Every follower on your organization's social media is a potential volunteer—they just might not know it yet. Building and maintaining a social media presence, especially in a small organization, is not without its challenges. That is why we compiled 7 ways to level-up your social media strategy to recruit more volunteers:
1. Start by Recruiting a Volunteer for Social Media
Because of all the moving pieces with social media (strategy, content creation, and community engagement) it's important to find support where you can. Consider creating a volunteer position for someone looking to grow or contribute their skills. On VolunteerMatch you can list both in-person and virtual opportunities based on your needs.
2. Lean on Your Nonprofit Community
Running social media for a small nonprofit with the goal of recruiting volunteers presents its own unique challenges. That is why talking to others in the space and knowledge sharing is critical to success. One story we love is from volunteer recruiter Dany Daly of CASA (San Joaquin valley) who, in an episode of the Time + Talent podcast, describes how she uses social media to recruit more diverse volunteers. For more inspiration, these organizations have great volunteer-oriented pages: Extreme Community Makeover, Pajaro Loaves and Fishes, and Coach Art.
3. Know your What Motivates Volunteers
Have you ever crafted a beautifully designed, labor-intensive, post only to have it fall flat? Make the content-creating process more efficient and effective by aligning your social media strategy with common volunteer motivations. When you are clear in your message and know who you are speaking to, they'll listen!
4. Stretch out your Content
Maximize your efforts by repurposing what you made into different formats like blogs, videos, or infographics. Have fun with it! Take a recorded volunteer testimonial, for example, and break it into shorter clips, a blog article, or snippets of quotes.
5. Have a Strategy for Filler Posts that Aren't Filler
Have a repository of posts you can always draw on. Here are some low-lift ideas for what to post when you need additional content:
- Connect your cause to relevant awareness days or holidays during the year with trending hashtags.
- Share resources about the benefits of volunteering or news and research around your specific cause area.
- Take advantage of VolunteerMatch's graphic quotes or do something similar with your own testimonials.
- Post your volunteer opportunity to socials directly from your VolunteerMatch account.
6. Consistency is Key
You don't need to post every day or on every platform, but pick what works for you and keep it up! Individuals will start expecting your posts, and the seed you planted about volunteering will begin to grow. Be sure to include consistent calls-to-action. Every time you share something related to volunteering, include a link to sign up.
7. Cultivate Community
Cultivating community should be as consistent as your cadence and calls-to-action. After posting, set aside time to respond to any feedback from your followers. Don't be afraid to mix it up how you engage:
- Go live on FaceBook or Instagram to share an insider's scoop
- Offer a forum for Q&A's such as on FaceBook or LinkedIn groups
- Launch a LinkedIn or Twitter poll with questions for your audience
- Tag your partners in posts and share theirs as well
Do you have any tips that have worked for you and your organization's social media? Let us know in the comments!
