We live more intensely and largely... online. Whether we want it or not, social media have become a permanent fixture on our phones. It is worth making good use of their potential, if only to promote aid campaigns. Wondering, How to set up a collection on Facebook or how to write a post about a charity collection? Be sure to read this text!
Social media and charity collections
Social media has been used for years to promote online collections. It's a space that brings together users of different age groups, who spend a good portion of their time online, so they're also more likely to help precisely through the Internet. Quick, convenient, in between browsing the latest posts.
Social media is the answer to modern lifestyles. Instead of long written forms, graphics or short videos are enough to convey the most important information. After all, time is of the essence. All right, but how to cut through the maze of numerous requests to support a charity collection? You don't have to be an expert in this field. A few tips will suffice. Do you have social media? A fundraiser for your treatment can get off the ground today!
Where is the best place to promote a charity collection?
Promotion of online collections can be done through several platforms simultaneously. You can choose from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (former Twitter), and TikTok. Each site focuses a slightly different target audience, and different types of posts reign supreme on each.
How to promote a collection on social media? With Facebook, you can reach a wider audience of potential donors of virtually any age and publish posts, videos, stories, graphics.
In the case of TikTok, the community focuses on younger users, and the preferred form of communication is short, creative videos.
Instagram is a platform ideal for posting photos and stories, avoid inserting longer posts. LinkedIn brings together employers and employees from different industries. It will help you reach out to local companies that can support your fundraising. The style of communication should be more official.
X focuses on short content, which is worth supplementing each time with a link to the collection page.
Charity campaign on the Internet - how to do it right?
- Opt for transparency. Your campaign cannot be anonymous, it must have a "face." When someone runs social media for a foundation, insert posts with people raising funds for treatment. Do the exact same thing. If that's not possible, ask for donations on behalf of the patient.
- Remember storytelling. Instead of dry facts and the slogan "we need 30 thousand for treatment," describe the patient's story. By doing so, you will influence the emotions of your post recipients and create a bond with them.
- Promoting online collections also means clearly stating the goal - how much you want to raise, for what, in what time. It's worth describing the plan for treatment, purchase of medical equipment, etc.
- Don't duplicate posts. Every time you post something, report on something new, such as the progress of treatment, a trip for research, preparation for surgery. Repeated posts do not generate interest.
- If you want to gather donors and raise money on Facebook or another platform, use your network of contacts. Invite friends, colleagues, well-known figures in the local community, influencers, media representatives to the event or like the page.
- Complete each post with a link that will redirect the recipient to the collection page.
- Enrich posts with hashtags - use popular slogans or create a unique hashtag for a specific collection.
How to set up a collection on Facebook?
As of July 2024, you cannot set up a collection on Facebook. However, you can use this platform to promote your collection online and reach as large a potential audience as possible. How do you raise money on Facebook? Although you can't collect direct donations through this platform, it's still a good idea to use social media to redirect donors to the direct collection page on the collection site.
Remember that you can set up a collection for treatment on our collection platform. Check out the Cancer Fighters Foundation for help.
How to raise money on Facebook without setting up a collection?
Not so long ago on Facebook it was possible, among other things, to set up a birthday collection and indicate the purpose for which you are raising funds. Today, such an option is no longer available. Set up a fanpage for a particular collection or create an event to raise funds for the treatment of a sick person.
Your action should be based on promoting the collection and encouraging online donations on the direct collection page. The collection's fanpage is an ideal space to tell the patient's story. To do so, you can write a post, create a carousel, post a video or conduct a live broadcast (be sure to save it!). Use different forms of communication and see which works best.
In addition to promoting the collection, it is a good idea to create a special group to bring together potential donors, and organize auctions for the patient. Funds raised can be deposited directly on the collection page.
Check out: how you can help cancer patients.
How often to publish posts about the collection?
In order for social media promotion of collections to be successful, you need to act systematically. Make regular posts about the collection, but don't overdo it, as this may discourage potential donors. How often to post? It is enough to upload one post every few days. The minimum is one post per week. It's a good idea to supplement postings with stories related to, for example, the progress of treatment or information about the patient's well-being.
How do you encourage people to donate online?
Helping makes us feel needed and important. We have a sense of real support for a person in need and influence over his or her future. However, in order to help and donate online, we need to be sure that the collection is legitimate and transparent. That's why your online collection promotion should emphasize these two features of the aid campaign. Setting up a collection on a proven collection site, like Cancer Fighters' collections for cancer treatment, is a guarantee of a safe donation for both parties - donors and those in need.
Everyone likes to get involved in something that gets results. Supplement your social media fundraising promotion with updates on the number of contributions and fundraising progress. Communicate how much time is left until the end of the campaign.
Online collection promotion should go hand in hand with offline action promotion. Check:
How to increase the reach of a collection on social media?
Remember to set the visibility of posts to public. Tag your friends and encourage them to continue sharing the posts. You can also buy paid ads on social media and choose the target audience you want to reach with your fundraising message.
To influence the platform's algorithms and thus increase the visibility of the collection, try to engage the community. Every like, share, comment counts. Interact with your audience - respond to their comments, ask questions, thank them for their past contributions. Publish posts regularly.
How to promote the collection? Take advantage of the reach of influencers and local companies, media outlets that run their profiles on social media. Ask them to share a post with information about the collection or record a video about it and post it on their profile. A good solution would be to share the video and tag the influencer in the post.
Learn how to support people with cancer.
Social media will allow you to build an engaged community. In addition to promoting the collection online, it's worth using this space to build awareness about health, prevention and treatment of cancer. Even if only one recipient of your posts decides to test the controls, your actions are meaningful!
