Social media is a happening place: every day around the world, more than three billion users interact with a social media platform; every four minutes, someone likes a Facebook post; and the average person will spend more than two hours daily engaging with social media sites.
Facebook continues to be the most widely used platform around the globe, with more than 37 million users, but other popular platforms aren’t far behind: Instagram has more than 33 million users, TikTok has more than 22 million users, and X (Twitter) has more than 25 million users.
Social media can also be a happening place for your charity! In general, digital fundraising has grown significantly in the wake of the pandemic. Today, social media is the second most common way that supporters are asked to make a donation (behind television). Social media is an easy, effective, and affordable strategy to increase your charity’s reach, engage your supporters, and drive donations.
In this post, we share a few social media strategies to help you tap into the power of social media for your upcoming fundraising campaigns.
Five Steps to Seize the Social Media Opportunity
Step 1: Establish your budget.
A benefit of social media fundraising is that it can be done incredibly affordably. Often, you can create and run a successful campaign with no direct costs; meaning you only incur the costs of the time and resources that your team puts into the fundraiser.
However, you may wish to amplify your campaign with paid advertising or targeting on the social media site of your choice. Before you launch a fundraiser, set your budget and define your expectations. If you intend to boost your campaign with paid advertisements, consider first running a free or limited-cost pilot to get the hang of things. This way, you can make improvements and refinements ahead of launching your full-scale social media fundraiser with a larger advertising budget.
Step 2: Come up with ideas.
This is the fun step! It’s time to get creative. Gather your team—including staffers, volunteers, and decision-makers—to brainstorm ideas for your fundraiser. A good place to start is to ask your team to spend time on social media and find a few creative examples that catch their eye. Often, social media fundraisers involve some sort of time-bound challenge or activity, like walking, running, or cycling a specific distance or completing a certain number of burpees, mountain climbers, or other physical activities over a given day, week, or month.
Step 3: Design the fundraiser concept.
Once your charity is aligned on the idea, it’s time to make it a reality. How will you carry it out? What will it look like? It’s also important to think about which social media platform(s) make the most sense.
Consider the target audience for your fundraiser and some of the known demographics of the various platforms. For example, millennials tend to dominate X and Snapchat, while slightly older users tend to use Facebook and LinkedIn. Early on, think about how you’ll brand your fundraiser. Will you develop special logos, graphics, videos, or images? Will you leverage your charity’s established brand guidelines or create something entirely new?
Step 4: Create your fundraiser.
Creating a social media fundraiser is easy, even if you’re new to a given platform. Each site offers helpful instructions and tips for how to use their platform to create a successful fundraising activity.
For example, if you’re planning a Facebook challenge from an individual account, just navigate to your News Feed menu and click on “Fundraisers”, then “Raise Money”, and then select “Nonprofit” or “Charity” and find your charity. Choose a compelling photo or image from your branding brainstorm. Aim for something attention-grabbing like photos of people partaking in the challenge activity. Add further details, like your charity’s mission and where donations will go. Then, set a goal amount and hit “create”. You can access more details about Facebook Fundraising here. And here are links to more fundraising details on Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
Step 5: Promote your fundraiser.
The last step is an important one: how will people learn of your social media fundraiser? Here’s where you can revisit your budget plan. Each platform has different rates and reach in terms of paid advertisements and targeting. For example, you might pay $0 to $4 per action on Instagram; $0 to $5 for Facebook, and $0.26 to $2.00 on X.
Take a multi-channel approach and promote your fundraiser through your other established communications like newsletters or your charity website. And don’t forget about the power of word of mouth! Encourage your internal team, volunteers, and top supporters to help spread the word with their friends and family.
Optimise your Social Media Fundraiser
We hope these steps help you plan and run a successful social media fundraiser this year. Here’s one more tip: look for ways to optimise your fundraiser, now and in the future. For example, you can design and incorporate branded merchandise into your next fundraising activity. You might offer these special products as a thank you gift for all participants, as part of a raffle contest, or award high-value merchandise to top finishers and donors. Branded merchandise will also help build awareness of your charity, especially if your supporters continue to use highly visible products—like reusable shoppers or drinkware—long after your fundraiser ends.
Ready to launch your next social media fundraiser and maximise your donations? Get advice from someone who’s done it. Download our free guide to running a successful social media fundraising campaign. We also share how one charity used a Facebook Challenge to raise more than £3.4M! Read the guide and reach out to let us know more about your next social media fundraiser; we’d love to hear more!