofits | Sprout Social
A Strategic Guide to Social Media for Nonpro ts
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/guides/nonprofit-social-media-guide/?registered=true 1/26
Chapter 1
Introduction
Social media presents an enormous opportunity for nonpro t

organizations to connect with their supporters, but it isn’t always easy.
Thankfully, nonpro ts have never been a group to back down from a
challenge.
Part of social’s original appeal was the potential to reach a larger

audience for free. And social media works: 55% of people who engage
with causes via social media are inspired to take further action, like
donating money (68%), volunteering (53%), donating items (52%) or
attending an event (43%).
But the growing popularity and changing algorithms of social platforms

have made it di cult to keep your cause at the top of supporters’
newsfeeds. Your organization needs a nonpro t social media strategy that
will help you face these challenges and ultimately raise awareness,
engage with supporters and get results.
There’s no time like the present to create or refresh your approach, and
we’re going to help lead you through the process. We spoke to ve
nonpro t social experts to get their best advice and actionable insights to
shape your strategy. In this guide, you’ll nd their wisdom along with
examples of organizations thriving on social and actionable tips for how
you can get the most from this powerful channel.
Chapter 2
Set social media goals that support your organization's goals
“Social media shouldn’t be out there alone; it should be integrated and

aligned with your strategic goals and target audiences,” said Beth Kanter,
nonpro t consultant and author of Beth’s Blog, one of the longest running
blogs about nonpro ts and social media. “The role that it can play really
well is engagement, especially donor engagement and donor retention,
getting people to pay attention.”
The actions you take and the content you create on social should ladder
up to the overall goals of your organization, including serving your mission
and advancing your annual priorities. This ensures that your approach is
aligned to the rest of your marketing and communications strategy, and
that you can secure buy-in from other team members for crucial
collaboration, investment and resources.
For example, if one of your organization’s goals is to increase donor

retention, your number one priority on social might be to foster
engagement with your community and donors. Your goals might look
something like this:
Increase the number of current donors following us on social

Increase engagement on social by 20%
Increase website tra c driven by social by 15%
But don’t stop there. Just as you need a well-de ned mission for your
organization, you need clear goals and objectives for social media too. To
set your goals, follow the “SMART” goal framework: Each goal should be
speci c, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely. Download our free
2020 toolkit for a SMART goals template and other resources for your
social media planning.
Here are a few examples of annual social media goals:
Increase your organization’s social impressions by 15%: Reach new

members, donors, participants and volunteers, and educate these
groups on what you do and why.
Boost social engagement by 20%: Keep your organization top-of-

mind, build community and encourage word-of-mouth mentions of
your nonpro t.
Increase actions taken from social by 10%: Increase newsletter

subscriptions, drive event ticket sales, recruit volunteers and increase
donations.
Once you’ve set your goals and determined the right social media
metrics to measure them, share them with your stakeholders (your team,
leadership, board and key volunteers) to make sure everyone is on the
same page. Your goals will be easier to achieve when your social media
lead or team is working closely with the rest of your organization. From
there, you can start to determine speci c objectives and tactics.
Chapter 3
Identify your core audience and develop personas
“A lot of nonpro ts say, ‘well, our audience is the general public,’ but if you
think you’re speaking to the general public, you’re probably speaking to
nobody,” said Bridgett Colling, Marketing Manager at Highland Solutions
and expert on nonpro t and cause marketing.
Colling recommends that nonpro ts develop audience personas, which

are representations of your ideal supporters based on demographic data
and information about individual members of your target audience.
To learn the demographics of your current social media following, you can
use native analytics on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, or use a
social media management tool like Sprout Social. When you start a free
trial of Sprout and connect your pro les, your audience’s demographic
data will begin to populate, which you can see in your dashboard or
export as a report. Additionally, if you’re using social listening to
understand how your audience talks about your organization or relevant
topics, you can also explore demographic breakdowns of people
engaged in those discussions.
It’s also important to consider people you aren’t reaching yet, but would
like to. You can use tools like social listening topics focused on your
cause area or in-person focus groups. You can also use anecdotal data
from your conversations at fairs and events to better understand the
demographics of your potential audience, what drew them to your cause,
why they might get excited about your organization and how they want to
engage.
Armed with all of this data, you can create multiple personas that
represent supporters in di erent groups. Consider the makeup of your
volunteer base, your board and junior board, your program participants
and your in uencers/advocates (e.g. local educators or experts in your
space). Give each persona a name as well as a comprehensive
demographic background, then add speci c details about what this
person cares about, what their typical day is like, who they trust and more.
Understanding your target audience when planning your strategy—and

