Name: Uplift: Making a Big Impact with a Small Social Media Team
Uploaded: 2025-04-01T18:30:05.033Z
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Description: Uplift: Making a Big Impact with a Small Social Media Team

Transcript for "Uplift: Making a Big Impact with a Small Social Media Team": Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us today at making a big impact with a small team is today's topic. My name is Laura Zubic. I use sheher pronouns. I'm the senior manager of social impact at Hootsuite. And it's an honor to be with you today as part of our uplift content series to help nonprofits like yours unlock really the full potential of social media to achieve your outstanding missions. So I am joining you today from the traditional ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh Nations, now most commonly known as Vancouver. And I'd like to take this moment to really express my gratitude to those past and present for welcoming me as a settler to work, live and play on these lands. So while we meet today on a virtual platform from all over the world as we see in the chat, I really encourage you to each learn about the lands that you call home. Alright. Now get that housekeeping out of the way. We've got a fantastic webinar planned for you today, but first, a couple of necessary memos for you. To ensure your streaming quality remains high, please consider choosing light mode. A quick walk through of your engagement panel, on the right side of your screen, you'll see the chat, the docs tab, where today's slides will live. I know a lot of you will ask where those will be, so they are in your docs tab. They also have access to all of the resource mentioned today in that tab as well as the q and a section. So if you do have a question, please pop it into the q and a tab so our team backstage can catch it. We try to move the good ones over from the chat, but the chat moves as quickly. So we might miss them. Try to drop them into that q and a tab directly. And then anyone who wishes to use closed captioning or subtitles, you can do so by just hovering your mouse over stage, clicking on that CC closed captioning icon in the bottom right corner. And if you're experiencing any buffering or audio issues today, please use the light mode if it's available to you. We also recommend closing any other apps or tabs during the webinar, which will help to mitigate that. And then finally, we really encourage you to network with others, of course, during the webinar. But dropping LinkedIn profile links in the chat can really bog it down, causing those messages to get lost in the mix. So we've made it easier for you today by including a Google Sheet in the docs tab. Some of you have already found that, which is fantastic. You can drop your LinkedIn information there, and then please just exit out once you're finished to allow others to have access. Alright. So I am delighted to introduce you to two of my colleagues who are going to be our experts for today's session, Martina Ondrasakova and Emma Drake. So Martina, I'll pass it to you for a quick introduction. Thank you so much, Laura, and hello hello, everyone. So my name is Martina. My pronouns are she, her, hers, and I am an account specialist here at Hootsuite. So we help many small business, customers to unlock the power of social. And prior to joining Hootsuite, I used to be a social media manager for the longest time and also a member proud member of small teams for the most part. And, also, I work for a few nonprofits. Yeah. And I'm really excited to be, with all of you here today. And over to you. Perfect. Thank you. Hi, everyone. I'm Emma Drake, a senior account specialist here at Hootsuite. So very I mean, very much the same as Martina, actually, but, that basically means we get to talk about social media all day and help Hootsuite users get the most out of our tool, whether that's mastering analytics, levering leveling up your strategy, or just figuring out what to post next, we've got you covered. So super pumped to be here today, to walk you through helping nonprofits with small teams make a big impact. And so, yeah, we'll definitely keep it fun, informative, and, excited to get into it. Awesome. I'm so excited to be here with both of you today. Just quickly go through what you can all expect with these two wonderful speakers today. We will start with why setting smart goals really helps you to understand why social is worth your time and the impact that you're making. We'll also talk about strategies that will save time and make a difference when you're aiming to create really high impact content, how to streamline your engagement, and then finally how to prove your impact to show how your content is driving real results for your organization. So without further ado, I'll hand it over to Emma to start with today's topic. Alright. Perfect. Thank you so much, Laura. So let's start with something important, which is small teams like yours. You're mighty and you may not have all the same resources as larger teams, but what you do have is strength, speed, and creativity along with flexibility that can make a huge impact. So small teams are definitely a force to be reckoned with, and that's because of a few reasons here. So teamwork just works. In a small team, collaboration is second nature. Everyone plays a key role, and you move as one. You also have quick decisions and big moves. Fewer layers actually means you can make decisions fast and jump on opportunities before anyone else. Small teams are also adaptable and always ready. I'll mention this a few times throughout my presentation, but you're going to be you wear multiple hats day to day, you shift priorities with ease, and you get things done, which also can mean no red tape and potentially no waiting. You also have creative freedom. So hopefully fewer approvals and more innovation. You get to take ownership, try new things, and lead the charge. Being a small team isn't just about efficiency, but it's also about impact, And you can accomplish just as much, if not more, than bigger teams, and in more creative strategic ways. So today, we're gonna dive into how you can lean into these strengths and take things to the next level. Before we hop into the strategies, we're gonna take a step back and think about the reality of working with a small team. We know that every team faces challenges, but with small teams, those challenges can sometimes