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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: Send the Right Message

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Learn to adapt

Adapt your message to fit the way you’re sending it

You know that the only way to convince donors to give is…by asking them. You also know that if all you do is ask, they will get tired of hearing from you, quick.

People who give to your nonprofit organization want to know their donation is making a difference.

They may also want to hear more about the cause they care about, so they feel smarter and more well informed after receiving your message.

And occasionally, they may be happy if you just make them smile!

You can keep your donors happy with great storytelling and useful information through a variety of channels, from print to email to social media. You can even share the same content through those different channels. But you will not win any friends by automatically pushing the same message out through print or email as you do through Facebook or Instagram.

Adapt the content to the medium you're using if you want your donors to get the message. Share on X

Your message in print

Fewer organizations are sending paper newsletters these days because of the cost of printing and mailing. If you are sending a print newsletter, that means you have less competition–but you have to make your donor want to read it. So:

  • Write great headlines. If the headline is boring, your article will never be read.
  • Include captivating photos. One person is better than a crowd, and a person in action is best. Make sure the caption reinforces the message.
  • Use visual design to break up the page. Subtitles, bold and italic print, bullet points and plenty of white space will make your newsletter more inviting to the reader’s eye (and avoid the dreaded “wall of text”)

You can send a longer article in print than you can on electronic media as long as you follow these three tips. A longer article full of  thoughtful content can seem more authoritative and more valuable than lots of short bites. Not everybody will read it, but those who do will come away feeling, “That was a good way to spend my time. I learned something.”

Your message by email

I see a lot of email newsletters these days–but few that are really done well. Email is different from print, and it’s vital to adapt your content to match.

Don’t:

  • Email your print newsletter as a PDF. Many people cannot or will not open the attachment–and it sends the message that you’re stuck in 2006.
  • Use the subject line “The Something Agency Newsletter.” The readers who don’t delete that message will file it away for later…and never get around to it.
  • Cram it full of unrelated articles. Better to send more email, more often!

Do:

  • Send the email in the name of a real person. For example, my email comes from Dennis Fischman, not just Communicate! Consulting.
  • Write the subject line last. Once you know what the email is about, write an arresting title. Not “Our agency’s work in the public schools,” but “No sixth-grader should have a sexually transmitted disease”–readers will open that email!
  • Make it mobile-friendly. More than half the email messages sent today are opened on a tablet or mobile phone. Make sure to reach over half your audience!

Your message by social media

social media in palm of hand

Social media: handle with care!

Social media are different from print or email because, well, they’re social.

Before you think about sending a message through social media, try listening to your donors for a while. Find out what they’re interested in. Engage in conversations they’ve started. Try to act like a friend, not an advertising agency.

When you do have something to say on social media, though, remember that not all social media are created equal.

Facebook aims to be the Swiss army knife of social media. It’s possible to share short messages, longer posts, photos, links, and video all on the same platform.

It’s much harder, though, to make sure your followers see anything you put up. Fewer than 6% see any particular post, on average. So, you must aim to win the loyalty of your Facebook followers. If you can persuade them to sign up to be notified when you post, you’ve struck it rich.

Twitter is perfect for fast-breaking information. If you can get your followers to live-tweet your events, you will reach many more people than attend in person!

Twitter reaches an audience that’s hungry for information, so it’s an especially good medium for sharing links to your blog posts or newsletter articles. Because it moves so fast, the trick is to tweet the same material multiple times during a day or week. Use the same link but vary the text you use to attract readers to click the link. Also, use one to three hashtags with your tweet to let people who are interested search for that topic and find you.

Pinterest and Instagram are built around photos. With a camera in everyone’s pocket, it’s easy to snap photos, edit them, and place them in online albums you can share with supporters. Hashtags are even more important here, and you can use a greater number than on Twitter.

YouTube is still the premier place to share videos. Your agency can use video to capture interviews with people you help…or to say thank you to your donors.

There are plenty of other social media, and it’s important not to let that fact overwhelm you. I recommend starting small, and learning to use one medium very well.

Your message? It really belongs to the donors

No matter which channels you use, remember that your message must serve your donors–and not just your agency–if you want them to read, view, or listen to what you send. So, tailor your message to their interests even more than you adapt it to the communications channel you’re using. Your donors will thank you.

Live, on Social Media: Your Event!

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Every event your organization holds is really two events: the one happening before your eyes and the one happening on social media.distorted mirror

What? You aren’t posting about your event on social media? Well, some of your guests are.

They’re snapping photos with their phones and instantly posting them on Facebook or Instagram.

They’re quoting your speakers on Twitter.

They’re live-blogging during the event and posing their opinions afterwards.

You planned your real-life event so carefully.  You left nothing to chance. So…

How can you make sure your real-life event is just as good on social media?

Here are eight suggestions from Bizbash.com, translated into nonprofit.

  1. Listen. Assign someone to follow what participants in your event are saying about it in real time.
  2. Post about the event yourself.  Ritu Sharma of Social Media for Nonprofits suggests creating a “command center” where your staff and friends will have “adequate power supply, the best seats and vantage point in the house.”
  3. Speak with the same voice. Do you want to be earnest? Funny? Ironic? Confiding? Settle on a tone and a relationship with the audience and keep it up.
  4. Keep it personal. Write like a human being–and write back to other human beings by name when they post about your event.
  5. Expect the unexpected and plan for it. What are you going to do if the lights go out? If your keynote speaker says something offensive? Know what to do.
  6. Put Twitter first. As Martha C. White says, “Tweets are the language of real-time social media conversation.”
  7. Woo “influencers.” Find people who have a big following among the audience you want to make your own. Get those people involved in your event, online or off.
  8. Be imaginative. Where might people be talking about your event? What terms might they be using besides the official event title? Search widely.
Social media are just as important between those big events. Which Social Media are Right for You?  Find out! Sign up for a free guide at www.dennisfischman.com.

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