The power of LinkedIn cannot be underestimated.
A lot of non-profits are still missing out on the power of LinkedIn as an engagement tool, even though it has changed significantly in recent years to become an ideal outreach platform and referral hub for non-profit recruiters and fundraisers
Many of them think of it as just an online resume, but it’s much more than that.
In fact, when done right, LinkedIn can be the most effective tool in your non-profit’s tool belt—one that will connect you to millions of users and drive traffic to your website and social media channels with little or no effort on your part.
Let’s explore this brief guide to make the most of LinkedIn for your non-profit organization.
Creating a Company Page
Organizations on LinkedIn can create a Company Page to showcase their brand and engage with the community. A Company Page is an effective way to share updates, distribute content, and build relationships with potential supporters.
Here’s how you can get started:
- Check out LinkedIn.com or LinkedIn pages.
The platform’s built-in page creation tool is LinkedIn Pages. Click “Create your Page” on the Pages page if you came from this site.
- If you already have a LinkedIn Profile, starting from LinkedIn.com is a terrific alternative. To achieve this, click “Create a Company Page+” at the bottom of your profile after tapping the “Work” option in the navigation header.
- Select Your Page Type. For your NPO, select “Company”.
- Choose a professional profile photo and add your organization’s logo. Add an image that speaks to your organization’s mission. A picture with someone smiling or holding something from your organization will instantly catch people’s attention and show them what makes you unique.
- Make sure to add a link back to your website at the bottom of every post so viewers can find out more about what you do and how they can help support you.
Share Your Journey:
Once your page has been built, you may add more details about your experience to encourage interaction and let visitors get to know you better.
You can include the “About Us” section, elaborate on your mission and origins, and even include a call to action (CTA) to compel readers to support your cause.
In case somebody is interested in volunteering, it’s also crucial to include your location. A distinctive cover image may draw interest.
Posting Relevant Content
Good content is the lifeblood of any social media strategy, and LinkedIn is no exception.
Whether you’re posting job opportunities, thought leadership pieces, or videos, in order to get maximum engagement on your posts you need to be sure that what you post is relevant to your audience.
Here are some LinkedIn content ideas you can consider:
- Photographs and films of occasions, such as fundraising events, to demonstrate how they went and encourage people to take part in similar occasions in the future.
- Links to donation options or other fund-raising events.
- Details on forthcoming programs and activities, such as volunteer opportunities.
- Educational materials about your non-profit’s specialty to inform readers about your cause, explain why it’s crucial, and urge them to get involved.
- Information that illustrates your influence, such as the outcomes of a beach clean-up.
- Employee spotlights so customers may discover more about the people in charge of your business.
- Job openings so individuals wishing to devote more time to your cause can do
Also, include hashtags so people can find your posts if they search for related topics on LinkedIn and encourage those who have shared similar articles to engage with others by commenting and liking comments posted by others about the topic.
Connecting With Other Non-Profit Organizations:
One of the best things you can do when using LinkedIn is to connect with your peers. It’s not just about how many connections you have, but who those connections are.
Connecting with other non-profits will allow you to reach out and network, collaborate on projects, share resources, and learn from each other. You’ll also be able to see what they’re doing on their end and offer them feedback or advice if needed.
Your network also develops into a reliable source of news and data. Send a “Connect” request if you’re interested in something that someone else is interested in but you don’t know yet. Simply include a personalized note introducing yourself and briefly outlining why you’d like to connect.
Connect with everyone you know on LinkedIn so that it starts to represent your real network.
Measuring Your Results
It’s not always easy to know whether a campaign is working, but with the right metrics in place, you can measure your results and make adjustments as needed.
The most basic metric to measure success is impressions or the number of times a post is seen. But that doesn’t tell you how engaged those people were with your content.
The second metric to consider is reaching, or how many people saw your post – no matter how many times they saw it. You also want to be aware of what percentage of your audience clicked on a link in your post, which is known as engagement.
Other useful metrics include clicks (how many times someone clicked on one of the links in your post), shares (how many people who saw your post shared it on their own page), favorites (people clicking the ‘like’ button below one of your posts) and comments (how you can use this to gauge whether someone found value in what you’re sharing).
Use LinkedIn’s built-in analytics engine frequently to use all these metrics.
Invite Your Staff to Help with Promotion
Ask your staff to promote your non-profit on their page to attract the attention of their contacts who aren’t familiar with you yet.
For instance, if a worker shares a post about an upcoming event on their profile, their connections may see it and be motivated to go to the event to find out more about your company.
Building credibility also involves encouraging others to talk about you in sincere ways in their posts.
Post Regularly:
For your non-profit, an excellent company page will only have a limited impact. Post regularly to take advantage of all that LinkedIn has to offer.
You might share a variety of information on your posts, including job vacancies, upcoming events, testimonials, “behind the scenes,” your own material, other organizations’ content, news releases, and more.
Regular posting has many advantages, including boosting your organization’s legitimacy, keeping your fans and followers informed, establishing yourself as a thought leader, communicating with others, and being at the forefront of people’s minds. Maintaining a presence while not “spamming” the newsfeeds of your followers should be your aim.
The Bottom Line:
LinkedIn is a useful tool for NGOs to use, particularly when trying to reach out to engaged people who want to make a difference for the causes they support.
LinkedIn can help you with all of your goals, including growing your nonprofit’s visibility, building reputation and trust, hiring top talent, and sharing your expertise.
You can also check out our tips on optimizing LinkedIn marketing campaign.
If you want to take your LinkedIn marketing to the next level, get in touch with us now!