Establishing a strong online presence is particularly important for charities due to relying on supporters and donations, as well as needing to spread awareness of the cause. A Facebook page can hugely benefit your charity – here are 7 reasons why:
- Outreach
Facebook has 1.71 billion monthly active users. That’s 1.71 billion potential supporters of your cause! You will find both existing and new supporters on Facebook, so creating a page will allow you to maintain a relationship with your current supporters as well as reaching out and welcoming new people to your charity’s community. With so many people active on Facebook, it is the perfect platform to get your message out there and rally support.
- Exposure
Raising awareness of a cause is key to any charity, so the social and interactive nature of Facebook is ideal in spreading the word. Your Facebook page will enable you to showcase the work you are doing and the positive impact it is making, and allow supporters to share your posts with their Facebook friends.
Posting shareable content is key to making the most out of your charity’s Facebook page: celebrations, success stories, and encouraging involvement in fundraisers will receive more likes and shares than upsetting or boring posts. Also bear in mind that people are visually literate – research shows that coloured visuals increase people’s willingness to read content by 80%, and that videos are 12 times more likely to be shared than photos and text combined.
Creating a Facebook page is also incredibly useful for running marketing campaigns. Just take a look at the #nomakeupselfie campaign, which attracted a huge amount of media attention and raised £8 million for Cancer Research UK; or the ALS ice bucket challenge which went viral and ended up funding a research breakthrough (a new gene associated with the disease was identified this year). Starting a simple but fun campaign on Facebook makes it easy for people to get involved with the charity and is a brilliant way to ensure shares.
The marketing industry is always shouting about how ‘serious doesn’t sell’ – and for good reason. Ensure your Facebook content is engaging, and you’ll reach a much wider audience.
- Drive Traffic and Improve SEO
Your Facebook page can be used to drive traffic to your website. By reaching and engaging with a wider audience, and posting captivating content to attract attention, people will be compelled to head to your website to learn more about what you do. You can include links to your website in your posts, and advertise it on your Facebook page cover photo.
An active presence on Facebook by regularly posting content with keywords will also improve your charity’s position on Google and other search engines, increasing the number of people discovering you online. We know that this is important, due to searches being one of the main ways that people find a charity.
- Analytics and Insights
Analytics and insights – able to monitor what does and doesn’t resonate with supports, helps show how to present charity in the best way that reaches the most people etc, free analytic tools.
- Donations
Regular, visually engaging posts can provoke emotional responses from supporters and also serve as a reminder of your charity and the cause at hand, prompting people to donate.
Facebook makes donations easy and faff-free, allowing people to give with just a few clicks. Charities can add a ‘Donate’ button to their cover photo and posts, and JustGiving have integrated with Facebook to make donations seamless. Fundraisers can be set up to encourage donations, and each time a person donates, they are asked by Facebook to share and invite their friends.
- Engagement
We’ve touched on the topic of engagement a tiny bit already, but it’s so important it deserved it’s own point. Creating a Facebook page enables a two-way conversation between your charity and supporters, allowing you to respond directly to their comments and questions, and establish a much more personal relationship. It also lets your supporters know that you listen and that you are appreciative of their contributions.
Humanising your charity is a sure way to resonate more effectively with supporters. Share your good news with them; post a picture of birthday celebrations at work, the office dog, spotlight on volunteers – anything that helps people relate to your organisation more. Personal content is compelling, and sparks conversation.
Your Facebook page will also allow you to invite people to your events and remind them of upcoming fundraisers, as well as share press coverage of your charity. You can connect with other organisations and individuals around the world to really branch out.
- Loyalty and Trust
Communicating directly with supporters and answering their questions posted to your page is a great way to give your charity transparency and appear open and honest. Your page can allow supporters an insight ‘behind the scene’, establish more personal relationships, a wider sense of community, and ensure supporters feel more involved. Having people share your content to their intimate Facebook spheres endorses your charity and enhances credibility; word of mouth has proven to be incredibly effective, and Facebook as a social platform is a perfect tool for that.
Roxana Humelnicu is a Social Media & Content Executive, focusing on crafting quality content for clients and Shake alike, designed to add value, drive traffic and increase profitability.