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Promoting Nonprofit Events on Instagram

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A guest post by Jeff Porter of Handbid

Planning a successful event for your nonprofit can be a challenging and resource-intensive task. In addition to all the work you’re putting into planning the event, you’ve also got to make sure that people attend! While promoting your event to ensure you meet attendance goals can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re facing tight budgets, you don’t need to worry. Social media sites like Instagram can help you effectively promote your event on the cheap.

With the right strategy and implementation, Instagram can be a powerful and cost-effective tool for nonprofits to promote their events, reach new supporters, and drive attendance. Let’s explore some best practices that you can use to promote your event on Instagram.

1. Post Interactive Content

When it comes to promoting events on Instagram, engagement is key. By creating content that invites followers to engage, share, and participate in the conversation, you can expand your reach organically and inspire excitement among your supporters.

Instagram has several intuitive features you can use to easily add interactive elements to your content and enhance your event marketing strategy. Here are a few places to start:

  • Polls and Quizzes: These simple, fun tools encourage followers to interact with the content you post on your Story. You can use polls to ask your audience what they’re most excited about at the event or what silent auction items they’re planning to bid on. Quizzes can also be a playful way to get people thinking about your cause or event.
  • Q&A Buttons: The Q&A sticker on Instagram Stories allows followers to ask you questions, which you can answer in real time. For an extra personal touch, a staff member could do a “takeover” of your account, posting short videos to answer each question submitted.
  • “Add Yours” Button: This sticker invites followers to post their own content related to your event, which you can then share on your nonprofit’s page. For example, you could prompt followers to share photos of themselves preparing for the event or a message about why they’re excited to participate. It’s a great way to inspire user-generated content and create a sense of community among your supporters.
  • Instagram Live: Going live on Instagram is an excellent way to give a real-time, interactive experience to your followers. Host a live preview of your event, conduct interviews with sponsors or speakers, or even give a tour of the venue. Not only does this foster engagement, but it also offers a behind-the-scenes look that makes your followers feel more involved in the event before it even starts.

As you experiment with these features, check out other nonprofits’ profiles to see what’s working for them. Each feature offers unique ways to engage your audience, so don’t be afraid to try different combinations to see what resonates most with your followers.

2. Create a Hashtag for Your Event

Hashtags are a fundamental tool for nonprofit marketing on Instagram. When you create a unique hashtag for your event, it not only helps followers easily find and follow event updates, but it also makes it easier for you to track and engage with conversations surrounding your event.

Once you create a fun hashtag for your event (like #HoustonPawsGala), remember to use it in all communications so it sticks in supporters’ minds. This includes:

  • Event invitations
  • Event reminders
  • Posts leading up to the event
  • Posts during the event

This way, it will become a recognizable symbol of your event, making it easier for new followers to discover and get involved.

You can also encourage attendees to use the hashtag before and during the event. This will help create a sense of excitement and community while increasing visibility.

For instance, say your organization is using an online auction platform to host an exciting hybrid event all your supporters can attend. You could create a hashtag like #AuctionForACause2024. Use this hashtag in all of your Instagram posts and Stories promoting the event, and your guests can also use it when sharing their experiences online.

3. Collaborate with Event Sponsors

When you’re working with a tight event budget, leveraging partnerships and sponsorships can be a game-changer. Instagram offers a powerful platform for cross-promotion, where both your nonprofit and your sponsors can benefit from increased exposure. Collaborating allows you to tap into their audience and broaden your event’s reach without spending a dime on advertising.

Once you’ve secured a sponsorship, here’s what cross-promotion might look like:

  • Corporate Sponsors Sharing Event Flyers: Ask your sponsors to share your event flyer or promotional posts on their Instagram Stories or feeds to get the word out and generate excitement among their followers.
  • Behind-the-Scenes Content from Sponsors: If your event has a venue sponsor, ask them to create a behind-the-scenes video or tour of the venue. Not only will this give your audience a sneak peek, but it will also showcase your sponsor’s involvement in the event.
  • Teasers for Auction Items: If a sponsor has donated items for your auction, ask them to post teasers about their contributions. For example, a local business might share photos or videos of their donated item, enticing their followers to attend the event and bid.
  • Influencer Collaborations: If you have sponsors who are influencers or well-known figures in your community, ask them to promote the event on their Instagram pages. Even a simple shout-out can go a long way in raising awareness and encouraging attendance.

By building these partnerships, you not only reduce your marketing costs but also create a mutually beneficial promotional strategy that helps both parties reach new audiences. Be sure to discuss these opportunities with your sponsors early in your event planning process to ensure seamless collaboration.

Jeff Porter Jeff Porter, CEO

Jeff is no stranger to fundraising events, having participated in them for over 25 years. He ran his first fundraiser in 2005 and has managed over 50 auction events and fundraisers for his own charities, not to mention hundreds more with Handbid.

Jeff has been involved in technical product and software development since 1996 and has built and managed mobile app solutions since 2008. When it became clear that he and his wife, Kari Porter, needed a better solution for their fundraisers, developing a mobile bidding app was a no-brainer. The result? Jeff and his wife Kari developed and launched Handbid in 2011. The rest is what they call “history.”

