Five Social Media Tips for Improving Year-End Fundraising

It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year, and also the most stressful. The final three months of the year are a key time for many nonprofits as the donations they receive make up the bulk of their annual fundraising. According to NonprofitSource, 30% of annual giving occurs in December alone. In short, the next few months will heavily impact how an organization wraps up 2024 and starts 2025.

In 2022, 63% of donors preferred donating online with 32% reporting social media as their inspiration behind giving. The world is very digital, and like the generation before them, Gen Z loves their online giving. So, how can we get the most from our year-end fundraising with social media?

Here are a few tips:

1. Temporarily Change Your Profile Image/Logo Changing your profile image to one that is holiday-themed is a great way to hint to donors that your annual year-end campaign is coming up. This change can be as simple as framing your nonprofit’s logo with a string of holiday lights, snowmen, Christmas trees, or other similar imagery. Think about how LinkedIn uses profile image changes when someone is #opentowork. Another option is adding something like snow or holiday lights to the background of your logo. Whatever you do, the point is to set the theme and start setting it now.
   

2. Video Is Still the Ruler of Social Media Incorporating video into your nonprofit’s social media marketing is key. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter may have started as text-based applications–unlike Instagram or TikTok–but the data doesn’t lie. Using video in social media posts is a must if you want to expand your reach and engagement. The difference in analytics between posts with or without videos will differ by platform. For example, images and videos can boost a nonprofit’s engagement on Twitter. That being said, Twitter is still a text-heavy platform and doesn’t rely on video the way Instagram or TikTok does. Essentially, the difference in analytics when using video will be greater on certain platforms.
   

3. Fundraise On Platform You don’t need to send donors to your website constantly. Yes, nonprofits want increased website traffic because this means more eyes on the logo, vision, and mission, and ideally more donations. However, several mainstream social media platforms have a fundraising option for users. Facebook and Instagram are popular options for off-site fundraising, and neither takes a portion of the donations as a service fee unless the fundraiser is for personal reasons. Social media fundraising limits the number of clicks required to make a donation. Users can also have payment information saved on their accounts, eliminating another step. On-site donations are still useful, of course, but sometimes you need to meet people where they already are.
   

4. Use Trending Audio If you’re struggling to find trending audio for your videos, we’d recommend scrolling through Instagram and TikTok for about 20 minutes. The audio you hear used repeatedly are the ones you should save for later. Some audio will require lip-syncing, while other audio can be used to describe a comedic or relatable situation. The point is when you use trending audio, you’re hopping on a wave that everyone else wants onto meaning your chances of increased engagement are higher, especially if you catch the wave early.
   

5. Use Merch In Tandem With Social Media Each year, more and more donors donate exclusively online but that doesn’t mean direct mail appeals are useless. If your nonprofit still uses these appeals, a way to get these donors to engage with you online is to include exclusive content access within the direct mail. For example, within the mailing you could include a website link or QR code, and a “secret” passcode that leads to a special video thank you from your staff. Donors are likely to engage with the post or follow you (if they’re not already), actions that positively impact your online analytics. Because this is supposed to be exclusive, you could limit the access to donors who give above a certain amount.

Whether you add or take from this list, we hope our tips on year-end fundraising are helpful. Schedule a free consultation with Spark & Thrive to learn how we can support your goals. We look forward to seeing you thrive!

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