Social media was born from a need to attach—throughout neighborhoods, borders and causes. Whereas a lot of right now’s content material skews business, nonprofits have a singular alternative to return social media to its roots: constructing group, inspiring motion and amplifying human tales.
That doesn’t imply leaving efficiency behind. In actual fact, nonprofit social media advertising and marketing can each drive significant engagement and ship on targets like attain, donations and volunteer sign-ups. Simply ask Adam Jorgensen, Social Media Supervisor at GivingTuesday, whose position blends content material creation, video modifying, graphic design, copywriting and extra—a mirrored image of the wide-ranging expertise right now’s nonprofit entrepreneurs convey to the desk.
On this article, we’ll share Jorgensen’s prime nonprofit social media advertising and marketing suggestions, together with marketing campaign inspiration you should utilize to encourage your technique.
What’s nonprofit social media advertising and marketing?
Nonprofit social media advertising and marketing is the follow of utilizing social platforms to advance a nonprofit’s mission—whether or not which means elevating consciousness, inspiring motion or deepening relationships with supporters. Whereas most of the methods overlap with these used within the for-profit world, the aim behind them typically appears to be like completely different.
The objective isn’t simply to advertise a service or product—it’s to mobilize individuals round a trigger. That distinction influences every little thing from content material technique to group administration. Nonetheless, the core rules stay the identical.
As Jorgensen places it: “It doesn’t matter what your online business or nonprofit group is about, your finish objective is to make connections with individuals. Actual individuals. Which means your communications ought to cater to their wants, issues and desires.”
9 high-impact social media ways for nonprofits
There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy to nonprofit social media advertising and marketing—however these confirmed ways assist the best nonprofit social media groups construct momentum and deepen group engagement.
1. Set up your crew
You don’t want a full manufacturing staff to create nice content material—however you do want help.
“Recruit a handful of individuals,” Jorgensen advises. “This may be your colleagues, volunteers, individuals served or friends that assist you to create content material and brainstorm concepts.” A small, trusted group can function each a sounding board and a supply of compelling tales that may in any other case go untold.
Begin by figuring out people who’re already partaking together with your group. You can even ship out a fast curiosity survey, embody a content material opt-in on donor or member kinds and even construct social media fundamentals into your volunteer coaching. The objective is to make content material creation really feel like a shared mission, not an added burden.
2. Share impact-driven tales
Storytelling is among the strongest instruments nonprofits have on social. It places a human face to your mission, builds emotional resonance and evokes your viewers to take motion. That affect grows when tales are well timed, relatable and rooted in your group’s objective.
Take it from GivingTuesday. Throughout the 2024 Summer time Olympics, their staff shared the story of Bob—an occasion volunteer who sprang into motion to gather swimmers’ misplaced caps throughout a break within the ladies’s 100-meter breaststroke.
“By paying shut consideration to what was occurring in actual time and the thoughtfulness on the a part of our digital communications supervisor Vanessa, who pitched the thought—we created what remains to be one in every of GivingTuesday’s top-performing posts with over 322,000 views and seven,500 likes,” says Jorgensen.
The important thing to a narrative like Bob’s isn’t simply luck; It’s staying near the motion and preserving your mission prime of thoughts. Encourage staff members and volunteers to flag on a regular basis moments that replicate your values—you by no means know which small act may spark large engagement.
3. Promote a number of methods to provide
If each social put up is a fundraising attraction, you threat overwhelming your viewers—or worse, shedding their consideration solely.
As an alternative, use your social channels to showcase the various methods supporters can contribute to your trigger. Volunteering time, donating provides, attending occasions or just amplifying your message can all function significant entry factors into your group.
“We noticed that folks wished to provide in a number of methods, not simply monetarily,” says Jorgensen. “For instance, we realized by means of social listening that one of many rising methods organizations have been asking individuals to provide in 2024 was organ donation.”
Broadening your definition of generosity builds consciousness and deepens relationships with potential donors over time. Not everybody may give cash instantly—however they may grow to be a few of your most passionate advocates when you provide them different methods to get entangled.