Fundraising Tuesday | Nonprofit Marketing: How to Build and Maintain Donor Trust

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A guest post by Mike Snusz of Tatango

The success of your nonprofit hinges on the relationships you build within your community. To inspire donors, volunteers, and corporate partners to join in your collective impact, you must first establish a foundation of trust.

Your donors want to make a difference. Before they decide to give to your organization, they need to be sure that you’ll deliver on your promised impact. In fact, according to Independent Sector, 83% of U.S. donors state that nonprofits must earn their trust before they support them, and 80% need to see proof of impact to continue their support.

In this guide, we’ll discuss four essential marketing strategies to build trust and strengthen your donor relationships.

1. Use text messaging for one-on-one communication.

Modern technology has fundamentally changed how people interact with one another. Think about the most recent interactions you’ve had with your friends and family. Chances are, many of them occurred over text messages or phone calls.

Smartphones provide a convenient and personal way to stay in touch with your audience. After all, 46% of Americans spend five to six hours a day on their phones. By incorporating text messaging into your nonprofit’s marketing strategy, you can open the door to more authentic, one-on-one conversations with donors.

According to Tatango’s nonprofit text messaging guide, this communication channel is particularly powerful due to benefits such as:

  • High open rate. Subscribers open 99% of the text messages they receive from organizations they support, which is four times higher than the open rate for email marketing messages.
  • High read rate. 90% of text subscribers open messages within just three minutes of receiving them.
  • Personalization. Your nonprofit can segment its text subscribers and only send them messages that are personally relevant to their interests and preferences. In doing so, you can illustrate how much you value them as individual contributors to your mission.
  • Maximized reach. With the right tools, you can mass-send tailored text messages to your entire audience, saving your staff time without sacrificing personalization.

Beyond sending fundraising appeals and broadcasting important updates via text, you can make the most of the channel by encouraging donors to share feedback and ask questions. This type of direct engagement can make them feel like you care about their input and bring them closer to your nonprofit.

2. Make transparency a priority.

When donors give to your nonprofit, they want to know what happens to their generous dollars. By focusing on improving transparency across your marketing communications, you can enhance your organization’s reputation and convince donors that your mission is worth supporting.

A few key ways to boost your nonprofit’s transparency include:

  • Presenting detailed financial information. Make it easy for donors to find your Form 990 and other financial documents, such as your balance sheet or income statement, by adding them to your website. Consider adding infographics to help them visualize your financial performance.
  • Providing frequent impact updates. Through email newsletters, social media posts, and blog articles, inform donors about your latest accomplishments and how their contributions made them possible. If you encounter any challenges or setbacks, be open about sharing them with your audience, along with the steps you’re taking to address them.
  • Publishing annual reports. An annual report allows your donors and other community members to view a snapshot of your nonprofit’s activities, accomplishments, and financial health over the past year. These reports hold your nonprofit accountable for the goals you set at the beginning of the year and allow you to celebrate your most impressive wins with your community.

To ensure that you’re only communicating accurate progress and results to your donors, keep your nonprofit’s database organized and up to date. Double the Donation recommends following data hygiene best practices such as developing data entry standards and using data appends for more effective internal and external reporting.

3. Collect and share authentic stories.

Facts and figures can go a long way toward persuading donors that your nonprofit is a reliable and powerful force for good within the community. However, compelling stories are what leave a lingering impression in the minds of your donors.

To keep your donors invested in your mission, collect personal stories from:

  • Beneficiaries
  • Donors
  • Volunteers
  • Board members

Once you’ve curated a collection of stories that demonstrate your impact and the importance of your cause, share them on your nonprofit’s website and social media pages. Then, use text messages and email newsletters to encourage more donors to explore these stories and connect with the people within them. Just be sure to ask for permission before sharing someone’s name or picture in your marketing materials to respect their privacy and preferences.

4. Promote multiple ways to contribute.

As you spread the word about your latest fundraising initiatives and ask for donations, ensure that donors feel comfortable giving to your nonprofit by providing them with several ways to contribute. For example, you could create a “Ways to Get Involved” page on your website, where you describe various opportunities such as:

To provide options that appeal to your specific donor audience, send out a survey to gather their direct input. You may learn that your donors are interested in giving through their smartphones, using donor-advised funds, or exploring cryptocurrency donations.

As you prepare to infuse your marketing materials with transparency and build trust through meaningful donor conversations, make sure you have the right tools to support your efforts. Research nonprofit text messaging platforms, website builders, and other innovative marketing solutions to equip your team for success. Before long, you’ll have a well-developed multichannel marketing strategy that nurtures strong, lasting relationships with your nonprofit’s donors.

Mike Snusz, Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango

Mike Snusz brings 19 years of digital fundraising experience to his role as Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango, a text messaging platform for nonprofits and political campaigns. Prior to Tatango, Mike spent 15 years at Blackbaud leading a team of digital consultants that helped nonprofits improve their online fundraising, monthly giving, email marketing and peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike started his nonprofit career managing the Ride For Roswell from 2003 to 2005 in his hometown of Buffalo, NY.

