Overcoming More Social Media Challenges for Stronger Nonprofit Supporter Engagement in 2014

Despite social media continuing to grow and become an integral component of engagement and communication strategies in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds, many fundraisers still find challenges in maintaining a presence that produces worthwhile results. This is evidenced by the estimated 13% of fundraising generated through online channels according to Blackbaud’s Index latest results. Recently I made 5 Predictions for Nonprofit Fundraising in Social Media and Content Marketing for 2014 which included increased investment, diversification, evolving content and an increase in mobile optimization and platforms that help calculate ROI.

Yet some organizations have still not given social media the attention that it deserves because of perceived challenges which I began writing about in an earlier post, Overcoming Social Media Challenges. In this previous post, I included how to use social media platforms and what content to create and share and today I am sharing strategies in overcoming two more social media challenges that nonprofits face:

Challenge #3 Lack of Time and Challenge #4 Lack of Money

Time Saving Tools – There are many time saving tools that are free or reasonably priced and the following examples can also save you time so that your attention can be spent on strengthening existing connections and raising more funds.

• Power Point – Creating videos does not have to be filmed directly from a camera. Often a slideshow type video which includes still photographs, images, voiceovers and text can be just as effective. Power Point which comes standard in most Windows software packages can be used to create basic, simple videos in a very short period of time. Recommended reading: 6 Steps to Producing Successful On-Screen Nonprofit Videos, 8 Types of Online Videos to Help Increase Supporter Engagement and Nonprofit Fundraising, 6 Ways to Maximize Online Video Marketing for Nonprofit Fundraising Appeals and Supporter Engagement and 6 Tips for a Successful Video and Viral Marketing Nonprofit Fundraising Campaign.
• Homestead – If you do not have an in-house webmaster and need help designing and creating your own website, Homestead offers easy to use and fairly inexpensive website creation and hosting solutions. Simply choose a design and customize it and it’s ready to be published. Recommended reading: 10 Website Tips to Maximize Nonprofit Fundraising and Engagement Opportunities and 4 Tips for Maintaining Online Reputations for Nonprofits.
• Socialoomph – This cost effective tool can help increase your productivity and save time. Socialoomph allows you to schedule updates and posts on one platform which then gets distributed to various social networking platforms simultaneously like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, RRS feeds, blogs and a few others within just minutes.
• Aweber – In addition to help manage your subscribers, create and send professional looking emails, this low cost tool has an auto-responder feature that automatically responds to emails based on actions taken by a supporter on your website or email communication. Pricing is scaled and based on the number of subscribers on your mailing list.
• Oneload – Simple to use and free, Oneload uploads your videos once and distributes them to several video sharing platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo and many others. In addition the platform gives you insight on how your video is performing providing aggregated analytics from the various sites your video is running.
• YouTube Nonprofit Program – Joining this program specifically designed for nonprofits has many benefits, including the ability to add a donate button on your channel, a call to action overlay on your videos, live streaming, video annotations and community forums. Its “Playbook for Good” is also an excellent tool to help you get the most out of your video production and sharing for maximum exposure.

Finally, it’s also important to involve your staff and volunteers to help share your content. Not only does this help them feel connected to your cause and organization, but it helps expand your overall reach. Depending on where your organization is located geographically getting assistance from social media interns from the local college or university can also be beneficial, provided content is reviewed prior to publishing.

More Recommended Reading for Additional Tools:

• 5 Tips on Growing Nonprofit Social Media Communities with Staff and Volunteers
• 5 Tools to Complement a Nonprofit’s Website Development & Social Media Engagement Initiatives
• 4 Photo/Video Tools to Help Increase Supporter Engagement
• 4 Time Saving Social Media Tools for Nonprofit Fundraising and Engagement
• 4 Tools for Organizing Nonprofit Online Content

____________________________________________________________________________________

For nonprofit, nonprofit fundraising, CSR business and other news, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linedin, Google+ and Pinterest or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.