continuing to learn more as it evolves—is a crucial aspect of creating
successful social media content.
Chapter 4
Determine which social platforms to focus on
Once you’ve identi ed your target audience, nd out which social

platforms they use most often and focus your e orts there.
If you have limited time to spend on social, don’t spread yourself too thin
by worrying about creating a presence on every platform. It’s better to
excel on two or three with a greater potential for reaching your audience
than to phone it in on four or ve.
To get an idea of which social platforms your target audience prefers,

check out our post on social media demographics where we break down
the dominant demographics of each one. Here’s an example showing
Facebook usage among key demographics:
Another factor to consider is which platforms lend themselves most
naturally to the type of content you want to share. If you work for an arts
or music organization, think about where your audience watches videos
of performances. If you work for an animal rescue, consider how your
target audience views and shares pictures of adorable animals on social
(hint: Instagram might be a good t). Prioritize the platforms where you
can devote time and energy to create interesting, distinctive content for
an audience that will welcome it—and we’ll talk about saving time when
creating that content next.
Chapter 5
Create a social content strategy
As you’re creating a content strategy for your nonpro t, it’s important to

understand why people follow brands to begin with. Our annual Sprout
Social Index survey found that the top reasons people follow brands are
for information on products and services (for you, that might be programs,
events and campaigns), for entertainment and to stay up to date on news
about the brand. We also looked at what kind of content consumers
engage with most and found a strong preference for content that’s
entertaining, inspirational and educational.
Starting with that industry perspective, you can use your organization’s
social data to understand past performance and what has and hasn’t been
successful.
What to share
Start by measuring the performance of past posts to identify which

content is helping you toward your goals, and to understand what types of
content resonates most with your audience. Additionally, don’t be afraid to
ask supporters what type of stories they would like to see from your
organization. You can gather this information in person, via an email
survey or by asking on social.
Kivi Leroux Miller, nonpro t consultant and President of Nonpro t
Marketing Guide, suggests two questions to guide your content creation:
“What problems do people have in their own lives when trying to live out
the values they share with your organization?” and “What tips or tools can
you give them that make their lives easier as they try to be a better
environmentalist, animal lover, parent, etc.?”
Start by developing content categories for social media that you can cycle
through on a regular basis, such as volunteer spotlights, client stories and
how-tos.
The Toy Association is a non-pro t trade association with over 900

businesses that create toys and games for kids. Part of the nonpro t’s
social media strategy involves Genius of Play, which encourages parents
to make playtime a part of their kids’ daily lives. Genius of Play uses social
media to share helpful content for parents, and to spark dialogue about
issues their audience cares about.
Types of content
From pictures and graphics to short videos and text, your organization
should share a variety of posts across platforms. Visual content can often
reach emotional triggers in ways that words alone can’t.
There are plenty of free tools for image creation that can help you create
beautiful graphics, but don’t worry about making every image highly
polished. Capturing snapshots and short videos on your phone enables
you to share powerful moments from events, and those types of posts can
give your followers a meaningful peek behind the scenes of your
organization.
While every single post shouldn’t link elsewhere, social media can be a
helpful tool for directing people to your website, blog or mailing list.
Executive coach and fundraising expert Marc Pitman says that one
common mistake is creating content that keeps your audience on social
and never captures additional information so they can stay connected to
your brand.
“You should have a healthy mix of content that points back to your site
and helps build your email list where you give away helpful content—an
ethical bribe,” he says. “Then you can track how many people are coming
from social and signing up or taking action.”
Posting frequency
Creating a social media content calendar will help you plan and schedule
your social media posts in advance. If you are working with a team, or
reaching out to others in your organization for photos or information, a
content calendar will help you stay on top of planning campaigns and
scheduling content in advance.
Determine a posting frequency and cadence that will keep your