feel a little bit more intense. So we're gonna open the floor here. What comes to mind when you think about the struggles that you're facing with a small team? And definitely feel free to share your answers in the chat. Okay. I'm seeing work allocation balancing oh, social listening. Yeah. There's also not enough resources. I saw it a few times. Burnout. Yeah. That is very real, Especially when you're a social media manager and especially a social media manager that is spread thin. Small budget. Yes. Coming up with content, that's a good one. K. We'll give it about fifteen more seconds. Oh, influencer contact contacts. Yeah. Capacity burnout. I see burnout quite a few times there. I'm doing everything well. These are these are great answers. Perfect. Alright. Thanks, everyone. Feel free to keep, keep the chat going as well. But, yeah, thank you so much again for sharing your thoughts. It's clear that a lot of you are facing similar challenges, and we want you to know that you're definitely not alone. These are struggles that we hear from small teams all the time as Martina and I work with a lot of different businesses and organizations. So you're definitely not alone, and, hopefully, this, presentation can help, ease some of those, restrictions that you're dealing with. So just to recap some common small team struggles. Sorry. We do have limited resources. So small teams, as you know, juggle with a lot of fewer hands and tighter budgets. You're wearing multiple hats, balancing different priorities, and making the most of what you've got. It's a lot, but you're making it work. You also have never enough time. There's always something on your plate or multiple somethings for that matter, creating content, engaging with your audience, analyzing performance, planning ahead, the list goes on and on. And some days, it can feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done. We also have content overload. So keeping up with content is tough, but coming up with fresh, creative, and engaging posts consistently is a challenge, especially when you're trying to stand out in a crowded feed. Scaling struggles is also very common. So as your social process social presence grows, so does the workload. And managing multiple platforms while keeping engagement high and content quality consistent is no small task, especially with a lean team. And then we have making time for the data. We know that analytics matter, but when you're busy executing, digging into performance insights can fall to the bottom of the list. So it's definitely tough to carve out time to analyze what's working, adjust those strategies, and then measure your impact. So we'll start at the foundation because if we're creating content without a clear goal, we can be just adding to the noise. So before we can even begin to talk about creating high impact content, we need to talk about why you're doing it in the first place. And that's where the smart framework comes in. I love this smart framework. I know that Martina does it well. And, yeah, we definitely recommend this. And, of course, you know Hootsuite loves our acronyms. So, for small teams, setting SMART goals isn't just helpful, it's essential. It keeps you focused, makes progress measurable, and it helps you avoid that posting just a post trap. So it matters because SMART goals gives your team direction and a way to measure success. Key takeaway here is that every post should ladder up to a goal. Otherwise, we're just throwing content into the void. To help you put this into action, we've got a handy template waiting for you in our resources tab. This will help you and your team get super clear on how your social goals tie into your bigger organizational goals so you can focus your time and energy on what actually matters. Today we're gonna walk through a quick example right now on how to use it. So let's say that we have a goal of increasing Instagram engagement by 15% in the next twelve weeks by posting two reels per week. That's a solid actionable target, and this is why it works. The s of SMART is specific. We're focusing on increasing engagement, so that's likes, comments, and shares on Instagram. Next, we have the m, which is measurable. This is a clear target, and it's a 15% increase in engagement. A, actionable. Posting two reels per week is totally doable for a small team, especially with the free tools we're gonna share throughout this webinar. R, I know we all know how to spell smart, but it's just how my brain works. We're gonna break it down. R is relevant. So Instagram is where our audience is hanging out. And then lastly, t time bound. We have twelve weeks to make it happen. So now that we know what we're working towards, let's talk about how we can create content that actually moves that needle and doesn't burn you out or have you feel the need to drink 12 coffees a day because that's not good for your heart rate. So we'll dive into that next. You're likely being pulled in a dozen different directions such as, you know, product updates, fundraising, community events, and you still need to you still need to make sure that your social presence is actually active and engaging. So the good news is that you don't have to be everywhere or do everything. You just need a system that helps you work smarter and not harder. So this section will give you five easy to apply content strategies that save time and amplify your impact even if you're only a team of one. So we'll acknowledge the reality to start. Nonprofit marketers, as I mentioned, wear every hat. You're the strategist, copywriter, designer, and even the community manager. And as a result, you might be stuck in a reactive mode, constantly scrambling to post something or even just anything. What we need is a system that's going to give us back control, build in breathing room, and let us plan for impact instead of just surviving from week to week. So high impact is content that connects to your mission, resonates with your audience, and can be reused easily. So before or before we dive in, we'll take a step back and we'll take a step back and really take a look at what we're diving into. Oh, sorry, guys. Technical difficulty here. Gotta love technology just on the back end there. Okay. Perfect. Nope. Sorry about that, Martina. No worries. This happens. This happens everyday to us. So I mean, technology is a blessing, but it occurs sometimes. So It is. Yes. And we live in that every