4. Companion with influencers
Influencer advertising and marketing isn’t only for large manufacturers—it’s a robust instrument for nonprofits trying to amplify their mission by means of trusted voices. By partnering with creators who align together with your values, you possibly can faucet into new audiences and construct credibility by means of genuine storytelling.
“We not too long ago started proactively pitching tales and collaboration alternatives with influencers, like Jacob Simon, who’re aligned with our mission to uplift inspirational tales of GivingTuesday and GivingTuesday Spark Leaders like Money the Conservation Child,” says Jorgensen.
“This ongoing tactic has led to a rise in our basic model consciousness whereas boosting visitors to data-backed assets that help native fundraising and group constructing efforts.”
Sprout Social’s 2024 Influencer Advertising and marketing Report discovered that just about half of all customers belief influencers simply as a lot as they did six months in the past, whereas near 30% belief them extra. For nonprofits, that belief interprets right into a helpful alternative to achieve hearts and minds by means of individuals already inspiring motion of their communities.
5. Pitch earned media alternatives
Your social technique doesn’t need to dwell solely on social platforms. Pitching your most compelling tales to native retailers, journalists or editorial boards might help your content material journey additional. You possibly can even attain audiences you could not have entry to by means of natural social alone.
“When you’ve got a financial institution of strong tales and people who find themselves snug being extra public with their views, including in an earned media component to your marketing campaign could possibly be notably useful,” says Jorgensen. “This can be a free, albeit not assured, approach to increase help of your group and affect.”
By main with a story-first strategy and a extra human, casual voice—somewhat than relying solely on conventional PR ways—you possibly can create outreach that feels much less like a press launch and extra like a significant second value sharing.
6. Make your content material go the additional mile
Don’t let nice content material dwell simply as soon as. By repurposing content material, you possibly can attain extra individuals, create extra engagement and save time on content material creation.
“For instance, when you’re engaged on a weblog to showcase the newest success story of your mission or service, brainstorm methods you possibly can flip that right into a carousel on Instagram, a TikTok and a collection of posts in a Tweet thread,” advises Jorgensen.
There are many methods to develop on a single piece of content material. Listed here are a couple of approaches to repurposing that’ll make your content material work more durable for you:
- Repurpose top-performing content material: Repost your greatest content material from the previous—this could possibly be success tales, group shoutouts or testimonials. Don’t be afraid to repost, even when it’s a couple of months previous.
- Diversify codecs: Flip weblog posts into partaking visuals, create quote graphics or rework key statistics into video snippets or TikToks.
- Section your content material: Break down long-form content material into bite-sized items for social posts, e mail blasts or newsletters.
- Repurpose low-performing content material: Typically, posts that didn’t carry out effectively initially can achieve traction with a unique angle, format or timing. Revisit these with recent eyes.
“It’s not a foul concept to repost your top-performing content material once in a while, and even these posts that flop,” provides Jorgensen. “The knowledge you’ve gotten is helpful, and also you hung out creating that put up, so benefit from it.”
By trying again at your content material’s efficiency metrics and studying from previous campaigns, you possibly can tailor your content material repurposing technique to resonate higher together with your viewers shifting ahead.
7. Tailor your message
Efficient content material isn’t nearly what you say—it’s additionally about the way you say it. That’s why Jorgensen recommends nonprofits take time to know the tone, preferences and expectations of their viewers on every platform.
“Regardless of the place you put up, it’s essential to make sure you’re talking the suitable language for every platform,” he says. “And I don’t imply English or Spanish, however take time to know how your viewers communicates. Are they severe or sarcastic? Do they like information or do they like tales?”
This platform-aware strategy to messaging ought to inform every little thing out of your put up copy and visuals to the social media traits you lean into and the best way you present up in your remark sections. For example, a witty tackle a meme may resonate together with your TikTok followers, whereas a data-driven infographic may be extra compelling to your Fb viewers.
8. Use the GivingTuesday Information Commons
Talking of information, your social efficiency metrics aren’t the one insights value tapping into. The GivingTuesday Information Commons is a robust useful resource for nonprofit leaders trying to higher perceive generosity, giving traits and the evolving nonprofit panorama.
This open-source hub brings collectively a variety of datasets—from unique GivingTuesday analysis to contributions from world companions—designed to help data-driven technique and innovation throughout the sector.
