Ring in the New Year with Social Media

December is the most charitable month of the year and the most engaged on social media, making it the perfect time to reach out to your supporters via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other channels you may use.   

With #GivingTuesday in our recent history, you may think that it’s too early to reach out to your valued supporters, but asking for money isn’t the only way you can help ring in the New Year.

Social media is always in full swing, but perhaps even more so during the holidays.  If you haven’t planned to share something on your preferred social networks yet, it isn’t too late to get started!

Request a Social Media Shout-Out

Post a shareable image on Facebook or Twitter (or whichever channel works best for you), promoting a campaign you’re currently running or displaying a particularly successful event you had during the year (i.e, #GivingTuesday).

Make sure to include a friendly call to action, encouraging your fans to “Like” and/or Share your post (e.g., “Please Share and Thank you for your Continued Support“).  Not only will your followers have an additional chance to donate through this channel, but new followers could develop from their social Likes and Shares.

A great example of this is a Facebook image from Great River Rescue, a no-kill animal shelter located in Bemidji, Minnesota, promoting their December campaign:

 Share Giving-Centered Content

Are your supporters aware of all the benefits of giving or why they give in the first place?  A study on the science of giving suggests that most of us give with our hearts more so than our heads.  Something that strikes us personally or emotionally is likely to inspire us to give more impulsively, but not necessarily in a way that would compel us to do it again.

Repeated behavior, although still personal, usually has some added logic to it over time.  To inspire repeated giving, share content about the benefits of giving, how to give intelligently, and why giving makes sense. This can help motivate your supporters to give more and to influence those within their social circles to give as well.

 Keep Supporters Engaged     

Share a post that encourages your supporters to interact with your organization.  You could prompt people to like and share a favorite picture or memory from one of their volunteering experiences with your organization.  

You can also use a donor management system, like the Engage Donor CRM, to help you segment your supporters and engage with them more efficiently throughout the year. 

 Be Strategic about WHEN you Post   

Peak engagement times are readily available online.  These include the best times to post to various social media outlets during the winter holidays.  

The timing of your posts is always important, because you need to consider when your audience will actually be available to view them, but during the holidays it gets tricky when you have to factor in changes to peoples’ schedules.  

Be sure to utilize the following peak engagement times for your holiday posts to help you really ring in the New Year!