Planting the Seed: 5 Ways for Nonprofits to Grow their Social Media

Social media is an important tool that we use every day to increase brand awareness and create an engaged and loyal following. Here are a few tips that we give to our clients. These steps are all things you can do now that will help your social media presence ‘blossom’ this spring!

1. Build your online profiles with as much information as possible. Take advantage of all the spots that social media gives you to highlight yourself, your services and promote your brand.

   1. On Twitter, include a detailed bio, your location and your company website. Have multiple websites you would like to share? Use your bio to include more links to more information! Be sure to use your photo space to your advantage by creating an eye-catching banner and using your logo as your profile photo.

   2. Facebook allows you to create a company page where you can include photos, videos, a bio, contact information and reviews. Create a fun banner photo to highlight your employees! You can also ask past clients to leave a review to help build your credibility online.

   3. Instagram allows you to create ‘Stories’ and save them as ‘Highlights’ on your profile page. Use this space to create different categories of the services you offer that potential clients can easily click through.

2. Always include a visual with your post. Not only is a photo necessary for many of the algorithms on social media, but a photo will help catch the eye of potential followers and clients. Don’t feel pressured to use your personal photos – there is a wealth of free visuals out there for your use. You can also log into a free service like Canva to create fun graphics. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

3. Post at least three times a week, if not every day. This may feel like overkill, or even seem impossible, but posting often will keep your audience engaged. Use one piece of good content to create multiple posts or dip back into old posts if you are promoting the same service. If you use a scheduling product like Sprout, you can put your content together all at one time and forget about it until next week.

4. Tag people and use hashtags. The best way to create attention around your post is to show up where similar posts are being shared. Hashtags will help your post appear in the different categories you want it to and tagging people or other companies will let them know you are on the playing field, too.

5. Consider using paid advertising. When you have a message that must be seen, the fastest and most efficient way to get it done is to put some dollars behind it. Paid advertising also helps your company grow its following. Even $10 towards a campaign can make a big difference in making a splash and growing your audience.

Need help building your social media or don’t have enough time to develop a great post every day? 1st Degree can help! We can create a plan, develop your monthly posts and create amazing visuals to help get your nonprofit out into the world and build the following you need to make a difference. To learn more about how we can support your nonprofit or association with social media, email us at hello@1stdegree.com.