Pairing your inner information with this broader analysis offers you a sharper perspective on what’s motivating right now’s donors, volunteers and advocates, so you possibly can construct smarter campaigns that meet the second.
9. By no means cease testing and studying
Regardless of how well-planned your social technique is, not each put up will hit—and that’s okay.
“Don’t hand over. Hold experimenting!” says Jorgensen. “The fact is, the web is a busy place with so much happening and consistently altering algorithms and also you gained’t all the time get it proper.”
Success on social isn’t about perfection—it’s about persistence. Control what your viewers engages with, keep versatile and use every marketing campaign as a studying alternative. One of the best nonprofit social methods evolve, formed by curiosity, creativity and a willingness to strive one thing new.
3 nonprofit social media advertising and marketing campaigns to encourage your strategy
As Jorgensen places it, social content material for nonprofits ought to do greater than inform—it ought to encourage individuals to take beneficiant motion. And whereas that may sound like a lofty objective, it typically begins with one thing so simple as a inventive marketing campaign concept, a well timed put up or a compelling story.
The next three campaigns from GivingTuesday’s group showcase the ability of considerate social technique in motion. Whether or not you’re brainstorming your subsequent GivingTuesday social media marketing campaign plan or searching for year-round concepts, let these examples spark your creativeness.
1. Partridge Creek Farm
Throughout GivingTuesday 2024, Partridge Creek Farm hit each their base and stretch targets—elevating sufficient to buy the land one in every of their group gardens sits on, securing it as a long-term useful resource for meals entry.
Social media performed a key position in that success. The staff started content material creation early, filming in September when the backyard was at its most vibrant. They interviewed employees and backyard members to share what the area meant to them, then distributed these tales throughout e mail and social—layering in compelling stats from their annual backyard member survey.
Takeaway: Plan forward to seize video and visible content material throughout peak moments. These tales—particularly when informed within the voices of your group—can gas your social content material year-round, serving to you keep constant with out all the time ranging from scratch.
2. Seek for Widespread Floor
For GivingTuesday 2024, Kalindi Cordero, Social Media Strategist at Seek for Widespread Floor, pitched an concept impressed by a narrative she encountered throughout a 2022 program journey to Tapachula, Mexico. There, she met Adolfo, a Venezuelan man who fled violence carrying solely a increase field and microphone—symbols of the identification he refused to go away behind.
That story sparked a robust query and marketing campaign: What do we supply after we go away every little thing behind? The outcome was The Issues We Carry—a multi-platform storytelling effort that drove over 1 million impressions, almost 9,000 video views and greater than 59,000 visits to sfcg.org.
One contributing issue to that success was a user-generated content material immediate that inspired supporters to share their very own “Issues We Carry” tales—including extra emotional depth and serving to develop the marketing campaign’s attain.
Takeaway: Invite your viewers into the narrative. Campaigns that ask supporters to replicate and share private tales on social media have the ability to spark larger participation, attain and affect.
3. Tuesdays for Trash
What started through the pandemic as a grassroots effort to soundly reconnect and clear up native neighborhoods has grown into a world motion. Tuesdays for Trash teamed up with GivingTuesday—one other Tuesday-centered powerhouse for social good—to make a fair greater affect on the 12 months’s most charitable day.
By becoming a member of GivingTuesday, Tuesdays for Trash gained publicity to new audiences, strengthened its missions and rallied help for its objective: inspiring world generosity and clearing 100,000 kilos of trash by Earth Day 2025.
Takeaway: Strategic partnerships don’t dilute your mission—they amplify it. Collaborating with like-minded organizations can develop your attain, deepen engagement and assist you to obtain bigger, shared targets.
Make nonprofit social media advertising and marketing work to your mission
Social media might be one of the crucial highly effective instruments in a nonprofit’s toolkit—when used with intention.
From surfacing group tales and partnering with mission-aligned influencers to repurposing content material and inspiring viewers participation, the best methods are rooted in authenticity, creativity and experimentation.
When you’re gearing up for a significant social marketing campaign, a robust basis is vital. Obtain our free social media marketing campaign transient template to convey construction to your technique, streamline your planning course of and benefit from each put up.
