Ahh, social media. It’s like the pretty girl that just moved in next door: it’s new, exciting, but few know how to approach it the right way. Similarly, when it comes to social, many non-profits have a warped view of what it takes to successfully approach it, particularly in terms of financial investments. So what’s the real story?
Successful social media campaigns require creativity and a well thought-out strategy. How will you kick off your social presence? What is your game plan for growing your community and developing engaging, ongoing communication? And perhaps most importantly, what are the goals of your non-profit’s social strategy and what KPIs will be used to analyze engagement to continuously make improvements? (To get started with answering some of these questions for your own non-profit, check out this Social Media Insights White Paper).
It’s true: social media requires resources like time and money, something most non-profits don’t have a lot of. The good news, though, is that it’s possible to create and implement a successful social strategy with the limited resources of a non-profit. Just take a look at the infographic below from Craigslist founder, Craig Newman (originally posted on mashable). It provides multiple examples of how high engagement with a non-profit’s social channels don’t necessarily correlate with high dollar signs. Some of the most socially successful non-profits are much further down the totem pole in terms of earnings.
Newman said it best: “The deal is, it’s not about money, it’s about getting people to talk with each other to make people’s lives better.” With a creative and well-planned strategy, non-profits can cut down on the time and money it takes to successfully increase awareness and raise funds via social media platforms.
