Facebook can be a powerful tool for nonprofit organizations. It provides a platform to tell your story and enables you to engage with your patrons. Here are a few things you can do to optimize your posts, especially when your goal is to sell a ticket, inspire a donation, or generate leads.
1. Keep Your Post Copy Short
Often, our instinct is to include lots of information into the body of a Facebook post. Resist that urge. As readers scroll through their feed, shorter messages have a better change of being read than longer ones. Try to keep your posts to 3-4 lines of text, including your URL.
2. Upload A Photo Or Video
People tend to engage more with posts that include images and videos, so be sure to upload a photo or video with each of your posts. Remember that posting a "native" photo or video is better than re-sharing a post from another platform. To post native media, just click on the photo icon at the bottom of the post tool in Facebook and upload your original media directly from your computer or phone.
3. Tag Everyone
Remember to tag everyone and everything that is applicable in the body of your post. Tagging will increase your reach as well as provide an opportunity for engagement.
4. Add A URL
Ultimately, you want people to take an action after they read your Facebook post, so remember to add a URL that links to additional information (on your website is best) related to your post. This will move people to your website, and the act of clicking on the link also "counts" as a Facebook engagement, which can help more people see your post. Pro Tip: If your URL is long, use a shortener like Bitly to make it more manageable.
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