 

Planning a Nonprofit Omnichannel Marketing Campaign: 4 Steps

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A guest post by Liz Murphy of Allegiance Group

Omnichannel marketing is a technique in which nonprofits connect with their supporters through multiple communication channels, with the goal of creating a seamless experience between the various channels. Each message should feel like part of one unified, cohesive strategy that guides supporters to take a desired action, whether that’s donating, volunteering, or registering for a virtual event.

These campaigns can be extremely effective in building awareness of your organization, inspiring more donations, and connecting more deeply with supporters. To learn more about how to plan your first omnichannel campaign, follow these four steps:

  1. Determine the campaign’s objectives.
  2. Identify a target audience.
  3. Select communication platforms.
  4. Evaluate your performance.

1. Determine the campaign’s objectives.

Marketing objectives are clearly defined goals that lay out what you want the results of your campaign to be. These goals should follow the SMART goal framework, meaning that they should be:

SMART goals

  • Specific: State what you want the campaign to do using specific numbers (e.g., raise $5,000).
  • Measurable: Identify the metrics or data targets you’ll need to track. Allegiance Group’s guide to fundraising tools recommends choosing software that offers a robust analytics dashboard to accurately track your marketing progress.
  • Achievable: Analyze past campaign performance and choose goals that are challenging yet possible for your nonprofit to accomplish.
  • Relevant: Specify why it makes sense for your nonprofit to tackle this objective at this time (e.g., it relates to your mission or benefits a key project or initiative).
  • Time-based: Lay out a timeframe for reaching the goal.

Let’s say your nonprofit is creating a campaign to promote its most lucrative fundraising event with your main focus being to increase registrations. In this case, your SMART goal might be to achieve a 20% increase in registrations within the three months prior to the event compared to the previous year by using a more efficient registration platform and leveraging targeted marketing messages.

2. Identify a target audience.

To attract potential donors, you’ll need to identify specific audiences and determine their values, communication preferences, and other key characteristics.

Take a look at your existing donors. Which qualities appear over and over? NPOInfo’s guide to donor data recommends breaking down your file into useful categories or segments based on those qualities. These segments may be based on donors’:

  • Ages
  • Locations
  • Giving behaviors (e.g., frequency and/or amount)
  • Interests or support for specific projects
  • Communication preferences (e.g., email vs. direct mail) and engagement

There are so many other categories to choose from, but it’s best to select those that will assist you in meeting your nonprofit’s needs and achieving your campaign goals.

3. Select communication platforms

Based on your findings about your target audience, choose the communication channels they are most likely to engage with on a regular basis. Nonprofits commonly use channels like email, social media, text, phone calls, direct mail, and print and digital ads.

When choosing communication platforms, keep these tips in mind:

  • Focus on quality over quantity. Avoid taking on more platforms than your nonprofit can realistically manage. Instead, prioritize creating engaging content that persuades supporters to donate or get involved in another way. Consider using tools like social media calendars and email marketing software to stay organized.
  • Connect each platform for a seamless experience. On social media, include links to your website and profiles on other platforms. Encourage email recipients to follow your accounts and check out your website. You can even add QR codes linking to online channels to your direct mail campaigns.
  • Tailor content to the audience and platform. Become familiar with the unique preferences associated with both your target audience and the platforms you use. Make sure your message aligns with the tone and value that your audience will expect as well as the expectations for each communication channel. Social media posts, for example, should be short and attention-grabbing, while blog posts can be much more detailed.

Similar to goal-tracking, it’s important to measure your campaign’s performance on each platform. Make sure to identify which metrics determine success for each—for example, the clickthrough rate is crucial for email marketing whereas likes and shares are important for social media.

4. Evaluate your performance.

After your campaign ends, you still have work to do. It’s essential to take the time to analyze your findings, determine whether you met your goals, and plan for future campaigns.

If you met or exceeded your goals for the campaign, pinpoint the strategies that you think pushed your campaign over the finish line. For example, maybe you tried using a new campaign for the first time or sent targeted messages using your demographic-focused donor segments. Once you understand what resonates with your audience, you can replicate and refine those tactics in the future.

If you fell short of your goal, use it as a learning opportunity. Refer back to your initial goal and ask yourself if it was too ambitious for your nonprofit to achieve at this point. Additionally, make sure to identify the wins and losses from the campaign so you know which strategies to keep, which to tweak, and which to remove altogether.

As a result of your hard work, you’ll be able to create a nonprofit omnichannel marketing campaign that feels consistent and connected to your audience. This will deepen their relationship with your organization and inspire them to donate, volunteer, and share about your mission to further the work you do.

Liz Murphy, Allegiance GroupAuthor: Liz Murphy

Liz Murphy is an EVP at Allegiance+Pursuant Group, a direct response fundraising agency and technology company. Liz has more than 30 years of experience growing digital and integrated fundraising and communications programs for social justice, health, and international relief nonprofit organizations.

Liz is an award-winning copywriter and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, including ANA, DMAW, Bridge, and NTC. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Direct Marketing Association of Washington Educational Foundation.

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