single day, as you know. Perfect. Okay. We're almost there. Maybe I can comment in the meantime. I saw what is a good way to determine benchmarks. So you can find some resources online, specifically for nonprofits. I came across some. But what I recommend actually doing is comparing your results to your past results. I think, that is going to give you the best, kind of, like, progress overview. Like, are we growing our social media accounts? Which accounts are growing in particular? Why are they growing? So I think it's very important to also compare yourself to industry benchmarks, but also mainly compare yourself to where you used to be and where you're now. And if you're growing, amazing. If you're not growing, why you're not growing? So yeah. Perfect. Thank you, Martina. And I am back up and running on the back end. Sorry about that. You never know these days with Internet connectivity. So, yes. Not all content is created equally, especially in the nonprofit world. World. So to truly inspire action and drive support, your content needs to check these three boxes, which is, keeping things mission mission aligned. So keep the cause front and center. If your content doesn't connect to connect back to your mission, then it's just noise. So we wanna keep it clear, direct, and impact driven. So every as an example here, every $5 maybe provides three meals, which is simple simple, powerful, and actionable. We also have audience relevant. So speak to the right people. Your supporters, donors, and community need to see themselves in your content. So show impact, recognize contributions, and make it personal. So a quick example here would be donor spotlights, community success stories, or volunteer shout outs. Lastly, we wanna make sure that it's sustainable, so easy to create and repurpose. Nonprofits are definitely busy and you don't have to start from scratch every single day. So definitely make sure that you're focusing on content that can be reused and refreshed. Quick example here would be a volunteer call to action that gets reposted every three months instead of rewritten every time. So just a final takeaway here is that high impact content is mission driven, audience focused, and built for the long haul. Nail these three, and you'll create content that inspires, engages, and actually makes a difference in your day to day as well. Perfect. Alright. So let's take a look at what kinds of content you should be creating and where it performs best. The right content for the right platform is important so you can make every single post count. This is because not all content actually belongs on every network. If you want real engagement and not just, you know, post collecting dust, you have to match the right content with the right platform. So this is how we're gonna do it. Blog posts are the real SEO and traffic powerhouses, and SEO is search engine optimization. These are best for, you know, Facebook and LinkedIn. Blog posts will boost your SEO and establish your authority, and you can share them where professionals and decision makers hang out. So again, that's Facebook and LinkedIn. Next, we have videos to reach the masses. These are obviously best for YouTube but also Instagram and TikTok. Short form or long form video these days is king, so use it to educate, entertain, and grab attention fast. Photos. These are gonna showcase your brand. So it's best for Instagram and Facebook and whether it's, you know, product shots, behind the scenes moments, or team highlights, visual content will definitely thrive on these networks. And then next, we have UGC, which is user generated content, and this is best because it builds trust. So it's best for Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and it's so effective because people trust real people. Sharing user generated content makes your brand feel more authentic and relatable. Next, we have podcasts, which are good for deep dives and thought leadership. Best for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and x, and they're really effective for building, you know, credibility and collaborating with industry experts. So you can definitely share clips to, hook your listeners. And then we have ebooks and white papers, which are lead generation gold. They're definitely best for LinkedIn and Facebook, and you wanna make sure that you're collecting emails and positioning yourself as an expert with these. You can offer valuable in-depth resources on professional, platforms. So just make sure that you're remembering every content has its place or every content type has its place, and you're matching that content to the right platform so that you can see that better reach, engagement, and your impact. Alright. So let's talk about one of the best ways to keep your nonprofit social media fresh and relevant year round, which is evergreen content. And what do we we what do we mean by evergreen? This is content that doesn't go out of style, which is hard to say without singing style by Taylor Swift. But, anyways, think of it as your go to for posts that help answer three key what we do, why it matters, and how we can help. So, here are a few examples. First is a donor or volunteer spotlight sharing stories like meet Alex who has been giving since 2015. This not only highlights generosity but encourages others to get involved. Your nonprofit's origin story. Why did you start? What impact are you making? People will really, really connect and remember why you're doing what you're doing. Frequently asked questions post. So answer common questions about your programs to make it easy for supporters to engage. And then lastly, we have annual impact stats. And remember, data matters. So post in 2024, we served, you know, over 12,000 meals, showcases your success, and further inspires support. Low pro tip here is to keep your content strategy running smoothly. Aim to schedule at least one evergreen post per week. And then that way you're consistently reinforcing your mission while making room for timely updates and campaigns. One of the biggest challenges that nonprofits face is creating enough content to stay active online without feeling overwhelmed. So we wanna share one secret with you today, which is that one great story can actually fuel multiple pieces of content across different platforms. So, let's say that you have an amazing story about a student helped by your education program. Instead of just posting it once