You’ve heard it who knows how many times.
Social media marketing is one of the greatest ways to increase your nonprofit’s awareness.
But, you keep hearing it because - in more cases than not – it’s true!
The only thing is social media marketing moves quickly. Trends come and go, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the plethora of nonprofit social media ideas out there.
Don’t worry! Because we’re giving you the 6 latest social media trends for nonprofits that you can use to expand your reach and increase donations!
For the longest time, Instagram was the highest-ranking social media platform for marketers of all sectors. It had the highest returns on investment, it was the best way to reach new audiences, and it was fun to create content for.
But that is quickly changing thanks to the rise of TikTok.
As of September 2021, TikTok has over 1 billion users. It’s still less than Facebook and Instagram. However, the growth of TikTok is astronomical!
The user count jumped 45% from January 2021 to September 2021. In less than a year, the platform went from 689 million users to over 1 billion.
Not to mention, Google Search Trends is showing TikTok as the highest-ranking platform for short-form video content.
If you haven’t yet, maybe now’s the time to start looking at joining the app and seeing what all the fuss is about!
First Step Communities, based in Sacramento California, is doing an awesome job at using TikTok for their supporters!
With 104.7 thousand followers, they’re reaching a large audience than they might be reaching on other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
That’s thanks to TikTok’s wildly rapid growth over the last couple of years. And because First Step Communities (@firststepcommunities on TikTok) jumped on this social media for nonprofits trend.
They’ve stuck with, posting consistently since July of 2021. And the majority of their content is recordings from behind the scenes of their nonprofit taken straight from a smartphone.
Pair that with voiceovers on their content and layering on trending audios, and voila!
Now, this is, of course, a very basic overview of their account. We don’t know the strategy they’ve put into place.
But we do know that it’s working because they’re building nonprofit awareness from posting on TikTok!
Younger generations, like millennials and Gen-Z, are more averse to making phone calls for information.
They’d rather send out an email, use a messenger app, or text for answers to their questions. In fact, from a Nielsen survey commissioned by Facebook, “64% of people would rather message than call a business.”
That’s why chatbots for nonprofits are becoming such a major nonprofit technology trend! And certain social media platforms, like Facebook, are picking up on it.
Facebook has incorporated a way for organizations to set up a chatbot to help supporters at all times of the day.
Georgia Aquarium, a nonprofit aquarium based in Atlanta, Georgia, has been successfully using the Facebook Messenger chatbot for several years now.
Rather than giving people only one option – calling on the phone with any questions – people can use their Facebook page to get the answers they need.
Whether they have a question about tickets to the Aquarium, or they have a question about one of the animals, the chatbot is programmed to help staff work smarter, not harder.
Long-form videos used to be the rage on sites like Facebook and even Instagram, with their “IGTV” feature.
But since the dawn of TikTok, short-form video is all any (social media platform, that is) one can talk about.
Between Instagram and Facebook Stories, Instagram’s Reels, and even Pinterest for nonprofits stepping up their “Idea Pins,” short-form video is everywhere. Even the king of long-form videos itself, YouTube, introduced a new method: YouTube Shorts.
In fact, according to Vidyard, 60% of all videos uploaded to the internet in 2020 were under 2 minutes long. The success of Instagram Reels and TikTok has a hold on users and the content they want to see.
So, if your nonprofit is still prioritizing videos over 2 minutes long? It might be time to revise and try going for shorter videos. But always test your results to see what works for your donors and supporters!
YouTube is still an excellent way to get your nonprofit videos out to the world. And uploading to YouTube is yet another audience you can reach!
But short-form videos are moving to the forefront. And there have been some rising stars who have jumped on this social media trend for nonprofits!
One Love Pit Bull Foundation, based in Arizona, is doing an awesome job of showcasing their adoptable dogs through short-form video.
And this works perfectly for their audience! With 15.1 thousand followers on Instagram, they’re able to reach the supporters who want to contribute to the nonprofit’s mission.
We know. Paid social media ads have been around for a while. A few years, actually.
But what we’re seeing with organic content is what makes paid social media ads one of the latest social media trends for nonprofits.
More and more social channels are adopting a “pay-to-play” attitude. Which means nonprofit accounts that aren’t using ads yet are seeing a decrease in reach and engagement, thanks to the algorithms in play.
From Hootsuite’s 2022 Social Media Trends survey, “43% of respondents said the decline of organic reach and the need to increase paid advertising budgets,” was their biggest hurdle on socials.
World Wildlife Fund has been doing this for a while now – they were ahead of the curve on this social media trend for nonprofits.
The difference here, though, is that we’re seeing organic reach declining right in front of our eyes.
And that propels the need for paid social media ads.
For WWF, they use their paid social ad campaigns to bring awareness to their organization, encourage supporters to visit their website, and increase monthly members of their monthly giving program.
All of those are excellent ways to use social media ads!
If you’re ready to start leveraging paid social media ads so you can reach more supporters (and get specific on who you’re reaching), we’ve got a training to help you!
Dana Snyder from Positive Equation, one of our partners at CharityHowTo, teaches you how to create your paid ad campaigns so you can meet your goals!
Going “live” on social media is an excellent way to engage with supporters in real-time. They can ask you questions in the comments about your organization, and you can answer them directly!
Think of it like Facetiming with your friend. Except you just don’t see their face!
One of the greatest parts about “going live” on your social channels is that your followers all get a notification that you are live.
That’s a quick ping that reminds them, “hey! My favorite nonprofit is on right now talking about their new program!”
Just like with other examples of short-form videos, doing live social videos on your channels is one of the best things for the algorithm. Those pesky algorithms notoriously boost accounts that utilize this feature!
So going live is great for the rest of your social media strategy, too!
Many nonprofit organizations do use this social media trend for nonprofits and find great success!
The Gentle Barn uses Facebook and Instagram Lives to give updates on their rescue animals, which is a great way to engage their supporters.
One of their Live videos received 2.3 thousand reactions, 52,000 views, 1.4 thousand comments, and several donations to help the organization within 24 hours of the live video.
Finally, on the list of the latest social media trends for nonprofits, we’re talking about augmented reality and virtual reality for nonprofits!
If you’ve noticed on Facebook and YouTube, some videos or photos have an option for viewers to click and drag. This moves the view of the camera so they can see 360 degrees from wherever the photo or video was taken.
That’s augmented reality! And it’s incredibly powerful for nonprofits as it’s interactive and engaging. No matter where your mission works to create change, you can bring your supporters with you. They can see the location as if they were there.
And according to Hubspot, VR and AR can improve click-through rates by upwards of 33%!
Pencils of Promise is doing an excellent job of using augmented reality to drive impact. They’re showcasing the schools and education programs they’re creating in developing nations across the globe.
And from one Wall Street gala, they raised $2 million in donations.
The great news about these social media trends for nonprofits is that it’s not too late to jump on board!
Start checking out these nonprofit social media ideas to see how you can better reach your ideal donors.
And if you need help creating a social media content strategy that converts? Well, we have got you covered there, too!