Thanking your donors who have been with you through thick and thin is not just common courtesy, it is also essential for donor retention and recurring gifts. Acknowledging your supporters publicly will show your donors that they are appreciated and their contributions are valued.
Here are a few ways you can use social media to thank your donors.
Showcase Your Donors
With your donors’ permission, feature them on your social media page. You can place their picture and write a small brief about why they give, their testimonials, or a small quote. Even though this seems very simple, this is an extremely powerful statement. Donors are also human and feel flattered when you bask them with attention. It may also lead to more gifts in the future.
Fan of the Week
You can up the game by not just showcasing your donor on a single post but giving them tribute for an entire week. You can do this by adding a very easy-to-use Facebook application to your page. The app automatically highlights the person who interacts with your nonprofit’s page the most in a single week. You can honor the supporter’s page, business or a cause or create a gallery of posts for them for one week on your page. You can also send them a T-shirt, mug or pen with your logo as a thank you gift.
Use Facebook Live and Instagram Videos
Your thank you attempt should be nothing fancy. Something as simple as making a Facebook Live or Instagram video can do wonders for your cause. If you are hosting an event and encouraging donors to donate money in the form of cash or checks, you and your volunteers can make a short but sweet video of the donations as they pour in.
Make a list of your major donors, supporters, and sponsors and set up a Google alert for them and their companies. This can help you monitor their tweets, Facebook post, blog posts, and news and you can share their relevant or important content on your social media channels. By letting donors know that you are paying attention and acknowledging their achievements, you can build an even better relationship with your supporters. You will also have the chance to learn even more about them and use your newfound information to create even better fundraising strategies.
Exclusive Access
You can also offer your major donors a chance to talk to the top brass of your nonprofit through Facebook webcast or Google Hangout. You can also give exclusive access to live, behind-the-scenes workings of your nonprofit or hold a live Q&A session with top executives, who can also help in promoting a donor’s own mission. For example, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gives their supporters and fundraisers access to Bill Gates through a live Facebook Q&A session.
Social media is not supposed to totally replace personal strategies like face-to-face meetings, phone calls, and hosting appreciative events. However, it is one of the best strategies to adopt if you want to acknowledge your donors in a time-effective and cost-effective way.
Salah Hamwi
Ashraf Samhouri