Nonprofits have a lot to say.
You’re helping and supporting people. Bringing people together and creating opportunities. Serving your community and raising money. You need to be recruiting volunteers, hosting events and celebrating milestones. In short, you are probably doing about 900 other things that never make it onto your social media calendar.
We see it all the time. The work, impact and stories ar happening, but finding the time to consistently share all of it on social media? That’s a different story.
For nonprofits in Hampton Roads, social media can be one of the simplest ways to stay connected with the people who care about your organization. Social media is also a way to introduce your mission to people who haven’t discovered you yet.
And no, that doesn’t mean you need to become an influencer. It means you should be showing up where your community already is.
Social Media Helps People Understand Your Mission
Someone can visit your website and read your mission statement. But social media gives them the opportunity to actually see your mission in action.
They can see the people you serve.
They meet your staff.
They see volunteers at work.
They hear from your supporters.
They watch an event come together.
They get to celebrate every milestone with you.
That makes your organization feel human. There are many nonprofit organizations in our area that are doing an amazing job at this! Some are already our clients, while others are organizations we don’t work with professionally. But that doesn’t mean we don’t cheer them on! We support their missions, love seeing them pop up in our social feeds, and enjoy learning more about the work they’re doing and the impact they’re making in our community.
When an organization is using social media to its fullest potential, well, we can’t help but cheer them on! One organization Jessica, from our Misty Saves The Day team, especially loves supporting is the Roc Solid Foundation. She’s loved watching their social media presence grow and seeing how they use it to connect with their community and share their mission. 
One of the pillars that we’ll always stand behind when it comes to marketing: people connect with people. We want to see the faces, hear the stories, and know there are real humans behind the organization we’re following.
A nonprofit’s social media presence shouldn’t just be a collection of donation requests and event announcements. Those things are important, but they’re only part of your story.
Show people why your organization exists.
One of the pillars that we’ll always stand behind when it comes to marketing: people connect with people. We want to see the faces, hear the stories, and know there are real humans behind the organization we’re following.
A nonprofit’s social media presence shouldn’t just be a collection of donation requests and event announcements. Those things are important, but they’re only part of your story.
Show people why your organization exists.
Your Community Is Already on Social Media
Think about the people you want to reach. Potential donors. Volunteers. Families. Community partners. Local businesses. Event attendees. People looking for resources. People who want to get involved but don’t know where to start.
Those people are paying attention to organizations doing good work in their community. But they don’t know, what they don’t know. They need to see what your nonprofit is doing and how easy it is for them to become a part of it.
For Hampton Roads nonprofits, this local connection can be especially important. Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, and the surrounding communities are full of organizations, businesses, families, and individuals looking for ways to connect and give back.
Social media gives your organization another place to be found.
And sometimes, the person who discovers your nonprofit through a post today becomes a volunteer, donor, advocate, or community partner months from now. 
Social Media Builds Familiarity and Trust
Most people don’t see one post from an organization and immediately decide to donate $500, volunteer every Saturday, or become a lifelong supporter.
It takes time. It’s another marketing pillar: a person needs to know you, then like you and then they trust you.
They will see your name. Then they see another post.
They see photos from an event. It looks like something they’d want to do next time.
Then they learn something about your organization they didn’t already know. They see the impact you’re making. and it pulls at their personal heart strings.
Eventually, your organization starts to feel familiar. Then they see an event or ways to volunteer and they feel comfortable signing up because your nonprofit is known, liked and now trusted by them.
That familiarity matters. When someone is ready to donate, volunteer, attend an event, or recommend an organization to a friend, they already know who you are.
You also don’t want your nonprofit to only show up on social media when you need something.
Give people reasons to follow along between fundraising campaigns, too.
You Already Have More Content Than You Think
This is probably one of our favorite things to tell nonprofits:
You don’t necessarily need more content. You need to recognize the content you already have.
Did a volunteer hit an anniversary? That’s a post.
Did someone you serve reach a milestone? That’s a post.
Did your team spend the morning preparing for an event? That’s a post.
Did a local business donate supplies? That’s a post.
Did someone leave an amazing testimonial? That’s a post.
Did your organization make a difference for someone? Definitely a post.
Did your staff have a funny moment while setting up for an event? Yep. That’s a post, too.
Your nonprofit is already doing the things people would want to see. The trick is remembering to capture them and share them. 
Not Every Post Needs to Ask for Money
We get it. Fundraising is important. But if every post says, “Donate now,” people may start tuning out.
Your social media should have some breathing room.
Talk about your mission. Introduce your team. Share educational information. Celebrate your volunteers. Highlight community partners. Show behind-the-scenes moments. Share stories. Answer questions. Celebrate wins.
And yes, ask for donations when you need them.
But give people a reason to care about your organization before you ask them to open their wallets.
The goal isn’t just to get a donation today.
It’s to build a community of people who understand your mission and want to see your organization succeed.
Your Volunteers and Supporters Can Help Tell the Story
Nonprofits have something many businesses would love to have: passionate people who genuinely care about what they do. 
Your volunteers, supporters, donors, board members, staff, and community partners are part of your story. Use them.