and moving on, you can actually repurpose it. So, if we want to repurpose it in a Facebook post, we can share the full story to engage the community. If we want to share it on Instagram, we can do a carousel post and break it down into a series with a photo, a quote from the student, and a call to action. We can also do an email newsletter. So pull an excerpt and direct people to your website for the full story. As a LinkedIn post, you can highlight how your team made this impact possible. And for a tweet or, you know, post on x, keep it short and powerful with a stat and then also a link to the full story. Pro tip here is plan on repurposing in mind from the very start. So when you collect a story, think about how you can shape it for different platforms, which not only saves time but also ensures your messages reaches more people in a way that resonates best with them. Alright. Now we're gonna talk about one of my favorite topics, which is AI. I know that AI can still feel a little bit intimidating, especially if you haven't used it much, but spoiler alert, it is a game changer. And let's be real. We've all been there, you know, staring at a blank screen and trying to come up with the perfect post, And that is where AI can step in to help. So tools like ChatGPT, Canva Magic Write, Owly GPT can generate caption ideas, rephrase posts, or even spark fresh content inspiration. But, one key thing to remember here is that AI is a helper and not a replacement for your unique voice. Your nonprofit's tone, mission, and heart should always shine through those messages. So a few ways to use AI is to draft captions when you're stuck, summarizing blog posts to turn into bite sized content, and then rephrasing CTAs to make them stronger as well. So always trust your tone and tweak AI generated content to match your brand. And definitely remember to guide AI with your mission and audience in mind to keep your messaging authentic. And always remember as well, AI isn't here to take over. It's here to make content creation easier so that you can focus on what really matters, which is your impact. So creating content from scratch every time is a big no thank you. And if you've already put in the work to create maybe a great blog, video, educational content, why not get more mileage out of it? So, with chat gpt, you can easily repurpose what you already have into fresh formats that reach new audiences and drive more engagement. And, here's how you do it. So with a blog post and turning it into an engaging tweet, and not everyone has the time to read that full blog post, but maybe a quick valuable insight for Twitter or x. You can summarize it manually on chat GBT using this prompt. So create five Twitter posts summarizing key takeaways from your blog article. And then boom, instant social media content that drives people back to your blog. You can transform videos into blog posts as well. Videos are amazing, but not everyone watches them. So let's be honest. SEO loves a good blog. And if you ever have, a solid video packed with insights, you can turn it into a structured post with the prompt, create a blog post outline based on the key points discussed in the video about x y z. Now you're catering to both readers and watchers while boosting your search rankings, which is a win win. And then also convert educational content into a step by step guide. So if you have an instructional video or a webinar, you can repurpose it into a written guide to make it more accessible. So you can try a step by step guide for blog posts based on this video on how to leverage social media for nonprofit fundraising. And now your audience has a go to resource they can refer back to anytime. So content repurposing overall isn't just a time saver, but it is a growth strategy. And you're making sure that your content gets seen, shared, and engaged with in multiple formats, which means less work for more impact. So definitely keep those prompts in mind moving forward. And if you're creating content on the fly every single day, that means you're making your life harder than it needs to be. So the secret to this is templates and batching. They help keep you organized, save you time, and make sure that you're always ahead of schedule. So we'll break it down. First, we're gonna stop reinventing the wheel because having go to templates means you can, plug in fresh content without starting from scratch every single time. So social media post templates. Keep your branding and messaging consistent. Email newsletter templates means no more formatting headaches. Just update, send. And then blog post or blog outline templates, mean a structured outline making writing 10 times easier. When it comes to batch content creation, instead of jumping between, you know, different content types daily, focus on one thing at a time and try this, batching schedule as you can see here. So it's week one, maybe you write out all your blog posts. Week two, create a social media, visual and caption outline. And then on the third week, draft and schedule email newsletter. So this way, you can stay up to date in the zone, get more done, and not feel like you're playing catch up as much. Alright. And we're just going to do a quick breakdown of what we've discussed so far. And if you ever feel like you're in a you're stuck in a never ending treadmill of content creation, It's definitely time to rethink that approach. So remember that you don't need to churn out new content twenty four seven. We need a strategy that works smarter and not harder. So remembering evergreen content is your ultimate time saver, and that great content shouldn't have an expiration date. Focus on creating pieces that stay relevant so you can reshare, update, and keep driving results after you hit publish. And remember that repurposing content means maximum reach. So one idea can be multiple formats. A blog becomes a social post. A video turns into a blog, and a webinar fuels an email campaign. We also have AI. So faster drafts, not robotic content. AI won't replace your voice, but it will help you get ideas and drafts out faster. Use it to break writer's block and speed up the process. Just don't forget to add that personal touch. Prompts mean instant inspiration. If you're stuck, a good prompt can spark ideas in literally seconds instead of staring at a blank page. And then we have templates and batching, which means structure's insanity. A little organization