Fundraising Meets Storytelling: How to Use LinkedIn to Share Your Impact
There are two ways to go about fundraising for nonprofits. You can ask for donations, or you can inspire them.
Both ways can work, but let’s be honest: inspiring donations can be more engaging for both donors and the organization, which ultimately can make fundraising easier long-term. And that’s the goal for many nonprofit development teams: to help make fundraising easier and more impactful for their organization for years to come.
Find out how you can use LinkedIn to help you transform your stories into content that connects with the right donors and inspires action.
How to create compelling impact stories on LinkedIn
Whether your goal is to engage corporate philanthropy professionals, make a new media contact, or recruit a passionate board member — the person you’re looking for is only a connection away on LinkedIn.
The person you’re looking for is also only an impression away on LinkedIn. Savvy nonprofits have been publishing content to engage potential donors and volunteers ever since the platform’s inception. Today, nonprofits have more options than ever when it comes to using content for fundraising on LinkedIn.
Fundraisers can build trust with potential and existing donors by sharing transparent, authentic updates about their nonprofit’s mission, programs, and community impact. How you go about that is completely up to you.
“The pillars of our profession stand on a foundation of trust and relationships. Organizations have to change with the times to adjust to new platforms, new forms of payments, etc. But the rest is still predicated on the beauty of the human spirit and human interaction.”
— Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) member
(Source: Fundraising and development on LinkedIn: A guide for nonprofits)
Here are a few tips and ideas to keep in mind as you look to engage your audience and boost your nonprofit’s impact via LinkedIn.
Post content that resonates with your donor base. Consider the wants and needs of who you’re trying to reach and the types of content they might prefer. For example, some donors may want data to help justify their decisions, while others would rather watch and share videos about your organization’s impact. Nonprofits have access to several types of posts on LinkedIn, so you can choose the content format that works best for your objective.
Be mindful of your posting cadence. Post consistently to keep your nonprofit top of mind among potential donors but be careful not to overburden them with information or requests.
Post for specific, targeted audiences. Speaking of not overburdening your audience, consider using targeted LinkedIn Page posts when you want to post content for a specific portion of your audience. This helps ensure that your audience members only see what matters to them and aren’t inundated with irrelevant messages. For example, if you’re hosting an in-person event, you may want to limit your pre-event messaging to only followers who live in that region.
Tie your content reposts back to your fundraising goals. It’s generally recommended to repost around three pieces of content for every piece of original content you publish to the platform. Posts about your organization by employees, volunteers, or donors are excellent candidates for reposting.
Once you’ve found a piece of content to repost from your nonprofit’s Page, click the “Repost” button on the bottom of the post. Then, select “Repost with your thoughts” to write additional post copy, tying the content you’re sharing back to your fundraising or impact goals.
Start conversations on your posts. Every post is an opportunity to start a dialogue with the people you need to engage. One way to get these conversations going is to use your Page posts to encourage responses in the comments. For example, you could design a poll, ask an open-ended question, or invite people to share their opinions on the content you just posted.
Follow up with interested donors when appropriate. When a prospective donor interacts with your posts, consider having a leader reach out with a friendly message from their personal profile. They can introduce themselves, share valuable resources related to your cause, and suggest next steps to advance the relationship, like setting up a meeting or exploring volunteer opportunities.
Create fundraising videos. Videos on LinkedIn see 1.4x more engagement than other formats, which makes them well-suited for fundraising. For best results, emphasize the emotional aspect of your content, keep videos short (aim for less than a minute), include captions, as well as a strong, singular CTA.
Leverage live events. LinkedIn Events allow you to bring their professional community together in real time in a trusted, end-to-end environment. It’s an excellent option for spreading your key messages, boosting engagement, and bringing people closer to your organization.
How to amplify your most important stories and content on LinkedIn
Yes, amplifying your nonprofit’s stories can help generate more direct donations, volunteer applications, and other desirable actions. But that’s only part of it.
Spreading word of your nonprofit can also increase the likelihood that people will respond favorably to your organization’s outreach — because they recognize who you are and know what you’re about. When it comes to philanthropy, familiarity breeds trust. Here are a few tactics you can use to further amplify your nonprofit’s content on LinkedIn.
Start a LinkedIn Group to build community and open additional avenues for engagement. Consider inviting prospects to join LinkedIn Groups where people can share and receive information relevant to your nonprofit.
Please know that LinkedIn Groups do require some moderation and upkeep, but if you have the resources, they can be a great option for engaging niche subsets of your audience. You can use LinkedIn Groups to:
- Give volunteers a place to connect, post pictures, find information, and get their questions answered
- Share resources with specific audiences relevant to your cause
- Facilitate connections between people who want to help
Show appreciation for existing donors and sponsors. Is your nonprofit struggling to retain donors? If so, you’re not alone. Showing appreciation for your current supporters can be a great way to strengthen relationships and encourage future giving.
So, don’t forget to tag relevant people and Pages in your posts. They will likely appreciate the callout, and because they’re usually highly motivated to share this type of content, they can also help you maximize the reach of your message.
Make sure your donor is okay with it first and then be sure to tag your donor in the post, which again increases the likelihood that they’ll share it. Appreciation posts can be especially welcomed by corporate donors because it often goes hand-in-hand with building their public and employer brands.
Ask your leaders to share thought leadership content that’s likely to resonate with decision makers. “Aligning power with power” is a timeless sales strategy that can also help nonprofits attain more corporate donations.
Philanthropy-wise, aligning power with power helps ensure that decision-makers at the donor and nonprofit organizations are engaged and working toward a common goal.
For this to work, it’s important that your organization’s leaders have complete, robust LinkedIn profiles and are actively engaged on the platform. It’s also important that your leaders continually expand their network with contacts who can help support your organization’s goals.
Running targeted ad campaigns on LinkedIn. This can be a great way to get your message in front of the audience you need to reach.
On LinkedIn, there are thousands of different targeting combinations that can help you tailor your stories and messages to the specific audiences your nonprofit needs to engage. To learn more about the targeting criteria available on LinkedIn and how to use them effectively, check out this guide to LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities.
For more tips, insights, and best practices, check out Fundraising and Development on LinkedIn: A Guide for Nonprofits. LinkedIn also offers discounts for eligible nonprofits up to 50% off on fundraising solutions like LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Contact us to learn more.
