How can charities build their online social media presence?

The days of charity mail-outs and letters being dropped into mailboxes are numbered. Many charities are now looking online to boost their donor database while keeping their donors informed about the charity’s cause. As such, it is vital that charities big and small build their profiles on social media platforms such as facebook and twitter. 

Why should I create social media profiles for my charity?
Creating and using social media profiles is a great way to engage current donors online and invite younger generations to get involved in your charity’s work. The social media posts are easy to create on each platform, providing you with a quick, easy and free way to update your charity’s followers and gather interest far and wide on what your charity does and how you are helping members of the community. Connecting and communicating with people online is nothing new, but it is the way of the future for charities. 

What is the difference between facebook, twitter and instagram?
Facebook is, without a doubt, the most frequently used social media platform on Earth. As a charity, facebook provides you with an amazing opportunity to reach out to past, present and potential donors online - and it is free to sign up! With a community of over 1.8 billion people, facebook provides charities and NFPs with an opportunity to reach people in a way that was simply unavailable 20 years ago. 

Twitter is ideal if you would like to keep people informed without too much fuss. As a platform twitter restricts the amount you are able to write, so creating good quality images and video is very important if you want to catch someone’s attention as they scroll through their news feed. Twitter created the idea of including hashtags in your posts - these hashtags are used to include your tweet in the online conversation, giving your tweet a chance to be seen by millions. 

Instagram is essentially the happy medium between facebook and twitter. Instagram is predominantly photographs or video, with a short caption and multiple hashtags. The link to your charity website is placed in your bio, along with a short summary of what your charity is all about and where you are based. If you have a merchandise store then the products can be promoted on instagram. People can then be directed to the charity website link to your bio, where they can purchase your merchandise. 

Quality content is the key to success
Each post that you create on your social media accounts should be proofread and include the charity’s official hashtag. You will be able to search for your previous posts via the hashtag at a later date if necessary. It is very important that your posts contain a high quality photograph or video - no pixelated or blurry photographs should be uploaded to your website or social media accounts if you want people to be engaged and remain interested in your charity’s presence online.

Keep it short and sweet

Your content needs to be clear and easy to understand. The amount of words per post will vary according to the social media platform, but for facebook and instagram each post should have no more than 3 sentences. Twitter will restrict your posts to 140 characters - this will include words, spaces and punctuation). 

If you create well-written, high quality content and promote your social media accounts on your website and in your communications to donors, then you will see your online follower amounts increase in no time.