goes a long way. Templates keep your content consistent, and batching helps you say ahead instead of scrambling last minute. And future, you will say thank you. And even if you only apply one or two of these, you're going to be on your way to a more manageable, effective content workflow. Bottom line here is we're not just cranking out content, you're building a strategy that makes your life easier and gets better results. Working smarter, not harder, repurposing often, and using the right tools to stay ahead will definitely be your best friend. And remember, you don't have to do more. You just have to do the right things in a sustainable way. So your content's working, but what about your energy? We'll talk about the about engaging without feeling like you have to be everywhere all the time, and I'm gonna pass it over to Martina. Wonderful. Thank you so much, Emma. So in this next section, we will be discussing how to engage with your audience. So engagement does not have to mean answering every comment and every single message on every platform all the time because that is not humanly possible, and that's what leads to the burnout, which we saw mentioned a few times. And I definitely struggled with burnout in the past as well. So for small nonprofit teams, it's about being intentional. So connecting with the right people on the right platforms for the right reasons. And here, we will be covering how to be strategic with your time. So it's all about knowing who you're engaging with, how you're engaging with them, and also ensuring that your efforts lead to genuine community building, not just adding to the noise. Okay. So let's start with these four main tactics. So the first one is looking at what you already have. So your existing supporters. Who's already donating? Who's volunteering? Who's commenting? And, also, who is sharing your content? So these are the people who are already connected to your mission and are most likely to engage further. So start by looking, for example, at your CRM or at your newsletter list or even RSVPs. These will give you insights into who's already engaged with your organization. And after that, ask yourself, what platforms are they on? If you know where your core supporters spend their time, you can then focus your engagement efforts more strategically. Okay. So the next one is the platform insights and diving into platform insights that are available to you. So each platform provides valuable data to help you understand your audience better. So, for example, on Instagram, you can check your account insights to see the demographics of your followers. What is their age? What is their location? And what is their gender? So you know who's interacting with your content. On Facebook, you can check, for example, which post have the most engagement and see who's following your page. And we also recommend using tools like Hootsuite to track engagement trends across multiple platforms, making it easier to spot patterns and also adjust your strategy as needed. Now another great way to engage proactively is also by tapping into community hashtags and relevant conversations. By the way, if you do have a brand new hashtag, please drop it in the chat. I am a hashtag collector, so you will be doing me a massive favor here, and I'm gonna definitely be checking you out. So if you have a brand new hashtag, please drop it in the chat. Moving back to the original programming here, start by searching for hashtags related to your mission and see who is using these hashtags. Also, look at who's engaging with these hashtags and pay attention to which posts are getting the most traction, especially locally. So by engaging in these ongoing conversations, you can then connect with people who already care about the same issues you do, and it allows you to increase your visibility where it really, really counts. And finally, don't forget to look at your peers and partners. So organizations that share your mission or values and see who is engaging with them, and take a note of the types of people and also organizations interacting with their content. A simple but effective strategy here is to comment on or follow people who align with, with your mission. So this is an easy and organic way to start building relationships, growing your community, and expanding your reach. So you don't have to do this alone. So engaging with those who share your values can help amplify your efforts. Okay. And here is our quick tip for the day. So just a reminder, engagement is about building genuine connections, not just counting your followers. And we can all fall there and just check. Okay. We shared this campaign. How many followers are you are we gaining? But it's also important to remember that your audience is your community, and that's where the real impact is. So it's important to be engaging with your community and really focus on the audience that connects and resonates with your messaging. Okay. So now that we talked about how to engage, let's take a closer look at where your audience actually is. So different platforms offer different opportunities for engagement, so understanding where your supporters are can make all the difference in building meaningful relationships and growing your brand awareness. And mission awareness. Okay. So first, let's break down the first three platforms. Platforms. So we have Instagram, Facebook, as well as LinkedIn here, and let's see how each can help you connect with your community. So first up, Instagram. This is a platform for reaching gen z and millennials with 85% users under at the age of 45. And one important fact here is that it's a visual first platform, which means that it's perfect for telling your nonprofit story through powerful images and also videos. One of the Instagram strength is its high engagement rate with 694,000 reels that are shared every minute. Plus, in app shopping is a great tool for promoting your donations or products. So if you have, let's say, any swag or merch that you are selling, this will be actually a great way to go about promoting that. Also, water break. If you haven't had your water today, this is a sign to take a sip. Alright. So why is this great for nonprofits? Because Instagram lets you use visual storytelling to show your mission in action. And reels are perfect for capturing attention, and it's a great platform to promote events and also engage potential donors. And another question