Is your non-profit looking to do social media better?
During The Storytelling Non-Profit Virtual Conference in January, the wonderful Clare McDowall presented a great session on social media that was chock full of tips. One of the big takeaways from Clare’s session was that social media audiences love visuals. This is not that surprising because people are increasingly becoming visual consumers and the nature of many social media channels is tailor-made for visuals.
Pinterest -> pictures
Instagram -> pictures and videos
Vine -> very short videos
Twitter -> abbreviated text
Youtube -> videos
See the emerging trends? They offer an incredible opportunity for non-profits to share stories from the trenches in new and interesting ways.
Stories Were Made for Social Media
Most people are on social media to connect, be entertained or to get information. It’s not a particularly serious endeavor, nor are people open to organizations that have a corporate persona on social media. Instead, this is the time to be social and human!
What better way to break the ice with your social media communities and to act like the warm, friendly organization that you are than by sharing your stories?
Stories are easily digestible content and can easily be shared to spread like wild fire.
If you’re feeling a little stuck for ideas, check out these eight suggestions to get you started!
8 Ideas for Story Content for Your Social Media Channels
- Programs in action – Connect your online community to your programs and services by showing them a picture or video of them in action.
- Behind the scene pictures – Everyone wants to know what’s behind the curtain. You might not think it’s the most glamorous reality, but letting your community see what’s happening helps to establish a certain degree of authenticity and humanizes the organization.
- Memes – As Clare told us in her conference session, the internet loves memes. Think about ways that you could create a funny meme about your cause or something that’s currently happening at your organization. Sometimes it’s good to be a little less serious : )
- Volunteers – We all love volunteers, right? Show them a little love on social media by sharing your appreciate for their efforts.
- Staff Profiles – Your organization is made up of real people and (believe it or not), your community wants to know who those people are. Highlight the passionate people who make your organization’s work happen day in and day out.
- Staff celebrating a donation – I can’t remember which organization it was that was doing this on Twitter in December, but they would post a picture of staff celebrating a donation coming in and (when possible) would give a shout out to the donor. How fun!
- Real-time updates from events – If you’re an advocacy organization, going to community events, rallies, etc may be a regular part of what you do. Share stories from the trenches with your audience.
- Show long-term progress on a project – Working on a new building? Planning a big event? Sharing weekly updates on Instagram or on a Pinterest board.
There really are so many creative ways to showcase your organization’s stories on social media and this little list is just the tip of the iceberg.
Do you have a favourite use for stories on social media? Leave a comment below to share your example and why you thought it was so effective.
