For so many organizations, social media is a great tool to increase brand recognition, create opportunites and leads, and keep loyal customers and followers. Here are 5 quotes from some of the best professionals in the field of nonprofit social media.
1. Be Social
“I wish that nonprofits would get that social media is social. So many nonprofits broadcast only. It’s like they are standing on the balcony, shouting their message onto the people below. A few nonprofits get down and walk into the crowd. They speak to people one on one and in small groups. They talk normally. They are social. Those are the nonprofits I actually connect with using social media.”
– Becky McCray, author Small Town Rule
2. Be Consistent
“I would say consistency is so important. I often see non-profits only when they have an event or a campaign they want you to be involved with. I think they could increase awareness and response if they worked on building the relationship throughout the year.”
– Katherine Salt, Social Media Consultant at Marketing My
3. Use Visual Stories
“Using visual stories: That is taking pictures and posting them on sites like Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, etc. and then writing the story behind it. They could also take videos where the story is and recite it as it plays. I have seen dog shelters do this. They take videos of dogs that came to them in very bad conditions and were then nursed back to health. It’s a complete story. Told visually.”
– Mitt Ray, Founder Social Marketing Writing
4. Create a Volunteer Social Media Corp
“Create a volunteer social media corp. For nonprofits to be really effective at social media, the first step is teaching your volunteers to amplify your messages. By ‘amplifying,’ I mean sharing with their own social profiles and connections, not speaking on behalf of the non-profit. To do this well, you’ll want to create some method of getting the word out to the volunteers when you have content that needs sharing. You can use a service like GaggleAmp or create a Facebook group or Google+ community
5. Invest in Good Design
“What I really like is seeing nonprofits investing in great design. It really stands out about other nonprofit websites and helps people more easily connect with their cause.”
– Cindy King, Director of Editorial at Social Media Examiner
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