A Guide to Meaningful Dialogues with Social Media Supporters

The prevalence of mobile phones has made it easy for people to hop onto social media at all times of the day, whether they’re taking the bus to work or lounging in bed. Flooded with news, updates, and opinions, these platforms serve endless content to users. For nonprofit organizations looking to secure more support on social media, the key is figuring out how to stand out amid all the noise. By leveraging the social media tools at its disposal, your organization can develop meaningful dialogues with supporters and create connections that last. In this guide, we’ll walk through all you need to know to get started:

What is Meaningful Social Media Dialogue?
Benefits of Meaningful Dialogue with Supporters
Social Media Tools to Connect with Supporters

Around the world, people are spending increased time on social media, with the average user spending 151 minutes per day, or roughly 2.5 hours, scrolling through the platforms. By meeting your nonprofit’s supporters where they already are, you’ll be able to interact more frequently and deeply with them in the long run.

What is Meaningful Social Media Dialogue?

Dialogue doesn’t have to be face-to-face to be meaningful. In fact, social media has become a popular way for people to interact on a more personal level, regardless of location or distance. GoodUnited’s Facebook fundraising for nonprofits guide covers the main advantages of using social media to engage supporters, which include an expanded audience and increased support due to social proof. To ensure that your communications with users are impactful, follow these best practices:

Personalize Messaging

When you’re talking with someone, instead of at them, they’re much more likely to listen and absorb what you’re trying to say. By personalizing your communications with supporters on social media, your nonprofit can develop a stronger bond with each individual and make them feel appreciated for their involvement in your cause. For instance, if you’re thanking a user for making a gift to your organization, include their name and specific donation amount in your message. Furthermore, you can even reference their past involvement history, such as volunteering or participating in one of your Facebook Challenges, to recognize them for their commitment and keep the conversation going.

Specify Impact

Many of your social media supporters choose to get involved because they’re driven to play a part in your impact. Therefore, it’s critical to not only make your mission clear on these platforms, but to share how contributions are allowing you to fulfill that mission. For example, let’s say you’re a nonprofit dedicated to promoting literacy and reading among school-aged children in your community. To motivate social media users to give, you might share that every $30 raised will supply 10 books to children in your program, and every $60 will cover the costs of an author visit.

Leverage Storytelling

Tap into your supporters’ emotions by collecting and sharing stories on your nonprofit’s social media pages. According to NXUnite’s nonprofit marketing guide, storytelling is a powerful way to help people to feel an emotional connection with your organization. There are a variety of stories you can communicate, such as a volunteer’s experience, how your nonprofit improved the life of someone you served, or a donor’s reason for giving. To gather compelling stories, you can reach out directly to your supporters and invite them to tell you about their experiences with either your organization or your cause. For example, donors can share what makes your cause special to them and beneficiaries can explain how your organization improved their circumstances. With their permission, you can then share this with the rest of your audience to encourage them to get involved.

Benefits of Meaningful Dialogue with Supporters

By implementing these best practices and engaging in meaningful dialogue with your supporters, your nonprofit can:

Increase revenue. Chances are, your supporters have their own web of personal connections on social media. By encouraging peer-to-peer fundraising through one-on-one conversations with users, your organization can get in front of more like-minded individuals who are already inclined to lend their support toward your cause.

Boost event registrations. Since dialogue refers to a two-way conversation, you should get a better idea of your supporters’ preferences and interests. In doing so, you’ll be able to organize more events that appeal to them and attract more attendees.

Recruit more volunteers. By opening up more communication with social media users, you’ll be able to inform them of more ways to contribute, such as volunteer opportunities, so they can continue to support your mission however they prefer.

Social media provides a more cost-effective and efficient means for stewarding supporters both near and far to your nonprofit. Demonstrating that you value them enough to engage in two-way conversation makes them much more likely to feel fulfilled and satisfied with their involvement in the long term.

Social Media Tools to Connect with Supporters

To maximize your results, it’s essential to have a dedicated nonprofit plan in place for connecting with social media supporters—including the tools you’ll leverage to carry out your efforts. Explore these key methods for building meaningful dialogues with users:

Groups and Communities

Social media groups, such as Facebook Groups, are a wonderful way to cultivate a close-knit community of dedicated supporters for your nonprofit. You can create groups that are attached to a specific fundraising initiative, such as a Facebook Challenge, or a more general one for anyone interested in your organization’s mission. In these communities, you can not only directly interact with supporters through posts and polls, but you can also foster dialogues between users to fuel more peer engagement.

Livestreaming

Nonprofits can provide social media supporters with a real-time glimpse into their operations and impact by livestreaming on platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. Livestreaming is an impactful way to immerse users in your organization’s mission and show them where donated funds are going toward. Furthermore, you can incorporate Q&As, polls, and chats to promote more two-way communication with supporters during your livestreams.

Conversational Messaging

Social media makes it easy to chat with supporters in a manner that is personal yet comfortable for both communicating parties. With over 1.036 billion Facebook Messenger users around the world, it’s clear that conversational messaging holds significant potential for connecting with your nonprofit’s social media supporters and deepening your relationships with them. For instance, using the information you’ve collected on your supporters, you can reach out in the weeks leading up to their birthdays and ask them to consider creating a Facebook birthday fundraiser on your organization’s behalf. Once they’ve started one, you can continue engaging with them by sharing encouragement and fundraising tips throughout the process. Strong supporter relationships require time and effort. Fortunately, social media facilitates the process of nourishing these connections through two-way conversations. In addition to personalizing your messages and following storytelling best practices to convey the impact of users’ support, be sure to thank them often for their involvement to keep them enthusiastic about your mission year after year.