Crowdfunding
GOING SOCIAL
JustGiving Content Editor and digital fundraising expert Matt Ridout explains why social media is critical to your campaign’s success – and how to make the most of every platform
S
ocial media should be a cornerstone of your digital fundraising campaigns. You can have the most exciting project, with the most compelling message, but
without using social media, you will miss out on the many potential people who can help you reach more donors and raise more money. Nor should you launch your campaign and then
decide whether to use Facebook or Instagram... your social media strategy should be embedded into your plans in advance of your launch.
– in the good old days when you met someone of asking them to give you money! So build your network, and raise awareness of your school and its priorities, before asking a stranger to share your campaign or make a donation. Here’s what you need to consider when using social media: Who you are hoping to appeal to. Which platforms to use, based on your audience. How to structure your social media messages. When to schedule your messages. What to say to maximise your chance of connecting with each of your audience sectors.
Social is where your audience is Studies suggest that an average person’s social- media browsing can occupy more than 20 per cent of their total time online. With so much of your audiences’ time spent browsing their social accounts it clearly represents an opportunity for you to communicate your campaign messages. But how do you decide where to post, and how can you structure these in order to get the most from each message you create? Facebook is still king of the social media castle.
As of early 2017 there were 1.86bn active monthly Facebook users – a 17 per cent increase on the previous year. This means Facebook is too big to ignore, and should always be a key part of any social media plans. However, focusing solely on Facebook will limit your ability to reach everyone. Remember that a good proportion of your audience will not be on Facebook or will prefer to be contacted through another medium. WhatsApp is increasingly becoming a popular
social tool, as users can create fun groups to instantly communicate with friends or other contacts. Online giving platform JustGiving recognises this and has introduced WhatsApp integration into its fundraising pages. In terms of worldwide popularity, WhatsApp currently sits in second place behind Facebook. Instagram had about 600m active users as
of January 2017, making it another interesting option for communicating with potential supporters. Snapchat, meanwhile, saw 300m active users, with the platform particularly popular among millennials – and this popularity
FundEd SUMMER 2017 25
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