Since I am big on networking, I read this book, Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi. The book was a great read about opportunities to network. From this book, I learned many ways to build my network, such as hosting a dinner, which I thought was a great idea.
However, living in a small NYC apartment, I have always felt like my apartment is too small to host gatherings, and my pockets are not deep enough to pay for all the food my friends are bound to devour.
Reading further, he specifically mentioned hosting a potluck dinner. As a woman with a small budget and high ambitions, this was the perfect solution for me, and as a nonprofit, you have to find the perfect solution to growing your network, too.
Be Ready To Make A Good Impression
The first step to growing your network is to get to know more people. But before you go out trying to make friends, you need to look polished. First impressions are important, even for a nonprofit.
You can make a good first impression by making sure your owned media channels look clean, professional, and visually appealing. Your owned media channels include assets like your website, social media pages, mobile landing pages, etc.
Some other things to consider are some interactive ways to engage individuals on your owned media channels. From Twitter posts to Hulu ads (paid media), you can encourage people to support your organization.
Create a User-Friendly Website
To start, one great way to interact with the public would be to develop a user-friendly website. Websites are the hub to your nonprofit’s mission, goals, and charitable dreams.
When a potential supporter visits your page, they need to navigate your website pages easily, find information, donate with ease, follow you on social media, or register for an event your company is hosting. Here a few examples:
CHARITY WATER
FEEDING AMERICA
HOUSING WORKS
First Impressions on Social Media
On social media, talk to your supporters and even those who do not support you thoughtfully and respectfully. Responding to the public online is a great form of engagement and makes a good impression on your donors and future supporters.
However, if you really want to turn up engagement with your posts, it is best to use pictures or videos. It has been proven that people engage more with posts that have visuals than with posts that do not, as cited by Social Media Examiner.
Keeping with pictures, you can use Pinterest or Instagram to convey your nonprofit’s story. Become a visual superstar! On Pinterest, create boards that tell a story about your nonprofit by visualizing campaign pushes, people or pets served, and more.
On Instagram, there aren’t any boards, but you post as you would on Pinterest. However, I find Instagram to be a great place to post information about upcoming events. As a Millennial, I know I go to Instagram to learn about events I can attend.
I hope this helps you grow your support base, engage with others, and take your nonprofit to new heights.