11 Steps to Turn Social Media into Fundraising Gold

Bet you thought social media sucks for fundraising. Au contraire.

It can help you raise money big time – but only if you engage with purpose. Just like anything else, social media won’t help you meet your goals unless you know where you’re going with it. Out of context, social media exchanges are just transactions.

Ask yourself this question: What am I going to do to make this exchange mean something, now and in the future? Get clarity on why you’re doing this.

Then make a plan – and work it. All of fundraising is about building relationships that lead to a value-for-value exchange between you and your constituents. Social media can facilitate this exchange.  But tweets don’t matter in a vacuum; only if they’re oriented towards building a relationship that can be sustained over time.  And such relationships are based on give and take.

So… this above all on social media:

Be useful. Be relevant. Be interesting. Be responsive. Don’t be all about you. Don’t be boring. Don’t be absent. Don’t be inconsistent. Don’t just nonchalantly splatter stuff out there!

Here’s what you must do to build and execute a social media plan that will lead folks down the path towards investment [ check out my full post on Maximize Social Business, or read the summary below]:

11 Steps to Turn Social Media into Fundraising Gold

1.         Write a content marketing and fundraising communications plan.

2.         Incorporate powerful storytelling into your plan.           

3.         Target the right constituencies – those who care about the values you enact in the community.           

4.         Be useful — If you want to get gifts, you’ve got to give them.

5.         Listen and be responsive, proactive and generous.

6.         Keep it personal and be yourself.

7.         Monitor what works; what doesn’t.           

8.         Split test your fundraising calls to action.           

9.         Make it easy for folks to take the next step.

10.       Make a blog the hub of your content strategy – and consistently produce and deliver.           

11.       Be patient.           

Growing a community is like growing a garden. It’s not just about the money. It’s about the love.  It takes time to fall in love.  Give your constituents time to get up to speed.  When they’re ready to invest, you’ll ask them. Always keep in mind that you’re building a path… from awareness, to interest, to involvement to… ultimately… investment! There’s absolutely no reason that social channels cannot become part of the pathway to greater donor investment.

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