Lots of non-profit organizations (and aspiring political candidates) have a community of people who are ready to support them – they’re just waiting for the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution.
How can you harness that energy?
- Put all of your contacts into a database (can be as simple as Google Sheets). This should be as detailed as possible and include past and current:
- Donors
- Volunteers
- Event attendees and program participants
- Board members
- Set up (or refresh) your social media pages to make sure photos, messaging etc are up to date. Should include at minimum one of Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn, and a newsletter. Put links to these in team email signatures, official letterhead, and business cards.
- Make an annual calendar that includes everything you plan to do that year, such as:
- Meetings and AGMs
- Fundraisers
- Program events
- Plan each of these calendar events according to a template that includes:
- Targets for online engagement, such as:
- How many people follow you on Instagram
- How many people click “read more” in your newsletter
- Post engagement (likes or comments)
- Key messaging (to support larger communications goals)
- Social media content – graphics, meta info, content etc
- Produce a blog (written and/or video) teasing the above, and announcing your new social media pages, inviting people to engage by following/subscribing to your new social media. Post this on your social media platforms and invite your network.
- For each calendar event (meeting, fundraiser etc), create a page for it on your website. This will serve as the main source of information, ie. any changes or updates will be reflected on this page first, and it will be optimized for sharing and for tracking. When you are ready to ‘launch’ the event (i.e. make this information public), share this link on your social media channels.