3 Charities To Have On Your Radar For Social Media Inspiration
Keeping your social media feeds fresh can be challenging when you work for a small charity where time and resources are often stretched. However, by following a few other organisations that are nailing social media, you can have a source of ideas and inspiration to apply to your charity. Here are three organisations that are doing social media really well, and worth checking out if you’re struggling to engage with and grow your networks online.
The list below consists of a small, medium and large charity from different cause areas, which have all managed to create entertaining, educational and engaging social media presences using methods which can be replicated with little to no budget, by any organisation.
Young Women’s Trust supports and represents women aged 16–30 struggling to live on low or no pay in England and Wales and who are at risk of being trapped in poverty. The organisation is active on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and is doing great things across all platforms, however their Instagram in particular stands out from the crowd.
Through their bright, catchy, branding and informative yet accessible tone-of-voice, it’s clear that the Young Women’s Trust understand their target audience and know how to talk to them through social. On Instagram, they use a number of different ways to engage with their audience through user-generated content. User-generated content allows you to use images, videos, quotes, etc from beneficiaries, volunteers, staff, and any other brand ambassadors, to showcase the work of your charity, and is a great way to create eye-catching content for free. The Young Women’s Trust use Instagram takeovers and quotes to do just this, and are worth taking a look at for inspiration on how to do this well.
The Old Vic is an independent not-for-profit theatre based in London, and a world leader in creativity and entertainment.
As an organisation based on creativity, they understand the power of visuals. On Twitter, The Old Vic includes eye-catching media in the form of images, videos or GIFs with every single post. On Twitter, people who view videos are 50% more likelyto be aware of a brand or organisation, and videos on Twitter are twice as memorable than videos viewed on other premium platforms.
The Old Vic also demonstrates a strong understanding of the fact that 93% of Twitter video views take place on mobile devices, by keeping their videos short and snappy (the optimum length of a Twitter video is 45 seconds).
To create video you don’t need any expensive equipment either — capturing video on your phone is a great way to show authenticity and build sentiment towards your organisation.
The National Trust is a conservation charity protecting everything from historic houses, coastline, and gardens through to World Heritage Sites. They use a number of different social media channels to reach and engage with their audience, but in particular their use of Facebook is worth checking out.
At the start of the year, Facebook announced they were changing the way we approach social media marketing on the platform. The new algorithm prioritises quality over quantity, to encourage sharing content your audience will find interesting. ‘Edutainment’ (educational + entertaining) content is the optimum way to ensure you’re doing this, by making sure that every post is either educational, entertaining, or ideally, both.
The National Trust has really taken onboard the Facebook algorithm and posts a great mix of highly appealing ‘edutainment’ content, including ‘how to’ videos, seasonal advice, and amusing photos. By striking the balance of educating and entertaining they have built a strong and highly active Facebook audience whilst sharing the great work of their organisation.
So, with a little forward planning and inspiration you can take a look at what other organisation’s are doing well, and apply their methods to your own organisation’s social media presence. Don’t be afraid to try new things and get creative — social media should be fun, and charities have such compelling stories to share.
Originally published on Localgiving.
