The main challenge that most charities face is getting donations. Some charities even end up closing their doors because they lack the funds to drive their projects to completion. However, organisations that seek support from people need to harness the power of social media to get the funds they need for their projects.

Social media is an extremely powerful tool in today’s fundraising landscape. Social media gives you options on how to share your message, and for brands, it extends your reach to help you get a broader audience than when you operate solely offline. Here are some of the ways charities can use social media to promote their campaigns:

1. Developing a strong social media strategy

Most charities fail because they approach social media casually. Since social media is about creating trust, you have to come up with ways that will make your audience trust you. Do your homework on your target audience, and where you can find them. Think of effective ways of branding your charity on social media, and create a page or account on the platforms your users frequent. After you create the page, ensure that you remain active by posting regularly. Consistency is key. How can you keep your posting consistent? Create a posting schedule and stick to it, employ posting tools to help you schedule your posts, such as Hootsuite and Buffer and prioritise engagement, it’s called social media for a reason – be social!

2. Be informative

Social media is about sharing informative content and having conversations. That’s the reason most people engage. One benefit of sharing content is that it brands you as an authority. Your content should stimulate your audience, which should provoke them into sharing posts with their friends. Use long posts, hashtags, images, and share videos of live events as part of your content. Long form social media content has grown in popularity over the last year because it has been proven to work. Today, the hot new thing is long-form video content. Last year, Facebook reportedly spent up to $1 billion on lengthier content and Google dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to original YouTube programming.

3. Be authentic

It is so easy for your audience to be suspicious of your motives – after all, you’re asking them to part with their hard-earned money. Therefore, be real and transparent. If, for instance, people donate, indicate the total amount you have collected. You should also show them how you wish to use the amount, and if possible, you can update them on what you were able to do at the end of every successful project. Show some appreciation regardless of the amount you receive.

Be wise when dealing with your followers. For them to donate, they need time to know that you are not using their hard-earned cash for your own ends.

For more information on how your charity can generate more donations, download our free report!

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