Greg Allbright, CEO of Change For A Dollar, LLC will present a free-to-members webinar via the Center for Nonprofit Management on June 8 from 1 to 2 pm entitled "What Am I Supposed To Tweet". The webinar will cover the basics of social media content strategy and ideas. For more information and to register, click here.
Not sure what to tweet? Take a photo!
Facebook and Twitter are powerful ways for your nonprofit to raise awareness and keep your supporters aware and engaged in the good works you perform pursuing your mission.
They can also be time consuming. The status update you started to write can quickly turn into an hour long exercise before you know it. Facebook especially is always adding and changing new things that require you to learn what it means for your fanpage. Sometimes that leaves you with little time to create content your fans will love.
Here are some quick ways to produce content for your Facebook and Twitter by taking photos:
1. Profile a staff member
Reward those hard working employees by posting their photo into your Facebook and Twitter feeds. Let them know about it so they can share with their own networks, which increases your exposure. Bring the human element of your operation online so your supporters can connect with someone, instead of a logo.
- Ask all of your employees to fill out short bios and include a few fun questions (favorite food, sports team, celebrity etc). Post these answers with their photos.
- Post photos of new employees and ask your Facebook and Twitter supporters to welcome them to the organization.
- Post updates with photos of employees that have recently had babies, gotten married, graduated from college, or any other proud moment.
- Is a favorite employee moving to another city or position? Tell them how much they will be missed by saying goodbye online and letting your online supporters how they have impacted the mission.
2. Thank a donor or volunteer
If the fundraising mantra of thanking donors seven times between asks is true, how can you use social media to accomplish one of those asks?
- If a group of volunteers come in to serve, get a group picture and post it saying thank you.
- If a business donates goods for your auction, show the auction item or their logo with a thank you. (If their competitors are watching, think they will be more likely to donate next year?)
- If a long time volunteer comes in one day, thank them for their continued service by posting a photo of them with a thank you.
- If you have solicited major sponsors for your campaign or event, use a post a day to thank them. Show their logo or company representative along with how they are helping. Include their website or Facebook page to promote them as well.
3. Bring the fun of events online
Events bring an energy and excitement you can capture and show to everyone via photos. Plus, the fun and festivities from an event don't have to stop when the party is over. Sharing photos online from events brings back good memories for those that went, and makes the people who didn't go envious of the good times. They'll be more likely to attend another event in the future.
- Take photos of everyone and everything before, during, and after your event.
- Post a few right away, and keep a few back to use throughout the year.
- Use one to thank a donor or volunteer a few weeks or even months later.
- Use a silly one to show you all are human and have fun helping others.
- If someone won an award, follow up with them a few months later to see how they are doing. Post three sentences about what they are up to now.
A few quick tips for event photos:
- Know who you are taking pictures of (have a volunteer write them down as someone else takes them) and include company/organization name and title.
- Remove drinks and name tags before taking the picture
- Use Facebook @mentions for sharing pictures on your page
- Get approval from a parent if a child is included in the photo
Photos can be fun and simple ways of connecting with people online. Photos provide entertaining and engaging content at the snap of a button. If you have found unique ways to share photos online, please let us know about them in the comments below.
Greg Allbright
CEO/Digital Marketing Director
ChangeDFW.org
Not sure what to tweet? Take a photo!
Facebook and Twitter are powerful ways for your nonprofit to raise awareness and keep your supporters aware and engaged in the good works you perform pursuing your mission.
They can also be time consuming. The status update you started to write can quickly turn into an hour long exercise before you know it. Facebook especially is always adding and changing new things that require you to learn what it means for your fanpage. Sometimes that leaves you with little time to create content your fans will love.
Here are some quick ways to produce content for your Facebook and Twitter by taking photos:
1. Profile a staff member
Reward those hard working employees by posting their photo into your Facebook and Twitter feeds. Let them know about it so they can share with their own networks, which increases your exposure. Bring the human element of your operation online so your supporters can connect with someone, instead of a logo.
- Ask all of your employees to fill out short bios and include a few fun questions (favorite food, sports team, celebrity etc). Post these answers with their photos.
- Post photos of new employees and ask your Facebook and Twitter supporters to welcome them to the organization.
- Post updates with photos of employees that have recently had babies, gotten married, graduated from college, or any other proud moment.
- Is a favorite employee moving to another city or position? Tell them how much they will be missed by saying goodbye online and letting your online supporters how they have impacted the mission.
2. Thank a donor or volunteer
If the fundraising mantra of thanking donors seven times between asks is true, how can you use social media to accomplish one of those asks?
- If a group of volunteers come in to serve, get a group picture and post it saying thank you.
- If a business donates goods for your auction, show the auction item or their logo with a thank you. (If their competitors are watching, think they will be more likely to donate next year?)
- If a long time volunteer comes in one day, thank them for their continued service by posting a photo of them with a thank you.
- If you have solicited major sponsors for your campaign or event, use a post a day to thank them. Show their logo or company representative along with how they are helping. Include their website or Facebook page to promote them as well.
3. Bring the fun of events online
Events bring an energy and excitement you can capture and show to everyone via photos. Plus, the fun and festivities from an event don't have to stop when the party is over. Sharing photos online from events brings back good memories for those that went, and makes the people who didn't go envious of the good times. They'll be more likely to attend another event in the future.
- Take photos of everyone and everything before, during, and after your event.
- Post a few right away, and keep a few back to use throughout the year.
- Use one to thank a donor or volunteer a few weeks or even months later.
- Use a silly one to show you all are human and have fun helping others.
- If someone won an award, follow up with them a few months later to see how they are doing. Post three sentences about what they are up to now.
A few quick tips for event photos:
- Know who you are taking pictures of (have a volunteer write them down as someone else takes them) and include company/organization name and title.
- Remove drinks and name tags before taking the picture
- Use Facebook @mentions for sharing pictures on your page
- Get approval from a parent if a child is included in the photo
Photos can be fun and simple ways of connecting with people online. Photos provide entertaining and engaging content at the snap of a button. If you have found unique ways to share photos online, please let us know about them in the comments below.
Greg Allbright
CEO/Digital Marketing Director
ChangeDFW.org
This is great - I'll definitely use some of these suggestions. Thank you for sharing them!
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