In the years that social media has gained a foothold in the marketplace and a level of respect in the business and nonprofit community, a simple question has lingered for charitable organizations – how can social media help my fundraising efforts?
Unfortunately, there haven’t been too many successful fundraising test cases for small nonprofits to emulate. Nonprofits directly asking for money via Facebook and other social media channels rarely works. Conversion rates on these types of social media posts are extremely low and for good reason – Facebook is more effective at building relationships than converting donors.
Gary Vaynerchuk’s Jab, Jab, Jab, RIGHT HOOK explains this concept well – the idea is that you provide value multiple times before making any ask of your constituents. Whether it is through sharing resources, highlighting the work of your volunteers, staff profiles, or thanking constituents, your focus should be on building a relationship before making the fundraising or event ask. That’s how you can have greater success in social media.
Once these relationships are cultivated – that’s when the real fundraising success can begin. Whether through social sharing or peer-to-peer fundraising, your fans and followers have their own networks at their disposal to help raise funds for your organization. But they won’t do it on social media just by being asked. They need to get something first.
We are still updating our Tumblr throughout the week with exciting links. Be sure to check it out.
- Are your Facebook engagement statistics declining? NPQ highlights how changes to the news feed are affecting nonprofits.
- Is a 99% failure rate, actually a success? Future Fundraising Now discusses the mental hurdle of direct mail success rates
- TechSoup presents stats on why a mobile-friendly website is a must have for nonprofits.
- Thunderclap can be a useful tool for nonprofits. We enjoyed reading a success story from Mob Lab’s work with WaterAid UK.
- Mary Cahalane shares her thoughts on how challenges with the overhead myth often start from within.
- Are you looking to strengthen your blog? Convince and Convert shares tips on how to write better headlines for articles, while Mashable breaks down your blogging food groups.
- Many were surprised when the CEO of the Moore Foundation resigned abruptly. The Chronicle of Philanthropy provides the details.
- Should your thank you letter contain another ask? Michael Rosen argues that it should not and we wholeheartedly agree.