organization in front of your audience while leaving you time to manage
your community, share newsworthy content and measure your impact.
If you’re unsure of when you should Tweet or post on Instagram, check

out our research into the best times to post on social media, speci cally
for nonpro ts. For example, here are the best times to post on Facebook
for optimal audience engagement:
Chapter 6
Put engagement rst
Social media is far more than a publishing platform—it’s a place to capture

people’s attention, connect with supporters and build communities. In a
recent survey on social media and connection, we found that 64% of
people expect brands to connect with their audiences, and they rank
social media as the number one place to do that.
“The most powerful thing about social media is something many

companies and organizations often forget: It’s social,” says Chara Smith,
former creative team member at charity: water. “Instead, many brands use
social media as a broadcasting platform.”
With limited time to spend on social, engagement should be a priority.

Respond to questions, comments and posts tagging your organization,
and look for relevant hashtags to nd new conversations to join. While
your tone may be more formal on other outlets, social media is a
particularly good place to cultivate a personable brand voice that helps
supporters feel connected. Don’t be afraid to use humor to connect either.
“Part of what we’re trying to do with engagement is show donors that we

see them as more than an ATM,” Pitman said. “The social media accounts
that show humanity seem to get noted more, particularly when you give
quick or humorous responses.”
Men’s health non-pro t Movember regularly uses humor on social media
to add a little light-heartedness to support a serious cause—and, when
their followers comment on their content, they respond and engage in
some on-brand banter.
Chapter 7
Empower your advocates & cross-promote your content
Even the most enthusiastic proponents of your organization may not

realize that social sharing is a powerful way they can raise awareness for
your cause. If you are creating or ramping up your presence on a speci c
platform, make it known to all of your constituents that they can connect
with you there.
Show them the value of following—the stories, tips and images they can
expect to see—and educate them about the best ways to show support.
Don’t be afraid to cross-promote your social media content on other
channels.
Our experts provided a few suggestions to get your advocates talking:
Start a private group
“Invite them to join a private group or another mechanism of
communication so you can ‘rock ‘n’ roll,’” Kanter said. “Everyone likes to
be on a winning team and to cheer on the team, so you need that kind of
connection. Make it super easy: Provide sample posts for Facebook,
sample Tweets, etc.”
For example, the Chicago-based Anti-Cruelty Society has private

Facebook groups for people who foster their animals as well as for their
volunteers. These groups create places for their audience to connect with
each other, share their stories and swap practical information. They give
the organization a go-to place to solicit help with their e orts.
Promote via other communication channels
“Support your social with email, phone and other means of

communication,” Pitman said. “Send a link to board members, and ask
them to like it, share it, comment and tell you what they think. However
you want them to interact with you, let them know. People can’t read our
minds. It’s not obvious to them; their universe doesn’t revolve around our
nonpro t or our social media outreach.”
Here’s a snippet from an email from the Pancreatic Cancer Action

Network (PanCAN). When thanking supporters for signing up for their
email newsletter, they include a CTA to change your social media pro le
pictures in order to further spread awareness.
Provide sample posts
“Make it easy to share by sending an email with pre-written Tweets and

graphics people can share when you’re launching a big campaign, telling
them one of the ways they can support you is to share on Facebook,
Twitter or whatever network you think they’re most active on,” Colling
said. “Make it easy for people. Give them options. And tell them that
sharing is meaningful.”
The nonpro t mentioned above, PanCAN, is raising awareness about

pancreatic cancer symptoms in order to promote early detection. They
have created created free social graphics and GIFs that their supporters
can use to spread the message and educate their networks as part of
their campaign.
If you have high-pro le advocates or an internal team that’s active on

