According to an article in The Telegraph last year, most of us are highly social on The Internet. On average, most of us have around five accounts on social media, where we spend close to 2 hours a day clicking, liking, sharing and networking. NFPs that can create content that raises awareness about their cause and boosts engagement are poised to benefit from the public’s growing love affair with social media. The following guidelines will help your NFP reap the rewards!

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail – Create Social Profiles and Content with Definite Goals and Strategy in Mind.

While most folks are familiar with popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, there are literally hundreds of social media sites on the net. Narrow your focus when creating social media profiles for your NFP to ensure that you aren’t wasting time and effort. You don’t have to have a profile on every platform, but do seek to engage others where your donors, volunteers and staff are likely to have accounts.

It also pays to develop a comprehensive strategy before you begin making social media posts. Take some time to ensure that messages and other content that you post on your social media are consistent with your NFP’s brand and image, and that they are crafted to appeal to and connect with those in your target audience. Set performance goals for your content, and measure your results frequently, taking time to adjust content to improve performance.

Tailor the Length and Style of your Content to Match the Specific Social Media Platform.

As part of your strategy, you can increase the impact and reach of your social media posts by making your content easy to share across multiple social media platforms. Be aware that each platform has specific advantages and disadvantages based on the type of content that you are posting, and make adjustments accordingly.

For example, you might wish to use your Twitter posts to release breaking news about upcoming events, awards, or needs since posts are limited to 140 characters. Instagram is normally better suited for sharing images and video with short captions. Facebook is really the best place to create and share events, as well as share longer posts and start conversations.

Regardless of which platform that you use, make certain that the links in your posts make it easy for users to arrive at your NFP’s website where they can learn more, or make direct donations.

Use Automation to Plan Your Posts, and to Upload Content Automatically.

Your NFPs supporters are more likely to visit your social media profiles and interact with them regularly when they have some idea of when you will post updates to your account. Life is busy for everyone, and we are all pressed for time, so you can ensure that your social media accounts stay updated regularly by using apps such as Buffer and Hootsuite to plan and schedule your posts days, weeks, and even months in advance!

Don’t Forget “the Basics” When Creating Social Media Posts.

There are literally millions of social media posts made each day. Stand out from the crowd, and create an audience, by creating and posting content that has one of more of the following traits.

• Interesting
• Solves a problem for your audience or is otherwise useful
• Strikes an emotional cord
• Funny, witty, insightful or otherwise entertaining

Also be mindful of the length of your posts, and use good SEO practices in order to attract the attention of readers and visitors to your site as well as gain the approval of Google search and other ranking algorithms.

By using these tips, you can easily boost your NFP’s social engagement, and hopefully increase your donations and volunteers, with less effort and expense.