The Missing Piece of Your Social Media Strategy

There is one piece of your social media strategy that completely impacts your ROI. It’s the difference between huge fundraising days online and flops.

On the heels of Giving Tuesday Now, it was really easy to distinguish the brands that were implementing this tactic, and the ones that weren’t.

Most people think this is the nuts and bolts of how to run your organization’s social media accounts:

  1. Establish a frequency and monthly theme

  2. Create a content calendar

  3. Upload photos, design assets, create fun captions

  4. Schedule and post

  5. All done!

Here’s the truth:

You can do all of that — and you SHOULD — but it won’t result in the massive action you want to see:

  • Increased engagement (likes, comments, etc.)

  • More followers

  • Uptick in new donors

  • Mega-watt brand awareness

  • Sold-out fundraisers

  • Increased volunteerism

  • Retention rates strengthen

What’s missing in this plan? Spoiler alert - if you’ve followed Splendid for a minute, you’ve heard us say in a few different ways:

Brand Ambassadors. Brand Evangelists. Champions.

These evangelists are your secret weapon. The thing that sets your org apart from any other. The thing that takes a “meh” Giving Tuesday and turns it into THE BEST ONE YET.

It doesn’t take hundreds to make an impact.

Let’s start with 5 or 10 Brand Champions who are “all in” on your organization. They are socially plugged in. They like posting on social media. Telling their story. Sharing with their community.

Cultivating relationships and creating a Champion program is one of the most impactful things you could do for your social media strategy and your ROI. Period.

Identify those evangelists and design a simple program or ask for them. Stay in communication. Show your gratitude. And, most importantly, make it EASY for them to elevate your brand. Make content they can share widely accessible.

BEFORE you announce your next fundraiser (or event, etc.), loop them in. Let them help break the news for you. Let them share the announcement on their own social channels.

If you’re coming up with a few ideas of who you could ask to join your nonprofit’s ambassador program or feeling like you’re falling a little short, consider millennials. Millennials are PERFECT for a social media champion program and often underutilized by nonprofits.

Why? Because there’s a gap in your content, your messaging, and how it’s resonating with millennials. In my free, on-demand workshop, the 3 Keys to a Buzzworthy & Profitable Online Fundraiser, I take a deeper dive into this concept and how to apply it to your nonprofit. Watch it instantly, here.