How Nonprofits Can Increase Their Engagement and Reach on Social Media

Every nonprofit knows the struggle: how do we get more eyes on our mission? 

How do we turn those eyes into hearts, shares, and, ultimately, supporters? Social media is a powerful tool, but it can feel like shouting into the void if not used correctly. Let’s dive into some practical strategies to boost your engagement and reach on social media.

Why Should Nonprofits Care About Social Media Engagement?

Let’s face it, social media isn’t just for cat videos and food pics anymore. It’s a powerful tool that can:

• Amplify your mission
• Connect you with donors and volunteers
• Showcase your impact
• Build a community around your cause

According to Network for Good, 55% of nonprofit social media followers will engage with your organization in some way.

For those of us making the case internally for more resources towards this marketing effort, this should be a breath of fresh air.

Consistency is Key: How Often Should You Post?

Remember that one time you posted every day for a week, then ghosted your followers for a month? Yeah, let’s not do that again.

Consistency is crucial. For those of you concerned about spamming your followers with lots of content, don’t be concerned. Consider the fact that your average post may only reach 10% of your followers (or less). And, it will rarely reach the same ones unless they are really engaged.

Community Connect manages several Habitat for Humanity affiliate social accounts. In our experience when you consistently post 1-3 times a day for 2-3 months, your page will start to get way more traction. 

Here’s what works:

• Find your sweet spot for content volume: Maybe it’s 3-5 posts a week, maybe it’s daily. Test and see what your audience responds to. Your goal should be to post as much quality content as possible.
• Use a content calendar: Plan ahead to avoid last-minute scrambles.
• Mix it up: Alternate between different types of content to keep things fresh.

Quality Over Quantity: What Makes Great Content?

Listen, we get it. When you’re juggling a million tasks, it’s tempting to just throw any old thing up on social media. But trust me, your followers can tell the difference. And, so can the social platform. Low quality content isn’t going to reach many people.

Focus on creating content that:

• Tell stories
• Showcases your impact
• Educates or entertains your audience
• Uses eye-catching visuals

A Winning Formula for Posts

As part of our content strategy work with full service members, Community Connect has been testing a social media post formula that boosts engagement and reach.

individual’s story + Habitat program highlight + elevate (and tag!) program partner

Community Connect recently created this post for Dutchess County’s Facebook and Instagram pages. The post went viral.

It currently has 491 reactions, 11 comments and 16 shares. It reached over 37,000 people for a Facebook page that has ~4,300 likes.

All organically. No advertising $$ involved.

Can you spot our magic formula above in the caption?

Make a Plan: Create a Content Calendar

Trying to post everyday can feel overwhelming. Having a plan that has clear and consistent messaging can help.

During your annual communications planning, consider taking the time to develop a set of themes for each month during the year.  When you have a communications calendar in place, it makes it a lot easier to think about the specific posts you’ll be scheduling each month.

Use Topic “Pillars” to Generate Content Ideas

Content pillars are “buckets” or topics that you can generate content around regularly. Sticking to these pillars will make it easier for you to come up with content to fill your calendar.

Here are some examples:

• mission education
• volunteer program
• new construction program
• home repair program
• community stories
• advocacy
• ReStore
• Veterans build
• Event promotion

How Can You Humanize Your Nonprofit’s Social Media Presence?

Nobody wants to follow a faceless organization. People connect with people. So, how do you put a human face on your nonprofit?

Often as Habitat communications team members, we get stuck with telling the Habitat families’ stories. Obviously, these are powerful stories, but Habitat is about bringing a community of people together to make change. 

Consider telling the stories of others in your community, including:

• Volunteers
• ReStore shoppers
• ReStore donors
• Staff members
• Construction site volunteers
• Construction employees
• Office employees
• Event participants

In the monthly content that we generate for Community Connect members, we feature at least two to three profiles each month.  We’ve noticed that this content gets the most traction. 

Bring Your Community Behind the Scenes

Another strategy to humanize your content is to use Facebook and Instagram live to bring your supporters behind the scenes of your work.

Interview staff members, volunteers, partners and home buyers. Keep it informal. It will feel more authentic.

Today’s cellphones can do a great job capturing high-quality videos. So, no need to go out and buy an entire studio worth of gear. Learn more about perfecting your cellphone photography with our guide.

What’s the Secret to Building a Community on Social Media?

Building a community isn’t just about growing your follower count. It’s about fostering genuine connections. 

Remember, it’s not just about broadcasting your message – it’s about starting conversations.

What’s good for your community is also good for your social media reach. Social platforms want to see you building relationships, commenting and engaging with your followers as they engage with you.

Here’s how:

• Encourage user-generated content
• Create hashtags specific to your organization or campaigns
• Host live Q&A sessions or virtual events
• Collaborate with other nonprofits or influencers in your space

It’s important to make it for others to promote your work or your partnership on social media. 

For instance, in our Corporate Partnership marketing toolkit, we have copy-and-paste content that you can send to corporate partners to talk about their work on your construction site. Don’t make them come up with things on their own – make it easy!