for you, dear audience members. Curious to know what format content format are you specifically using for Instagram if you are active on that platform? Are you focusing on reels? Is it just like a regular post image, static image type of content? Are you just focusing on stories for that interaction with your audience? Curious to know real story posts, reels and croesals. Yes. Croesals are great. Yeah. Too, Martina. Sorry to jump in as well just because they do boost those impressions with the second image getting bumped to the top of the timeline, which is great to see that lots of people are doing that. Yes. That's such a great point. Yeah. Great point, Emma. Thank you so much. Okay. So, that is Instagram. Now moving on to the Facebook here, this platform has a broad demographic and, it's especially strong with millennials and gen x. And it's a still powerhouse for local community engagement and also a great place for sharing behind the scenes content if you're doing live q and a's or even user generated content from your supporters. And Facebook is great for nonprofits because it's, great for local community engagement. Event support, so if you're running an event, it's a great way to promote your event or even run even on Facebook and volunteering recruitment as well. So that covers the Facebook. And now moving on to the LinkedIn, LinkedIn is a platform primarily used by professionals that are between the ages of 25 to 54. So if you're looking to connect with business leaders or expand your network, LinkedIn is a place to go. And specifically for nonprofits, it's an amazing tool for donor engagement, board recruitment, and even showcasing your organization's thought leadership. So we were discussing briefly in the chat white papers. So this is also a great place to share a white paper, for example, to show that you can provide value, you know what you're talking about, and you're authority without your industry when it comes to a specific topic. So if you have a white paper, definitely drop it on drop it on LinkedIn, and let's see what happens if you're not doing that already. So, yeah, highly recommend LinkedIn for that, for building those important relationships with people who can drive your mission forward. Okay. So now we have, additional three social accounts, that can help you build, reach, and engage with a wider audience, especially if you're looking to tap into younger generations or take advantage of video based content. So first, we have TikTok. This platform is primarily used by people 24, making it ideal for reaching a younger demographic. And TikTok thrives on creativity, you know, for its high viral potential, meaning your content can spread fast, but it needs to resonate. So that is the important point there. Plus, it's also highly engaging. So 30% of users open the app daily, so your audience is already spending a lot of time here. So why is TikTok great for nonprofits? It's it's perfect for viral challenges. If you're doing any fundraisers, for example, that can be like a maybe dance challenge around that, sharing behind the scenes content, and using storytelling to engage viewers. So you if you've got a fun or creative way to showcase your mission, then TikTok is a place to be on. Now moving on to the x, which was previously known as Twitter. X has strong millennial engine x presence, making it a great platform to engage with a broad audience. One of the key strength of x is real time engagement. So if there's a conversation happening now, you can jump in and be part of it. It is also great for real time updates, participating in trends, and also jumping into cost based conversations, like, for example, GivingTuesday, which is one of our community based, initiatives or any live event, that's generating a lot of buzz. And finally, we have YouTube, where 25 to 34 year olds make up a large portion of the audience with a slightly male majority. So 82.4% of US adults use YouTube. Again, 82.4. So there's a huge potential reach here. The strength of YouTube lies in long form content. So if you are a nonprofit, and you have lots of stories to tell, program explainers, or even recaps, to share, YouTube is where you can share those in-depth meaningful videos with your audience or potential audience. It's also a highly searchable platform, so people can easily find your content over time even if it's whole even if it's older, which is huge advantage over other social accounts or social networks out there. Okay. Now, now that we covered engaging the right people, let's take a look at how to make those interactions more meaningful. So we are going to be reminding you of this throughout our session today, but you don't have to engage with everyone. You just need to engage with the right people and those who are most likely to support, amplify, or partner with your mission. So this includes, for example, your existing donors, volunteers, engaged followers, and also peer organizations. So these people already care about your cause, so focus on building and strengthening those relationships. This is also where Hootsuite's outbound engagement trend comes into play. So 41% of organizations are already testing proactive engagement instead of waiting for comments or tags. They are taking the initiative to start conversations that matter, and a few ways to engage strategically include thinking thanking a donor publicly or replying to a partner's org's post. You can also maybe highlight another organizations that you admire and potentially want to partner with maybe on social media. So that is another great way to go about this. And remember, it's not about being everywhere and engaging all the time. It's about showing up where it matters and and connecting with the people who are most likely to amplify your message and support your mission. One of the best ways to streamline your engagement is to stop, treating every platform the same. So you don't need to post everything everywhere. Instead, match your goal to the right platform and content type. So, for example, you're trying to raise awareness. Short form videos like Instagram reels or TikToks would work great here. For driving donations, we recommend focusing on impact stories and thank yous on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. So aligning your content with your goal helps you post strategically, less often but with more impact. And we recommend picking one goal each week to guide