It seems like everyone is on Facebook nowadays. Every day, people sign into their social media accounts to learn about the news for the day, what their relatives and friends are up to, and what is trending online. Philanthropic organizations have the ability to reach people through social media platforms that they would never have had the ability to without this technology.
Sharing Content
Every active philanthropic organization has updates and content that people who believe in the cause will want to see. Connecting people who are already associated with the organization is just one piece of the puzzle. Social media facilitates conversation about the organization and allows content to be shared to people who had never heard of the nonprofit.
Fundraising
Most nonprofits need to rely on the donations of people believing in their cause to continue functioning and acquiring donations through fundraising allows them to stay open. Before social media, fundraising might have meant putting together an event and relying on people to attend to raise money. While this is still a means to fundraise, nonprofits also have the ability to create accounts on crowdfunding sites and share them with their followers on social media to get the word out.
Engaging with the community
Beyond just engaging with those who already support you, nonprofits on social media are able to interact with other like-minded organizations around the country or even around the world. These associations can open the doors to new benefactors who may want to align themselves with your mission.
Cheap or free advertising
Before the days of social media, nonprofits would have to dip into their funds in order to get exposure to news outlets and potential donors. Advertising, while costly, was necessary for any nonprofit organization to grow in the local community, let alone on a national stage. Most social media accounts are free to sign up and require time crafting posts and creating content, not money on advertising to grow their audience.
Allows you to clarify your mission
Social media posts are easy to put together and allows the organization to hone in on exactly what they want to say about their mission and goals. Prior to social media, brochures were primarily how organizations would get their information out there, but updating brochures and reprinting them are expensive. Signing on to your social media account and updating the profile and posting content in line with the mission is much easier and much more effective.