How NGOs can use social media for raising funds

Digital Strategy | Social Media | Branding & Design | Search | Mobile Marketing

Why should NGOs look at Social Media to raise funds?


The Top 5 Social Media platforms used by NGOs

• With the surge in Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, you can now reach a much wider audience to raise money for your cause.

• Fundraising using Social Media is increasingly becoming an important part of digital fundraising activities along with websites, e-mail campaigns, etc.


How to build your Social Media strategy ?

• Raising funds is the most difficult task for an NGO.

• To achieve it using Social Media, you need a properly planned, focused strategy.

• The strategy should aim to first engage the audience, then create a credible image and trust for the NGO, and finally, motivate the supporters to get actively involved and contribute funds.


Engage

• Sharing is one of the best ways to increase your interactions with your supporters.

• If you wish to get more volunteers, first establish your support to the cause.

• Supporting a cause will allow you to connect with others who also support it and would thus be more willing to contribute and help out.

• You can then use social media to engage your supporters with interesting, persuasive content that they can share with their respective network of friends.

• This will increase your visibility and let you connect with a much wider base of potential donors.


Build Trust

• The next step after getting the audience involved is to identify the level of their trust and support.

• You can find that out by exploring answers to these questions:

How many people care about the organization?

What do fans care about the most?

What is the organization doing that most people identify and connect with?

How clearly have you understood the profile of those target supporters who care about the organization and are most likely to contribute to the cause?

• This will help you draw a list of initiatives that will build trust among your supporters and motivate them to contribute to your initiatives.


Steps to Motivate Action

• It is not enough to just have a call-to-action on your website and wait for the money to pour in.

• Neither is it enough to share videos, pictures, persuasive posts with your target audience of supporters.

• You need to make it very easy and convenient for interested donors to make a contribution before they change their mind.

• Here are a few tips to make it easier for your supporters to contribute and thus maximize the benefits of your efforts to raise funds using Social Media.


Connect the missing dots

• Bridge the gap between your physical, website and Social Media presence.

• Promote your online presence in your newsletters and include your website address on all of your collaterals.

• Share the link of your donor form at the end of requests for contributions on your Social Media platforms.

• Use widgets to enable sharing on your website.

• Make it easy for your supporters to connect with you and with each other too.

Screenshots courtesy Catalysts for Social Action


Help them, help you.

• Make sure you provide your donors with various options.

• Let them decide how and when they want to help you.

• Make sure that your online donor form is not too complicated.

• It is a good idea to reduce fields that require manual typing and include more multiple option choice fields.

Screenshots courtesy GiveIndia


Ask your supporters for help!

• Be specific about the help you need rather than asking for it indirectly.

• While it is important to share stories about your organization and its causes, it is also important to motivate your supporters to create new success stories by funding your initiatives.

• Share your vision with your supporters and tell them specifically what they should do to help you achieve it.

Screenshots courtesy Olympic Gold Quest


Tell your supporters how they made a difference

• Each one of your supporters desires to make a difference.

• When they choose to contribute funds to support your cause, thank them.

• Acknowledge their contribution. Tell them how it helped you and what it changed for the better.

• Sharing such appreciation will only motivateyour supporters to contribute more to your initiatives.



Example of effective website communication for fundraising

• GiveIndia, an online portal in India which allows an individual to donate to registered NGOs, receives a lot of support as it helps NGOs to work towards sensitive issues that affect the society at large.

• Another reason it enlists support is the simple communication through images and icons that clearly explain the working of the organization and the benefits of contributing to it.



Example of effective website and Social Media communication for fundraising

• Barack Obama effectively used his website and Social Media presence to garner 87 percent of his campaign funds before he got elected as President of the USA.

• 90 percent of the contributions were less than $100, but the large number of contributors he connected with using Social Media, could not be matched by his rival candidates.

• Obama continues to use Social Media to raise funds as he campaigns for a second term as the President of the USA.

Screenshots courtesy http://www.barackobama.com/

http://www.barackobama.com/


Where Social Media scores over Traditional Media

TRADITIONAL MEDIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Lets you connect with a specific set of your target audience.

Lets you connect to a group of your target audience as well as their respective network of friends and acquaintances.

It’s a one-way communication channel. It’s a two-way communication channel that allows for immediate feedback and response.

Content cannot be shared easily. Content can be easily shared with friendsand other group members who are part of the same network.

Is very costly. Is relatively cost-effective because a lot of the platforms can be used free of cost.

Impact of the communication cannot be measured easily.

Impact of the communication can be easily measured using a number of free or paid analytical tools.


Make the most of Social Media

• As an NGO, garnering funds for your initiatives is one of the most difficult tasks you face.

• Though the members your target audience might support your initiative with all their heart, they may not be very forthcoming when it comes to actually making a contribution in terms of funds.

• Your Social Media strategy should be directed towards overcoming this apprehension.

• Bridge the gap to make it easy and worthwhile for your target audience to cross over from being just a supporter to becoming an active contributor.

• The guidelines suggested above will definitely prove helpful and allow you to make better use of Social media.

• For any more assistance, we are always at hand.

• You can contact us and be rest assured that you will definitely get your Digital Marketing and Social Media strategy right.


Founder & Director

Siddharth Hegde

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @siddhegde

Mobile: +91 9820217252.

www.ethinos.com

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How NGOs can use social media for raising funds