what and where you post. This will help you stay focused and efficient and avoid burnout. Okay, and here is another quick tip of the day, and this one is very important. This one is very important, so if you're not paying attention, please pay attention now. You don't need to be on every platform. And And I'm gonna repeat this again. You don't need to be on every platform, just the ones that serve your mission and audience best. You're spreading yourself too thin. You're publishing everything everywhere. You don't have time to engage. So pick one to two platforms depending how big your team is, what kind of results you're getting, and focus on those two platforms. I promise you, from my personal experience, your life is going to get easier, and you're gonna be seeing results actually. So highly, highly recommend this, maybe visiting what you're currently doing and picking up two platforms, just two platforms to focus on. And I'm glad that it resonates with others too. Okay. So this might be the most important slide in this whole entire engagement section. So friendly reminder, and this is also my personal mantra, you are not your DMs, and you don't have to be available all the time to make an impact. Okay? So it's important to have boundaries with others, but also with yourself, and have a cut off time. Not check your your social media. Put your put your phone on the sleep mode or do not disturb mode, and for especially for nonprofit marketers here and those that are working solo, it's easy to feel guilty for not responding instantly or or being everywhere. But the key to sustainable engagement is being consistent, not constant. And here are a few simple steps to help you stay focused and to protect your time. So the first one is actually, let me go back quickly here. Sorry. Forgot to cover the bottom section there. Sorry. So, the first one is to pick one or two priority platforms that platforms that really matter so you can focus on deeper engagement and avoid overwhelm. Then block, time for engagement. We recommend anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes, twice a week or once a week. This consistency is more effective than scattered responses throughout the day. Next one is using auto replies and pinned posts to set expectations and show your and show your audience that you care, but also that you are a human because you are a human. And finally, replies in focused work sprints to stay efficient and also to reduce daily interruptions. So your job is to serve your mission, not your notifications. So protect your energy, plan your time, and give yourself the space to breathe. And with that, let's take a deep breath and move on to the next slide here. So now that we covered different strategies for streamlining your engagement, let's put it all together in a game plan that works for you. So this is a really great, framework to follow for sustainable engagement with your community. So first, identify your core audience. Focus on those already invested in your mission. So, for example, your donors, volunteers, your partners. These are the people who will amplify your message. Next, choose the right platforms. Don't try to be everywhere. Select platforms where your audience is most active. Next, start conversation. Be proactive. Engage directly. Join ongoing conversations and build relationships where your community is already active. Then build trust with thoughtful replies and shares. Take time to respond meaningfully to comments. Do not copy and paste the same, respond over and over again, especially when you're doing this, when you're commenting or rather responding to comments under social media posts. And don't do just emojis. Like, include at least, like, few words there. That will definitely help with the engagement, and it will also show that you really do care about your community. And then, protect your time with boundaries. So schedule specific times for engagement, use choose like auto replies to set set expectations, and to avoid burnout. This will let you stay consistent without feeling overwhelmed. And remember, engagement is about relationships. So if you're intentional, focused, and human, your content will connect and your community will grow, even if you downgrade from five to two platforms. I promise you that. Okay. And now how to prove your impact? So you know your social content is doing meaningful work, but does your leadership team know that? In this section, we'll explore how to effectively show how your social media efforts support your mission, grow your audience, and also drive real world impact. So a great post isn't just one with a lot of likes. It's one that moves someone closer to your mission. So whether it's a share, a donation, or a sign up, that's the kind of impact you want to demonstrate. So, for example, letting your manager know about a donor story that has led to three new, monthly donors or a program reel that has driven 2,500 views and 84 shares. Don't just don't just show that a post went out. Show the before and after. Tell the story of what that post achieved and how it moved the needle for your mission. And it's also important to remember that you don't need to track everything, just what moves the mission. By tying your metrics to your goals, you'll be able to clearly demonstrate the impact of your social media efforts. So, for example, instead of just saying a post called likes, you can show how it drove x amount of awareness or x amount of donations. This will help leadership understand that your social media isn't just about engagement. It's about measurable outcomes that support your mission and also that support your business. We recommend taking two or three key metrics and focus on those. So this approach keeps your tracking simple and ensures you that you're measuring what really matters most. Okay. So it's also important to don't not share just numbers, but also tell a story behind numbers. Especially with leadership, many times they and this is speaking from my personal experience and also working, here at Hootsuite with smaller teams. When our customers share reports with their higher ups, they're just looking at the numbers behind awareness, numbers behind, reach, but they don't understand what that means. So if you tie it to a story, you will you will tell them what you did and how you achieved these numbers and how we also move the needle. So for example, our giving user campaign raised 