Lindsay Chambers - Make Your Nonprofit Social: Engage Your Audience with Social Media

Make Your Nonprofit Social

Make Your Nonprofit Social

Engage Your Audience with Social Media

By Lindsay Chambers, Jennifer Morehead, and Heather Sallee

Make Your Nonprofit Social: Engage Your Audience with Social Media
Copyright Business Expert Press, LLC, 2021.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 250 words, without the prior permission of the publisher.

First published in 2021 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-95253-864-3 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-95253-865-0 (e-book)

Business Expert Press Digital and Social Media Marketing and Advertising Collection

Collection ISSN: 2333-8822 (print)
Collection ISSN: 2333-8830 (electronic)

Cover image licensed by Ingram Image, StockPhotoSecrets.com Cover and interior design by S4Carlisle Publishing Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India

First edition: 2021

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America.

Contents

Social media has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. While social media is a newer mode of communication than hieroglyphics, the Morse code, or the telephone, similar to these its here to stay for some time and wont be going away anytime soon. Social media, whether you personally like it or not, has become necessary for every nonprofit communicating with their community and their supporters.

The evidence speaks for itself: When you figure out how to share the human aspect of your nonprofit and the lives you have touched through it, people buy into not only your mission, but also your story as a nonprofit.

We can all agree social media is polarizing in that when it comes to what you see on social media it is often geared towards what your friends and family see, thanks to the interests that you share. However, despite how frustrating it may be when platforms change, when you have to deal with fake news released by unconventional sources, or even managing your passwords to all of these media profiles, social media has power to be good and bad. It is bad when the jerks of the world use this as their personal platform to spread hateful or false messages. It can be bad when you notice that all the pictures of family vacations are rubbing your nose into the fact that you did not take a vacation this year.

On the other hand, social media is a tremendous way to connect. During the COVID-19 outbreak, people relied on these platforms to stay updated with crucial news and to feel a sense of connection with friends and family members. Social media allows friends and relatives to remain updated about one anothers lives. You can view pictures of your nieces and nephews birthday parties, even if you cant be there in person for those moments. Social media can open the doors to make meaningful connections with others, regardless of the circumstances.

If you dont care for social media, dont worry. This book is not going to talk you into liking social media for yourself. Our book will not address whether social media should or should not exist. We have put this introduction together to explain that we understand the feelings around social media, both good and bad, but you will have to save your opinions on social media for watercooler conversations at work, the Thanksgiving dinner table, and online comment sections.

If you check the shelves of your local bookstore, you will see a sleek selection of books offering quick tips or a single strategy for marketing your nonprofit through social media. What makes our book different? Our tips arent merely theoretical; they are tested and true.

We want to take you behind the scenes and share with you our success stories working with various nonprofits, along with case studies from others. We have connected with numerous nonprofits just like yours, which have grown steadily over the years by having an intentional social media presence.

Who should be interested in this book? In short, everyone. But especially anyone who manages a nonprofit organization. We fight for the little guy. We understand what its like to start out or feel stucklike no matter what you do, your nonprofit is surviving at best. We also know the road to getting unstuck, as we have traveled it with many clients.

Our book pulls together stories from nonprofits that have had a lot of success, along with our take on how to harness the best of what social media has to offer. We have put together easy-to-digest concepts to help you visualize where you and your nonprofit belong in the social media landscape.

Look at the following chart for a visual representation of the different platforms. We will explore this in more detail later, but think of your nonprofit and where it might fit on this chart.

Toward the end of this book, in , we will talk about emerging platforms and trends. Some of those emerging platforms, like TikTok and Nextdoor (both pictured in the landscape), are absolutely relevant now to nonprofits. There are others that we will address, including Snapchat, Quora, and Reddit. While these platforms arent brand new, they are emerging in terms of how we perceive nonprofits are approaching them to build their brands. We work primarily with nonprofits that target people 25 years old and older. Nonprofits that hope to attract a younger demographic must pay even closer attention to the emerging platforms. The platforms we focus on in this book include Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Many of the lessons and ideas we teach for these platforms are also applicable to the newer, smaller, or emerging ones as well.

Figure 0.1 The landscape of social media

We want to share our story with you, and help you discover yours. Remember the enthusiasm and drive that helped you start your nonprofit or led you to join it in the first place? We want you to channel that and share it with the world through social media. The evidence speaks for itself: When you figure out how to share the human aspect of your nonprofit and the lives you have touched through it, you will gain supporters and spread the word about your mission with a broader audience.

Our process is more organic than most, starting with your core values and working outward. We dont want you to market yourself in an artificial way, buying into trends just to gain attention. We want you to dare to be genuine. Dare to be a classic. We are going to go on an exciting trip of sharing the true side of your nonprofit on social media, and your audience is going to love it. Hang on for the ride.

Introduction: Key Takeaways

After reading the Introduction, what should you understand?

Those who manage nonprofits should spend time on social media to grow their brands, reach, and customer base.

Remember the landscape of social media, and dont try to take on too much too soon.

You can start with just one or two platforms, but be strategic about which one(s) you choose.

Social media is valuable for nonprofits because it humanizes their brand and allows their personality to shine.

This book will provide real-world examples of nonprofits that have done a good job establishing a presence on one or more platforms.