Many organizations see social media as the perfect channel to raise awareness for a specific cause (climate change, depression, etc.). This isn't a surprising thought, given the political and polarized nature of Facebook and Twitter users .
But what really gets someone to commit to your cause? According to Ann Christiano and Annie Neimand, it's not " raising awareness ." To truly influence the beliefs and behavior of your followers, you need to approach your message strategically. This way, you avoid people seeing your organization as "one of many."
Who are you targeting your communications at?
Make sure you define the audience your posts are aimed at beforehand. Do you have a local charity in Amsterdam that offers language classes to refugees? Then consider what type of volunteer you need and define buyer (or user) personas . A buyer (or user) persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer or user, based on market research and real data about your existing customers or users (definition via Hubspot ). In the case of a charity, the word "customer" can be replaced with "volunteer."
The buyer (or user) persona of a student will undoubtedly differ from that of a busy mother or father of three. By determining in advance which volunteer or donor you're looking for, you increase your chances of phone number library registrations or donations. How busy are they? What problem are they trying to solve by volunteering? By answering these questions, you can use social media to reach your audience.
Hubspot has created a handy tool that makes it easy to define who your ideal volunteer or donor is: Make My Persona
I recommend you split the sections into
Online channels . Is your ideal volunteer on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? Which newspapers or websites do they visit? This kind of information gives you a good idea of the tone and type of posts your followers are most receptive to.
Problems & needs . Do your followers experience a specific problem? If your charity focuses on plastic pollution, for example, you might consider how plastic pollution impacts your potential volunteer or donor. This will help you determine which needs or problems you can address with your social media channels.
Behavior . How engaged is your ideal volunteer or follower with your cause? Do you stand out daily, weekly, or annually? And does your user persona already volunteer? By defining the behavior of the ideal volunteer or donor, you determine whether your social media communication should inform or inspire. Or perhaps a combination of both.
Top tip : By speaking to existing volunteers and asking them the right questions, you can continue to improve your user personas.