Sharing your crowdfunding campaign is crucial to your fundraisers success, and social media is a great way to spread the word.
Facebook is the prime platform to promote your crowdfunding campaign. With over a billion users, there are plenty of potential donors who might be interested in learning about your cause.
If you’re interested in promoting your campaign on Facebook, we’ll cover 4 tips to help you raise awareness:
- Build your social network.
- Engage with donors frequently.
- Optimize your Facebook posts.
- Acknowledge donors on Facebook.
Let’s get right into the tips!
1. Build your social network.
While you may already have a personal Facebook account or a page for your organization, it’s still important to constantly build your network. That way, you’re connecting with people that will be interested in your mission and possibly supporting your cause.
If all you have is a personal account, you might want to create a dedicated page for your crowdfunding campaign so it’s clear to donors what you’re raising funds for and direct them to your fundraising page.
The more relevant pages you follow , the easier it will be to build your Facebook presence and establish connections with potential donors.
Here are few ways you can build your social following on Facebook:
- Find organizations and people that support similar causes. Interact with these pages by commenting on their posts, following their page, and asking them to follow you.
- Take advantage of your connections and connect with family members, coworkers, friends, current and previous employers, and schools you attended. Ask them to follow your page and share it with their networks.
- Include as much information as possible on your Facebook page. The more details you have on your page, the easier it will be for similar organizations and interested supporters to find your page. Plus, it will make easy for potential donors to learn more about your mission.
Bottom line: Whether you have an existing Facebook page or not, you should continue to build your social network so that your can increase your social reach.
2. Engage with donors frequently.
With the plethora of content that fills up your donors’ Facebook feed, it’s important that your posts catch their attention and get them interested in learning more about your campaign. To do this you’ll need to post frequently and engage them by posting content that isn’t just asking for donations.
With that said, always asking for donations can be counterproductive because it will cause donors think that all you care about is the money rather than their support, which can deter them from contributing.
The key is to make supporters and potential donors alike understand the impact that their contributions have and that their support is more than just a monetary value.
Along with posts asking for donations, you can:
- Ask donors to provide feedback on your campaign. When donors give their advice, they not only see that you care about their input, but they’ll also become more invested in your campaign.
- Share news or other resources that are relevant to your cause. Donors will see your page as an authoritative resource when you share content related to your cause.
- Post progress updates. It’s important to keep these updates donor-focused. Let donors know how thankful you are for being close to reaching your goal. Since donors are more likely to contribute when they know you’re close to reaching your goal, this is a great way to encourage donors to contribute.
The point is to interact with donors on Facebook frequently and let them know that you see them as more than just a piggy bank — but as supporters with an active role in promoting change.
Bottom line: When you post of Facebook, encourage your donors to respond or share the post with their peers. Not only will this gain more awareness for you campaign, but it will also make donors an active supporter.
3. Optimize your posts.
When you share your posts on Facebook, the goal is to get as many people as possible to see your campaign. As we mentioned earlier, posting engaging content frequently will help, its not the only way to reach more people on Facebook.
You should also optimize your posts so that you can reach potential supporters outside your social network. We’ll go through three ways you can optimize your Facebook posts:
A. Include an image or graphic.
Images draw attention and can help to illustrate your cause better. All of your posts should include an image or another graphic to grab your donors’ attention.
For example if you’re organization helps feed hungry kids, you can take a picture of an empty table and ask supporters to help you fill it with food. The image will tie the reader the campaign and encourage them to at least learn more about your campaign.
B. Use a hashtag.
Including hashtags in your post is beneficial because it helps your post get found by people who search for the term on Facebook. That way, you can connect with people outside your network who are interested in your cause.
Additionally, creating a hashtag specifically for your campaign and encouraging your supporters to use it will help you follow the conversation surrounding your fundraiser.
You don’t want overdo the number of hashtags you use because it can make your posts look unprofessional. With that said, use a maximum of 4 hashtags per post.
C. Keep your copy short and sweet.
Unlike Twitter, Facebook accepts posts with a much longer character count (around 63,000!). While that gives more opportunity to describe your cause, still want to keep your copy short and concise. You only have a your donors’ attention for a short period before the scroll on the the next post.
Therefore, lengthy descriptions will deter people from reading your post. Just like your crowdfunding description, you should begin your post with a punchy sentence that leaves readers curious for more.
Try to capture your your cause in 1-2 sentences and link to your crowdfunding page so potential donors can learn more information.
Bottom line: Optimizing your posts will make it easier for donors to find your campaign and learn more about your cause.
4. Acknowledge donors on Facebook.
Another way to promote your campaign is by showing your appreciation. While you should always thank donors via email or direct mail, you can also send them a quick thank you on Facebook.
For instance when if supporters share their donations on Facebook or create a post to promote your campaign, you can comment on their posts with a quick thank you.
By acknowledging your donors on Facebook, you can show your gratitude immediately after after a donor gives.
In addition to commenting on your supporters posts, you can also highlight supporters on your Facebook page.
The donors you showcase don’t have to be people who made large contributions. In fact, highlight a variety or donors no mater the gift size will show that you appreciate the person not the gift.
Your donors will love getting acknowledge by a campaign they’re passionate about, and this simple gesture will show potential donors that you’re genuinely thankful for the support.
Bottom line: When people know that you’re grateful for the support you’re given, they’ll be more likely to contribute.
Hopefully this tips will help your promote your campaign on Facebook so that your one step closer to reaching your campaign’s goal.
If you want more tips for launching a successful crowdfunding campaign, check out these additional resources.
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