As a general rule, nonprofit marketers should always be thinking of new and meaningful ways to recognize donors, but Valentine’s Day offers the perfect excuse to reach out and connect with them just because. Consider these 6 simple ways nonprofits can show donors love on social media.
Disclaimer: The following ideas don't expire after February 14th.
1. Personalized Tweets: Use Twitter to send individual shout-outs to your donors. You can do this by either tweeting to a donor’s Twitter handle publicly or by sending a direct message privately. To make the recognition even more special, establish a designated day each week to tweet individual donors (e.g., Donor Wednesdays). The content of your tweets to donors might include a simple thank-you for a recent donation or an impromptu nod for years of support.2. Video Messages: Create short videos to thank or acknowledge your donors. Invite other staff members from your nonprofit to participate, including your CEO or Executive Director. Post the videos to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat on a regular basis. And for those times when you’re feeling particularly in-the-moment, create Facebook Live videos and tag all the donors mentioned in your video so they'll receive a Facebook notification if they miss the live broadcast.
3. Instagram Photos: Photographs are another great way to show some donor appreciation. Search through your past event photos to find compelling images of your donors interacting with your cause, its members, staff, or volunteers. As mentioned above with the personalized tweets, set aside a day each week to recognize an individual donor or groups of donors by posting their event photographs to your Instagram account with a special thank-you message in the caption.
4. Blog Post Spotlights: Create a donor spotlight as a recurring theme on your blog. It’s likely many of your donors have close, personal ties to your cause and mission. Conduct interviews with your donors to create their stories for a series of blog posts. With your donors’ permission, you can even repurpose the interview material for other types of valuable content including podcasts, quotes, and testimonials.
5. Shared Content: Whether your donors are comprised of individuals or corporations, chances are many of them are creating and sharing content across their own social media channels. Show your gratitude to your donors by retweeting or reposting their social media content. As a content creator, you understand the value of having others share your content with their communities. It's a simple yet significant gesture that won’t go unnoticed.
6. Facebook Party: Host a live Facebook party to celebrate your milestones and connect your donors with each other. Like any other party, a Facebook party requires a theme, a guest list, an invitation, a time, and a location. The only difference is that your entertainment will take on the form of various posts which might include the following: a live video to welcome your donors, diagrams displaying fundraising numbers, photos or videos of your donors or constituents, a save-the-date post or image for your annual meeting, and a closing video to thank donors for their support. Be sure to encourage likes and comments to keep the conversation constant and engaging. And don’t forget to ask donors to follow your other social media platforms.
Never pass up an opportunity to woo your donors. Not only does it reinforce your sincere gratitude, it also gives your donors yet another reason to fall in love with you and your cause all over again.
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