8 ways to increase engagement on your nonprofit’s facebook page

Effective use of social media for professional nonprofit fundraising isn’t officially a prerequisite (yet) but it certainly might be the difference between reaching goals and falling short. While online fundraising via the actual act of donations over internet payment gateways still accounts for less than 10% of all funds raised in the sector that number is certain to grow annually. Perhaps as importantly donor engagement online is growing at a far greater rate as social media allows a two way conversation with your donor audience, in many cases adding an extra layer of connection and personality which can’t always be achieved via direct mail or advertising.

Over the coming months I’ll be adding more twitter and blog related tips so you can better determine the effectiveness of your social media campaign and I’ll also be providing more insight into how to best use Facebook to promote the activities of your nonprofit and heighten engagement. The act of building relationships in the arenas that your donors currently use is key and in the case of Facebook that’s a global audience in excess of 500 million people.

So what to do if you’ve launched a Facebook page and have a number of fans/followers but interaction seems to be a little stagnant? Facebook has a built in set of analytics (called insights) which allow you to track engagement of your followers on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Just having a page with a ‘wall’ that you post to twice a month isn’t typically going to be enough. Sharing news about your nonprofit or posts from a blog if you write one is a great place to start but don’t underestimate the importance of ‘Facebook Questions’. You can ask questions that will engage your audience and remind them that they followed you in the first place. However don’t ask questions that will take a lot of research or soul searching, not trying to be demeaning but Facebook users don’t want to spend time – but they do want to engage. Remember though, your questions don’t just have to be about your charity, this is a social setting and the dialogue doesn’t need that limitation applied to it.

Here’s eight tips about how to ask questions on the wall of your nonprofit facebook page which will grow engagement:

• Ask questions that are newsworthy – If a new report or news event just occurred that is relevant to your region or sector ask a question about it
• Ask questions that are very current – Is it a holiday? The first day of summer? Back to school? Valentines day? Ask simple questions about if your followers are leaving town for the weekend or have special plans
• Ask simple yes/no questions – Gauge the sentiment of your audience about a specific topic without asking them to explain their answer
• Ask for reactions to a photo, a report or a video – If you share a photo, video or data ask people what they think of it
• Use Facebook Questions to ask a poll question with multiple choices – Easy to adminsiter and track and it also can make your audience learn more about your organization
• Ask about attending a special event – Is there a marathon or a non profit conference in your area? Is there a fundraising walk or a big sporting event coming up? Ask your audience if they are attending.
• Don’t worry about going away from your cause at times – If you just saw a great movie and want to know if your followers have, or need suggestions for a great new CD to listen to – ask your audience
• Ask for ideas/suggestions – Facebook can be a great great environment to open a dialogue about the work your organization does. People will feel engaged just through the act of you asking in the first place

Above all else remember that responding to your Facebook followers is absolutely critical. They’ve taken a few moments to engage with your charity and you should respond in kind. Using questions to begin these relationships makes your wall an interesting place for others and promotes the concept of donor engagement which so many polls show that the public feel is lacking. Share your successes, show interest in your audience and suddenly your wall will become a place your facebook followers will check regularly rather than just ignore it on their news feed.

If you have any Facebook tips about increasing engagement be sure and share them with the blog.