social, you can use an advocacy platform to curate content and
messaging for your advocates to share. This way, your team can log in
and start sharing content with just a few clicks. What if you added ve
minutes to the end of your next board meeting or volunteer training to
provide guidance and encourage social sharing?
Chapter 8
Track & measure your results
From day one, track your social media e orts to ensure that you are
progressing toward your goals. Demonstrating results will show your
leadership the importance of investing time and resources into social, and
it will help you adjust your content strategy to focus on the type of content
that performs best.
“If it doesn’t get results, don’t do it,” says Kanter. “You don’t get impact by
wishful thinking.”
Kanter suggests that you look not only at what content is getting a good
rate of return, but also at what takes less time to get that return. For goals
such as driving website tra c, Colling recommends using Google
Analytics to see how many social referrals are getting people to your
website.
“Even better, if you put goal tracking in your Google Analytics, you can
see how many referrals actually led to someone completing a donation,”
she said.
You can use information from social platforms’ native analytics (Twitter
Analytics, Facebook Insights, YouTube Analytics) to create your own
reports. For a clear breakdown of how to use native analytics, check out
our post on the social media metrics that matter.
If you don’t have time to run reports, this is just one of many areas where
a social media analytics tool will help. You can use Sprout to run weekly
or monthly presentation-ready reports on everything from sent message
performance to audience changes to engagement.
Chapter 9
Conclusion
Above all, remember to listen and create a habit of strategy and

measurement. Over time, you will learn what content gets your community
talking and how to ne-tune your nonpro t’s social media strategy to get
the best possible results.
We’ll leave you with this one nal piece of advice:
“It’s important to set reasonable expectations and know that social

media and content marketing is a long game. You’re not going to
put one post out there and instantly get hundreds of dollars in
donations. Like any good relationship, it’s all about communication
over time.”
—Bridgett Colling, Highland Solutions
Start building that relationship with your supporters today. And if you’d
like a faster, simpler way to execute your social strategy, try Sprout Social
for free with our 30-day trial.
Published on December 02, 2019

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9/17/2020 A Strategic Guide to Social Media for Nonprofits | Sprout Social

A Strategic Guide to Social Media for Nonpro ts

Social media presents an enormous opportunity for nonpro t

Part of social’s original appeal was the potential to reach a larger

But the growing popularity and changing algorithms of social platforms

Set social media goals that support your organization's goals

“Social media shouldn’t be out there alone; it should be integrated and

For example, if one of your organization’s goals is to increase donor

Increase the number of current donors following us on social

Increase website tra c driven by social by 15%

Here are a few examples of annual social media goals:

Increase your organization’s social impressions by 15%: Reach new

Boost social engagement by 20%: Keep your organization top-of-

Increase actions taken from social by 10%: Increase newsletter

Identify your core audience and develop personas

Colling recommends that nonpro ts develop audience personas, which

Understanding your target audience when planning your strategy—and

Determine which social platforms to focus on

Once you’ve identi ed your target audience, nd out which social

To get an idea of which social platforms your target audience prefers,

Create a social content strategy

As you’re creating a content strategy for your nonpro t, it’s important to

Start by measuring the performance of past posts to identify which

The Toy Association is a non-pro t trade association with over 900

Determine a posting frequency and cadence that will keep your

If you’re unsure of when you should Tweet or post on Instagram, check

Put engagement rst

Social media is far more than a publishing platform—it’s a place to capture

“The most powerful thing about social media is something many

With limited time to spend on social, engagement should be a priority.

“Part of what we’re trying to do with engagement is show donors that we

Empower your advocates & cross-promote your content

Even the most enthusiastic proponents of your organization may not

Our experts provided a few suggestions to get your advocates talking:

Start a private group

For example, the Chicago-based Anti-Cruelty Society has private

Promote via other communication channels

“Support your social with email, phone and other means of

Here’s a snippet from an email from the Pancreatic Cancer Action

Provide sample posts

“Make it easy to share by sending an email with pre-written Tweets and

The nonpro t mentioned above, PanCAN, is raising awareness about

If you have high-pro le advocates or an internal team that’s active on

Track & measure your results

Above all, remember to listen and create a habit of strategy and

We’ll leave you with this one nal piece of advice:

“It’s important to set reasonable expectations and know that social

Published on December 02, 2019

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