Did you know there are a ton of opportunities on Linkedin for nonprofit organizations?
It’s true! Not only is it the perfect place to promote your work, but there are a ton of ways to utilize LinkedIn for nonprofits that help connect you with new supporters, followers or volunteers!
If you think that Linkedin is just a business-oriented platform for job seekers, think again. So many impactful conversations are had on the platform. It can offer your organization opportunities to find like-minded businesses and individuals and prove yourself and your organization as a thought leader in the space.
So here are a few tips to get your profile started!
Set Your Nonprofit’s Linkedin Page Up For Success
Filling out all aspects of your Linkedin profile not only gives visitors an idea of who you are but can help you get found in the feed and in the search bar. It is the face of your organization and needs to properly reflect your mission, branding and values.
This is the first impression many people will have of you and may inspire them to visit your website and donate. When creating your profile there are a few must-haves to look out for:
- Your location
- Number of employees
- Mission statement
- Current job openings
- Links to your website or fundraising campaigns
- Clean graphics
When choosing a profile photo, pick something simple and bold. You don’t want to use too much text, so a simple logo should work perfectly here. When scrolling through the homepage, your followers should instantly recognize your organization from your profile image.
Your header graphic is the second image you can make use of on your page. We recommend reviewing other nonprofit’s pages to get ideas and best practices. Canva also has a ton of free templates for you to use and create your header.
Audit and Connect With Other Organizations
When beginning your Linkedin journey, it's always a good idea to take some time to analyze what your competitors are doing. This will get you familiar with the standards of your vertical and give ideas on how you can stand out.
Gather some of the top organizations with a similar mission and operate on a similar scale. You should also examine other nonprofits with an online presence you find admirable and inspiring. When doing your research, think about the following questions:
- What about their page grabs my interest?
- Is there anything here I would do differently?
- How easy is it to find relevant information about their mission, location, staff, etc?
- What sort of content are they creating?
- How many comments, likes, and shares are they getting on their content?
Getting an idea of what other organizations are doing can help develop your own strategy. You can see what popular content and style on the platform and use those ideas in your own content.
You can also use it as a benchmark to help your profile stand out. If you notice many organizations are using images and text posts, you can make your profile stand out by focusing on stories and video content.
Encourage Staff to Join In!
Having a business page is a great place to give more information on your organization, but unfortunately, it does not allow you to participate in groups. However, you can get around this by using your personal page or encouraging staff to get involved in online conversations.
Linkedin Groups are another great way to connect with professionals and share information related to a specific topic in your field. They can cover every topic you can think of and have an incredible range in size and reach. Becoming a member of these groups and actively participating in conversations is a great way to promote your work.
Keep in mind you can’t just join and spam your content, the interactions have to be genuine and contribute to the group’s topic. You and your staff will have to participate in conversations with a vested, legitimate interest before sharing your content organically.
It might also be helpful to create a social media policy that goes over the persona you want to have online. This way your team's communication is consistent with your branding and reflects the personality of your nonprofit.
Create A Consistent Posting Schedule
If you want to get noticed on Linkedin you have to actively participate on the platform. The primary way to grow your audience is to share your own content and interact with others' posts.
There is an endless list of content ideas you can use for content, including:
- Fundraising milestones
- Job listings or new hires
- A behind the scenes look at your organization
- A staff, volunteer or donor feature post where they can tell their story
- Interview a client or someone who uses your services
- Share an interesting fact about your cause
- Post website content like blogs or informational pages
By posting regularly, you’re increasing your organization’s credibility by keeping your supporters and followers in the loop, establishing yourself as a thought leader, interacting with others, and staying on top of people’s minds. Your goal should be to maintain a presence without ‘spamming’ your followers’ news feeds. Ask yourself if the content you post will have value to your followers and if the answer is yes post away!
Don’t Be Afraid to Test and Try New Things
When creating any new social media strategy, you are not going to know what you are doing and gain 100 followers upon signing up. Building an audience takes time, and no two profiles are the same, so if you find that what’s working for your colleagues is not working for you don’t get discouraged.
Instead, try new things. Use the Linkedin analytics tab to keep track of your success and offer a milestone for your progress. Look at the stats for your individual posts and see what is generating the most interaction.
Goal setting also comes into play here. Do you want to drive more people to your site? Increase followers? Or use the platform to connect with influencers? Each of these goals has a different success metric and defining exactly what that is will help you determine what is working for your nonprofit.
