Focus on what is most effective for your nonprofit’s online presence.
While it may seem challenging and overwhelming, the importance of social media marketing cannot be overstated. It’s so vital that over 97% of marketers use it as their primary marketing tool. Besides, 78% of businesses and salespeople outsell their competitors by employing social media in their marketing strategies. Social media allows you to reach a considerable pool of potential customers within seconds of posting. With the massive number of online users, businesses and marketers must take advantage of social media platforms to maximize on reaching more clients. Besides increasing sales, social media allows you to connect with your customers, boost leads, increase awareness about your brand, inspire action, share your impact, and build communities.
Social media platforms are the ideal way of creating and maintaining a strong online presence. An online presence is vital for both inbound and outbound marketing as it strengthens your brand and what you’re offering and also helps attract even those clients who haven’t heard about your brand. Social media allows you to develop a real human connection which creates meaningful relationship moments. This also helps create and establish a visual identity that potential customers can recognize and trust making your business more credible. For nonprofits, selecting the best social media platform which best serves their needs based on their time, resources and audience can be a daunting task due to the limited resources.
New social media channels are popping up daily, and each one operates differently and attracts different crowds. Thus, nonprofits must choose their social media channels wisely and post quality and engaging content regularly to appeal to their targeted audience. Some social media platforms are better at certain areas than others. There’s no one correct answer in determining the perfect social media platforms for non-profits. Read on to learn how to choose the right social media platform that will give you the desired results. This article will give you all the information you need to continue on the best path and get the most from your social media marketing strategy.
In the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic, social media usage has increased significantly and businesses must give their customers efficient methods of buying and creating exciting, and engaging social media content. The stay-at-home orders have revolutionized just about everything. People are online now more than ever, attending schools from home, working from home, and catching up with friends and family via video calls. Besides, restaurants and stores have closed down, and with the restricted movements to contain the virus, people are using online channels to order essential items leading to an unprecedented online presence. According to recent research, social media consumption has gone up by 72% and posting by 43% during the pandemic. Most respondents agreed to stick to the channels they already know such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram while others tried new channels such as TikTok.
Social media shopping has become very popular not only because of the pandemic. For a while, social media has been a crucial part of consumer’s shopping habits. People use social media to learn more about a brand and its products and services. Consumers love resonating with a brand’s overall online or social media presence which affects their decision to consider a brand over the other. Therefore, your social profiles must look good because almost 74% of consumers visit a brand’s social media pages before purchasing.
Facebook started as a place for college kids to connect with friends and now these kids have grown loyal to the platform. They’re now adults, business people, and decision-makers in organizations and still use it as one of the major marketing strategies in their businesses. Facebook takes the cake as far as the top social media platform for adults goes.
If your nonprofit organization is aiming at more mature audiences, Facebook is where you’re more likely to find them. According to statistics, users aged 30-49 years make up to 77% of usage reach followed closely by those between 50-64 years with 73% (Tankovska, 2021). The 18-28 group comes in third with 70% and those over 65 years 50%.
Facebook may seem like a traditional platform but it’s the easiest to navigate. Its messenger app makes it enhances communications between nonprofits and their followers. Besides, Facebook has a fundraisers feature that allows easy fundraisers creation that can be shared amongst friends and make donations directly via Facebook. Facebook has around 2.8 billion monthly active users and 1.84 billion users visiting daily making it the ideal hunting ground for potential clients (Tankovska, 2021).
LinkedIn was previously known as Facebook for professionals. The platform is gaining popularity in the marketing efforts in many industries and organizations including nonprofits. Ranked one of the top three best social media platforms for nonprofits, LinkedIn is an invaluable source to establish your nonprofit’s credibility. LinkedIn users look to connect, build, and develop their professional networks making it an ideal place for nonprofits to partner with business leaders around the globe.
Although it doesn’t match with Facebook for sharing content, it plays a major role in building your credibility. For instance, when a global business leader shares your post on the platform, your followers will know you mean business. LinkedIn has over 740 million users in over 200 nations and territories globally (Wash, 2020). LinkedIn usage increased significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic with revenue increasing 21%.
Instagram is a visual marketing giant, especially if looking to reach a younger audience who account for 71%. Venturing into this platform and engaging it the way it should mean that your nonprofit could reach its 1,074 billion users worldwide (Mohsin, 2021). The platform has grown significantly over the years and continues to broaden its horizons. It has grown from being the favorite spot for sharing videos and pictures to now attracting all kinds of advertisers, influencers, and brands.
People are spending almost as much time on this platform as they do on Facebook. This matters because the more time they spend, the more advertisements they see and the higher the chances of noticing your brand. Instagram users are following brands with 50% of users following at least a business (Mohsin, 2021). The platform’s engagement rose by 29% between October 2017 and May 2018. This implies that businesses can develop over 4 times more interactions on Instagram compared to Facebook. This high engagement results from the platform’s visual content. It provides an array of content creation such as videos, photos, live videos, stories, and the IGTV app.
The Bottom Line on Social Media
Having a strong social media presence and strategy implies that you’re aware of which platforms are best suited to your nonprofit and where your targeted audience is likely to be. By employing these strategies and platforms, you will increase your traffic, grow brand awareness, promote products, inspire action, share your impact, and build communities.
