How To Get Your Call To Action Right On Social Media

With 71% of non-profits agreeing that social media is effective for online fundraising, making the case to invest in social media and digital for your organisation seems like a no-brainer. With millennials aged 18 to 34 nearly twice as likely to donate than those aged 55 and over, it’s important to make sure you’re utilising your channels effectively to inspire your supporters to take action.

Whether you’re launching a fundraising campaign or getting your followers to sign a petition, the call-to-action on social is key – you need to mobilise your supporters to raise more awareness, support and funds for your cause in the ways you want them to.

Simply having a social media presence is not enough to achieve social media success. No matter what your goals are on social media, and what actions you want your supporters to take, we always recommend following the social media rule of thirds. We think DoSomething.org do a great job of this, so we’re using them as a great case study to make sure your calls to action are just as engaging as theirs are.

1) Self-Promotion

Come to our event! Host a fundraiser for us! Write to your local MP! You should spend a third of your time on social media sharing and broadcasting your own content.

For most of us, this is the easy part, where we repurpose the materials from the marketing or fundraising departments on social. Always be mindful of your tone of voice, and make sure you’re using the right hashtags – but if only it were that easy. Which brings us to the next third…

2) Curating Content

At a dinner party, no one wants to be sat next to the person that can’t stop talking about themselves. Following an account on social is no different – you need to think about your audience, and what they might be interested in. Using tools like Listen can help you engage with topics and influencers that your followers would find interesting – and by crediting the source by tagging them, you’re also able to engage with their networks, too.

Offer your opinion on trending topics, and demonstrate that you are a thought leader in a specific field – but make sure it’s relevant and timely.‍

3) Engagement

This is where the magic happens. Build and strengthen relationships by interacting, thanking, and speaking with your supporters directly.

This is what will get your supporters to really respond to your calls to action – and be human about it! What are your employees up to? What are your trustees doing this week? There is a lot of noise out there, and your posts need to stand out from the crowd, and make your supporters feel valued.

Find out more about how you can succeed on social with our fun and useful guides! Join the Lightful Community today for lots of useful goodies.

Erin Niimi Longhurst
@erinniimi