How Important Are Analytics in Social Media Strategy?

Super important! 

It can be tempting not to look, because we don’t want to see failure. Or we don’t have time.

But… if we’re not learning from what we’re testing, then we’re not going to connect with more people. So, do your best to make measurement a part of the process.

Analytics are your secret weapon for understanding what’s working and what’s not. Here’s what to keep an eye on:

• Engagement rates
• Reach and impressions
• Follower growth
• Click-through rates on links

Use this data to refine your strategy. If those volunteer spotlight posts are getting tons of engagement, do more of them!

Can Influencer Partnerships Boost a Nonprofit’s Social Media Presence?

Absolutely! 

One major advantage that Habitat has in the process of engaging influencers is our brand power. There are a lot of people that will elevate their brand, by being associated with Habitat’s. 

So, approach cautiously and with purpose.

Look for influencers who:

• Align with your mission
• Have an engaged audience
• Are willing to form genuine partnerships

As one of the most recognized brands, Habitat affiliates have huge advantages when engaging influencers. 

But here’s the catch – you don’t need mega-influencers with millions of followers. Micro-influencers (those with smaller, but highly engaged followings) can be just as effective.

Remember to make sure the partnership is authentic. The authenticity resonates with followers and can lead to a significant boost in engagement and donations.

How Can Nonprofits Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)?

User-generated content is like gold for nonprofits. It’s authentic, engaging, and shows real impact. 

One of the biggest advantages that Habitat has with UGC is our construction site, and our ReStore. Our community members are literally hands-on with our mission constantly.

Leverage these opportunities for shoppers and volunteers to share with their personal community.

Here’s how to encourage user-generated content:

• Create a specific hashtag for supporters to use
• Use email before and after volunteer shifts to encourage volunteers to share their experiences
• Run photo or video contests
• Feature supporter stories regularly
• Always ask permission before sharing and give credit

In my time working at a Habitat for Humanity affiliate, we did a lot during blitz build events to encourage participants to post about their experiences. We would go around with a cell phone and ask if we could take photos of someone, then share the image with them so they could post it on their own accounts.

What Role Does Storytelling Play in Social Media Engagement?

Storytelling is the heart and soul of nonprofit social media. It’s what turns followers into supporters and supporters into advocates. 

Social video storytelling is even more powerful.

We’ve performed audits on a lot of Habitat for Humanity affiliate social media accounts. And, we’ve seen that storytelling content is by far the most engaging.

Here’s how to nail it:

• Focus on individual stories rather than just statistics
• Use a mix of formats: text, images, videos
• Show the journey, not just the outcome
• Always tie stories back to your mission

Remember, people might forget facts and figures, but they remember how you made them feel.

How Can Nonprofits Measure Social Media ROI?

Ah, the million-dollar question! Measuring social media ROI can be tricky, but it’s not impossible. 

Recently, we heard from an affiliate that they posted a message on Facebook about their ReStore truck breaking down. They asked their community to help.

That afternoon someone walked into the ReStore with a check for $1,000. 

This isn’t going to show up on any metrics in your analytics. But it confirms that social media works even if we can’t always connect the dots.

That doesn’t mean we should try. Here are some metrics to consider tracking:

• Earned Media Value: This is a formula that assigns a value (or cost) to the engagement you get with your audience. For instance, if you ran an ad how much would it cost you to get 1,000 people to follow your page? This is just one component.
• Conversion Value: Consider the value generated by one volunteer on your construction site for the day. Then measure how many volunteer sign-ups come from your social media.
• Donations: How many donation dollars originate on social media?

There is no one way to measure the value of social media. What’s important is that your team decides how they would like to measure it, then hold themselves accountable.

Community Connect uses Earned Media Value when managing Habitat affiliate social accounts because it captures list growth, engagement and audience retention in one trackable number.

Don’t Recreate the Wheel

Even with the right strategy, it can be hard to carve out the time to do the work. That’s where Community Connect can help.

We provide monthly content for our members that includes copy/paste social media content and email graphics so you don’t have to recreate the wheel. Take a quick tour:

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often should nonprofits post on social media?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but aim for consistency. Start with 3-5 posts per week but aim to post at least once a day eventually.

Q: What’s the best time to post on social media? 

It varies by platform and audience. Use your analytics to see when your followers are most active and experiment with different posting times. Many social scheduling platforms like Buffer will actually learn the best time and make recommendations to you.

Q: Should nonprofits be on every social media platform? 

No. Focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active. It’s better to do a great job on 2-3 platforms than a mediocre job on all of them.

Q: How can small nonprofits compete with larger organizations on social media? 

Focus on authenticity and community engagement. Smaller nonprofits often have an advantage in creating personal connections with their audience.

Q: Is it worth investing in paid social media advertising for nonprofits? 

It can be, especially for specific campaigns or fundraising drives. Start small, test different approaches, and scale up based on results.