Linkedin For Nonprofits: How to Reach Your Goals Using Linkedin
Most professionals are aware of or actively use Linkedin for networking and career purposes. Did you know you can use Linkedin for your nonprofit organization as well? Linkedin’s built-in networking abilities can help you gain more traction and attention, leading to more interest in your cause and your organization. We’re going to show you how to get started with using Linkedin for your nonprofit and maximize your marketing potential.
Create a Linkedin Page For a Nonprofit
Linkedin has special account options for organizations and businesses to increase their reach. They also provide a bunch of excellent tips on how to maximize your page’s potential and offer tools for specific types of posts, such as events or relevant news for your nonprofit community.
Steps to Creating a Nonprofit Linkedin Page
When you’re ready to start your Linkedin page, you can do so in a few simple steps:
- Sign up for your Linkedin account. Follow the steps to create a Linkedin account. If you plan on giving multiple people access to your page, make sure the email and password aren’t personal ones.
- Create a company page.
- Select “nonprofit” as your page type.
- Fill out details including contact info, location, industry, and size. Make sure your contact info stays up to date and the appropriate emails are linked.
- Include your logos, banners, and profile image. The visual part of your Linkedin profile will be extremely important, so make sure everything looks professional and clear.
- Write an attention-grabbing tagline with your mission statement or something similar. Introductions are everything and having a powerful tagline can pull someone into learning more about you.
- Add a concise description of your nonprofit. Have a clear description of what you do, the communities you serve, how you started, and any other relevant information. Try to keep it as short as possible.
- Publish! You’ve completed setting up your Linkedin profile!
Tips on Making Your Nonprofit Linkedin Profile Stand Out
Once you’re done with the initial step of creating your profile, you now have to put in a little work to get it out there. The first step you can take is to include members of your nonprofit. Ask them to join or follow the organization and maybe share some of your posts every once in a while. Starting internally is a great way to help boost your views and get the word out through those connections first.
Using hashtags is another way you can help your organization get recognized. Hashtags like #nonprofit, #fundraising, and #philanthropy are good, but don’t be afraid to include other specific hashtags, like #climatechange or #humanrights depending on your specific communities. Keep up posts on holidays and world news as well. You can advertise things like “give the gift of learning this holiday season” to plug discounts on donor memberships for your museum or zoo, or mention plants you have in conservation that are in danger of extinction due to global warming to plug donations.
Don’t forget to stay consistent on all your social media platforms, especially with your banners and logos. This avoids confusion, you don’t want people looking you up asking themselves if they have the correct organization. It creates a memorable and identifiable brand for your nonprofit.
Benefits to Investing Time Into Your Linkedin Company Profile as a Nonprofit.
The work you put in generally pays off in most things you do, and Linkedin is no exception. The more you put in, the better results you’ll get out. Here are some tips to maximize your engagement and why they help with your marketing as a nonprofit.
- Groups. You can join groups on Linkedin, linking yourself with similar communities that share the same ideas as your nonprofit. This is a great way to find other nonprofits to collaborate and connect with. Joining a group also helps increase your traffic and helps your visibility. Most groups are vetted by Linkedin as well, so you know they’re trusted and you don’t have to worry about associating with scams.
- Networking. Putting yourself out there gives you the opportunity to discover untapped areas of growth and development. You might find a new group of people interested in your cause, or resonate with some higher-ups at a company that will eventually become very interested in donating to you. Making a Linkedin for your nonprofit gives you the ability to make these connections easier than ever and the act of engaging with you and your organization in a professional setting becomes much easier as well.
- Fundraising. Since you’re on a website for professionals, philanthropy is easier to come by. You can utilize specific fundraising hashtags to spread the word about your cause and what you’re receiving donations for. It’ll be easier to receive donations without having to worry about reaching the right people. Be sure to educate people on the best places to donate to your nonprofit and make it as easy as possible.
- Thought leadership. Encouraging higher-ups within your organization to make long-form posts about their perspective on issues relevant to your nonprofit can be an incredibly useful marketing strategy. People crave valuable insight from professionals in successful positions and having your higher-ups give their opinions on a variety of relevant topics can help further your organization’s brand. Maybe one of your executives is passionate about how weather patterns are affecting the migration of specific animals, or they have excellent advice on how to create engaging museum exhibits for children. Any number of things could generate interest for your nonprofit through these articles.
- Professional development of staff. Your staff can start to learn more about the marketing and other aspects involved on Linkedin and potentially find places to upskill. They might find an interest in content writing, enjoy the communications aspect of Linkedin, or find they have a knack for creating graphics for your nonprofit. Whatever it is, Linkedin can help your staff grow with your page.
- Recruiting. Instead of having to wade through applications, you can start recruiting through Linkedin. More professionals will take interest in you as well through connections, leading to more skilled staff at your nonprofit. This method of hiring also helps with your employee retention, as you’ll have more information readily available on your Linkedin.
Nonprofit Groups to Join
As we mentioned before, groups can be a great way to market yourself. You can ask thought-provoking questions about your work as a nonprofit and some of the challenges you face. Open discussions with other nonprofits can help you network and even get legitimate help with problems you’re having within your organization. Here’s a list of some great nonprofit groups you can join on Linkedin.
Acme Can Track Your Efforts on Linkedin Via Donations and Sales!
Acme Ticketing isn’t just excellent ticketing software. With our CRM integration, membership marketing, and membership management tools, you can easily track the donations you’re generating from your Linkedin presence. Acme Ticketing offers integrated payments and cloud-based software, giving you the ability to see your membership activity anywhere. If you’re interested in seeing how Acme can help your nonprofit thrive, request a demo today.