Social media tips to help your nonprofit engage your supporters where they are this #GivingTuesday: on social media.

The age of social distancing has increased our reliance on social media. According to the Pew Research Center, 68% of Americans use Facebook and 74% of Facebook users check it each day. And those numbers are only going up as we depend on social media to keep in touch with friends, family, and acquaintances we may not be able to see in person. (There’s even a dark side to this, called “doomscrolling.”)  So, how can you harness this enthusiasm for social media for good on #GivingTuesday?

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These tips will help your nonprofit generate a plan to engage your supporters on social media that is tailor-made for these unprecedented times.

1. Incorporate Live Streaming

So, in 2020, big live gatherings are out. But you can still give your supporters a sense of community by taking the intention of a live gathering… and making it digital.

Live streaming is something your nonprofit can do easily, with a social media app and a phone. It’s cheap, it’s simple, and it helps you connect with your supporters. In lieu of a live #GivingTuesday event, go live on Facebook, Instagram, or even Twitch. (And as a bonus, social media platforms will help you ensure your live stream gets in front of your followers’ eyes by sending them notifications!)

Ideas for Live Streaming

The real beauty of live streaming is that it’s best to keep it simple. Things like a Q&A with your staff, an “AMA” (“Ask Me Anything”) with one of your nonprofit’s subject matter experts, a peek behind the curtains at your nonprofit, or “A Day in the Life” of one of your staffers can be a great draw to donors. And, most importantly, they reinforce the importance of your work.

Addressing Nonprofits’ Four Biggest Misconceptions About Live-Streaming Video

2. Be a Storyteller

Once upon a time, on Facebook and Instagram, it was all about posts. But in 2020, it’s all about your Stories. (And this is especially true on Instagram, where many users don’t even look at their feed and exclusively watch Stories.) So, in order to connect with your followers and get them hyped for your #GivingTuesday campaign, you’ll want make Stories part of your social media plan.

screenshot of instagram stories

Stories can be video, slides, or images. They’re live for 24-hours, and then they disappear. (But you can access old stories through your archives, and on Instagram you can save them as Highlights.) You can record right in the app, edit photos, and even just type text. Since Instagram is owned by Facebook, you can also cross-post your Instagram Stories on Facebook, and vice versa.

Ideas for Stories

Stories can be great opportunities for engagement with your followers. Try posting a poll, or allow followers to submit questions related to your organization’s work. You can find templates for some great interactive Stories on Canva that can help you build slick, fun Stories.

3. Go Easy on the Hashtags

So, it used to be that on every list of social media tips, “use hashtags!” was near the top. But in 2020, that’s not the case! Hashtags are still something you should use (#GivingTuesday is a hashtag, after all) but we recommend being more strategic, rather than dumping as many hashtags as you can into a post.

The reason hashtags are not as important as they once were is that content surfacing technology has improved by leaps and bound. And because of that, users no longer need to search or follow hashtags to find relevant content. Social media platforms have progressed to the point where they’re able to show users content they’re likely to be interested in right in their feeds! So, feel free to go easy on the hashtags in 2020.

4. Aim for early engagement.

If there is a list of social media tips that says they have the magic formula for hacking a social media platform’s algorithm, they’re lying to you. But, while we don’t have a magic formula, we do know that early engagement counts for a lot.

What’s “early engagement?” It’s people sharing, saving, liking, and commenting on your posts within the first 15 – 30 minutes of it being live. Facebook and Instagram algorithms assume, “Hey, if people are interacting with this post so fast, it must be worth seeing!” And the it’s more likely to put it in your followers’ feeds.

You can boost early engagement by asking users to turn on post notifications, posting content that invites them to engage with your post, posting share-worthy content, and generating conversation.

Make the most of these social media tips by registering now!

#GivingTuesday is on December 1, 2020 and registration is underway! Signing up is fast and easy, and if you’ve never used Mightycause before, will give you access to our best-in-class nonprofit fundraising tools.

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