Share a volunteer spotlight. Ask a board member why they got involved. Reshare a supporter who tagged your organization. Take photos at events. Share testimonials. Celebrate the people who make your work possible.
User-generated content can also help your organization feel more authentic because you’re not always the one saying how great you are. Glance over at your tagged photos, mentions, and even your geographic location if you have one. Find a photo or content you like and would love to use? Reach out to that person and ask permission, or if they could email it to you!
This does two things: Using content that’s already there, and including someone in the mission who had a previous experience with your nonprofit organization. This allows a volunteer to go from liking you to knowing you and feeling included in your mission.
And, sometimes it’s even better when someone else says it for you. (This entire blog post is showcasing Roc Solid Foundation because one of our employees learned about them, volunteered, and is authentically a big supporter!)
Social Media Can Help With More Than Fundraising
When people think about nonprofit social media, fundraising is often the first thing that comes to mind. But your social media presence can support so much more.
Recruiting Volunteers
People often want to volunteer but don’t know where to start. Make it easy for them to understand what opportunities are available, who you’re looking for, and how they can get involved. Because of Roc Solid’s social media presence Jessica and her husband knew that they could volunteer at the Ready Bag Rally event!
Promoting Events
Your event shouldn’t only appear on social media the week before it happens. Build awareness ahead of time. Introduce the event. Show behind the scenes of how you are preparing for it. Create a countdown and an easy way for them to become a part of the event. Share what’s happening. Highlight speakers, vendors, volunteers, or activities. Then show people what they missed afterward.
Roc Solid Foundation did an amazing job leading up to their Ready Bag Rally, of packing 16,000 ready bags for families who were just diagnosed with childhood cancer in the hospital. They did this with countdowns, graphics, stories, links to sign up and be involved!
Finding Community Partners
Local businesses and other organizations are constantly looking for meaningful ways to connect with their communities.
Your social media can help potential partners understand what you do and where their support could make a difference. Think of it as your portfolio. They want to go tour social media account and see that you are currently active, you are making a difference and your organization is passionate about what it does.
Recruiting Employees
Potential employees are looking at your online presence, too.
Your social media can show what it’s actually like to be part of your organization—not just what the job description says.
Sharing Resources
If your nonprofit provides resources, education, or support, social media can help get that information in front of the people who need it.
Sometimes the most important post you make isn’t asking for anything. It’s simply helping someone and sharing a resource.
Local Matters
One of the biggest advantages of being a nonprofit in Hampton Roads is your connection to the community around you. Use it.
Tag local businesses and organizations when you’re collaborating with them. Share local events. Highlight community partners. Celebrate volunteers from the area. Use location tags. Participate in community conversations.
If your nonprofit serves Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, or another Hampton Roads community, make sure people can tell that from your social media presence.
You aren’t just a nonprofit on the internet.
You’re a nonprofit in a community. Let people see that.
Consistency Matters More Than Perfection
Here’s where we want to save you some stress.
Your nonprofit does not need to produce a perfectly polished social media post every single day.
You don’t need a professional photoshoot for every update.
There’s no need to jump on every trend.
And we love saying this but you also don’t need to make your staff dance. Unless you want to!
Finally, you definitely don’t need to spend hours trying to figure out what Instagram changed this week.
You do need to show up consistently.
A simple photo from an event with a thoughtful caption can be more meaningful than an overproduced A.I. graphic that says very little. 
A quick video from a volunteer can tell a better story than a perfectly designed stock image.
Your audience wants to see your organization, not a generic nonprofit. People are craving real and authenticity.
What If Your Team Doesn’t Have Time for Social Media?
This is where things get tricky for a lot of nonprofits.
You know social media matters. You should be posting because you know that you have stories worth sharing.
But someone still has to actually do it.
Someone has to create the content, write the captions, schedule the posts, keep up with trends and platform changes, respond to comments and messages, look at what’s working, and make sure your social media doesn’t disappear when things get busy.
Things always get busy. That’s where a social media management team can help.
At Misty Saves The Day, we work with businesses and organizations to take the day-to-day pressure of social media off their plates.
That doesn’t mean taking your voice away. In fact, it’s the opposite.
We take the time to learn your organization, your people, your audience, your goals, and the way you communicate. Then we use that information to help tell your story in a way that feels like you.
You still get to be involved. You still get to share what’s happening. You still get to approve content and give us ideas.
You just don’t have to be the person trying to remember whether that one Instagram message went into a regular inbox, a request folder, or some other mysterious corner of the internet.
Your Mission Deserves to Be Seen
The work your nonprofit is doing matters.
But if people don’t know you’re doing it, they can’t support it.
Social media gives you a way to consistently show your community who you are, what you do, who you help, and why your work matters.
You need a strategy that helps you consistently show up, tell your story, and connect with the people who care about your mission.
And if you’re a Hampton Roads nonprofit that knows social media needs more attention but doesn’t have the time, team, or desire to manage it all yourself…
That’s what we’re here for.
Let’s make social media one less thing your team has to worry about and one more way your mission gets in front of the people who need to see it.
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