As you might already know, Giving Tuesday was born in 2012 as a response to Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events. The Giving Tuesday hashtag quickly spread on Social Media and became the big philanthropic movement that we already know today. Because Giving Tuesday is so intertwined with social media having a Giving Tuesday social media plan can help you raise more money.
One of the tips I mention in my video “How to plan a successful Giving Tuesday campaign”, is to create a content plan. These are the tips to help you build your Giving Tuesday social media plan.
- Create a social media content calendar
- Make people excited about your campaign
- Create a hashtag campaign
- Graphic assets are relevant to your Giving Tuesday social media plan
- Time goes fast! Plan ahead of time
1. Create a social media content calendar
My recommendation is to plan your social media calendar one month prior to Giving Tuesday day. In my experience, 4 weeks in advance gives you plenty of time to do relationship building and promotional content.
Establish the following:
WHAT you post
- Facebook Lives
- Donor stories on last year’s Giving Tuesday
- Fun, related posts
- Assets: Video, Social Media Lives, photo, poster, carousel, etc.
WHERE you post
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Website
Once you’ve nailed down the what and where, build out your timeline and put your posts on an editorial or social media calendar.
Are you ready to create content that amplifies your message and raises awareness? Download this free Monthly Content Kit Planner to strategically align your content and your fundraising..
2. Make people excited about your campaign
You want to get people to care about your project and to be excited enough to support your Giving Tuesday campaign. So… how can you do this?
Tell people about who they’ll be helping. Make people aware of the issue and how this fundraising cause can support reaching a solution. Donors might feel committed to donating if they engage more with the actual project than just donating because it’s Giving Tuesday.
3. Create a hashtag campaign
It’s a social media campaign after all. And if we have learned something about the #GivingTuesday hashtag is that campaigns can go viral with the right strategy.
A hashtag can go a long way! Try to implement your own personal hashtag that has either the name of your project or your organization. To that, you might also include either the words “Giving Tuesday” or simply “GT”. A hashtag that puts together your fundraising cause and this special day.
Why do it? Because it helps your campaign to be easier to find, and it also helps your posts to reach your target audience.
Adding 2 or 3 relevant hashtags to your posts helps to give you more visibility.
4. Graphic assets are relevant to your Giving Tuesday social media plan
Social Media is about sharing images, videos, or any graphic asset that is relevant to viewers. Make sure to include graphic assets within your Giving Tuesday social media plan.
Some ideas:
- Photos from the community you’re helping
- Infographics of the project your organization is trying to fundraise for
- Videos from your organization’s team
- Memes or GIFs relevant to your cause
- Posters or banners
Make sure to always show either your organization’s branding or the Giving Tuesday branding. Something that allows users to associate with your Giving Tuesday campaign.
5. Time goes fast! Plan ahead of time
You might already know, but I’m a great supporter of planning ahead of time and establishing calendars.
It’s never too early to start preparing the social media content, the assets you will need, the lives you’ll make, the interviews you will do, etc.
There are so many things to consider within a Giving Tuesday social media plan. So once you have already prepared all of your content, then you can always program your posts in your preferred social media scheduler.
My favorite social media scheduling tools:
- Hootsuite
- Later
- Meta Business Suite
Have a successful Giving Tuesday social media plan
Really think strategically what content to share out there so that it increases your audience engagement. This will ultimately lead to more donors to your organization’s cause.
Take advantage of this special day and raise awareness of your organization and their reason to be.
You know I have a passion for storytelling and I believe that everything needs to tell a story to create a connection. You can use storytelling within your social media posts, emails, Giving Tuesday appeals, and any other communication effort.
For examples, you can check out these organizations that rock at storytelling in social media.
I am sure that these tips will help you create the most successful Giving Tuesday social media campaign. Can’t wait to see you online! Check out my YouTube playlist below, and learn more about Giving Tuesday.