14,200 from Instagram alone, double last year's total. And, the post we shared about Sarah's journey was the most shared of the month with 84 shares and 10 comments thanking her for her courage. So these numbers are important, but the real impact comes from pairing them with the stories behind them. And this approach will help your leadership not just, see the strategic value of your work, but also emotional connection that you're building with your communities. And here's an example of what that can look like. So you can also use this template for yourself and include this information, for example, the in your board reports, fundraising decks, or staff meetings. And this way, you'll be able to prove your efforts, and how they're having a lasting impact week after week. Okay. And we are nearing the end of our session today. So if you walk away with just three things, let them be these key actions. Start by setting a clear, specific, and measurable, measurable goal for your next campaign. This gives your content purpose and focus so you are not just posting randomly, but working towards something meaningful that can drive real impact. Then choose a system that makes your content creation easier, whether it's batching your content, using templates, or trying out AI tools. The goal here is to save time without sacrificing the quality of your posts, This will help you streamline your work, so you can also focus on other important tasks. Lastly, don't feel the need to be on every platform or engage with everyone. Pick one platform where your audience is most active and stick to that. And as we close today's session, I also want to highlight a couple of valuable resources that can help you take action and make bigger impact with your social media efforts. So first, if you're looking to streamline your workflow and get more efficient with your social media management, Hootsuite offers up to 75% off for eligible non profits through our Hootsuite giving program. And this is a great way to get the tools you need without sacrificing your budget. And, additionally, we've created a free social media strategy template specifically for nonprofits. It's a simple, actionable resource to help you start planning and building a strategy that aligns with your mission as well as your goals. Amazing. Thank you both so much, Martina and Emma. I'm gonna move us quickly into questions so that we have time for one or two. Before I head to the first, just a quick reminder, we have shared a survey and to get your feedback today. We'd love to know how you think we did, if this was valuable, and how we can improve. So please take a minute to fill that out. And in the meantime, I'm just gonna pop our first question onto the screen here from Laura. How can you work in batches or preplan your content week by week but still make time or just to stay current? Who would like to take this one? I can take it. So how do we work in batches and week by week and still stay current? So they'll go as a sacrifice that you won't be jumping probably on the latest trends, but I don't think that that's what your mission is probably about. So I recommend, having some kind of ideas that you feel will resonate with your audience. And when it comes to the batching specifically, what I did in the past, I had to create I was a content creator for a local, fashion week. And every single Friday, I blocked off two hours. The first hour hour was about creating captions, and the second hour, I was looking for a specific either video or an image that would go well with that caption. So I had to ready everything for the upcoming two weeks, and I was always blocking on Fridays. And, also, this is like the I don't want to plug them here. They're by this is not sponsored. But if you are looking for content that is free and copyright free as well, I recommend pexels.com. They have really high quality images and videos, So I highly, highly recommend that specific website. Awesome. Thank you so much. I'm gonna post our next question here. This is about the, the slide that shared how to turn one story into five pieces that Emma went through. And wondering, are you posting these within a similar posting time frame, or are you posting these over the course of multiple days or weeks? Yeah. I can take that one. You can definitely, spread it out. And then that way, you have it scheduled and planned out in a content calendar. So you're definitely making sure that you're working smarter and not harder, and then your feeds aren't getting, you know, all of the same content at once as well, if that makes sense. Martina, did you have anything to add on that, though? No. I think you answered the question perfectly. Okay. Thank you, Emma. I'm gonna sneak in one final question for today. This one is about any suggestions for making sure you're reaching the right audience. So how what are maybe some tips or tricks to know where your audience is? I know you shared the platform general demographics, but is there any way that, you know, you can find a specific audience or use polls? For example, ask your audience questions to learn more about where they are. Yeah. Laura, I think you popped one of my answers in there as you were asking the question, which is awesome. But, surveys and polls are a great resource. You can run surveys and polls directly to ask your audience about preferences, what they care about, how they perceive your nonprofit, find out who they are and where they are, and then also user generated content. So finding that content can be really great as well to give you some insights. And then, of course, any free tools that you're using that can give you insights into those specific demographics. Definitely, recommend leveraging those as well. Amazing. Well, I know we are coming up on time. Emma and Martina, I just wanna thank you again for sharing so much expertise during today's session. Thank you to all of you for joining us and for taking time to fill out the survey and provide your feedback. We really appreciate that, you spending your hour with us. Please don't forget to check out our nonprofit resources. Head to the docs tab and you'll find a number of different resources talked about through today's session, as well as that up to 75% off discount for eligible non profit. So if you're looking for more information there, please head to the Hoot Giving program page or get in touch with our team. And on behalf of Hootsuite, we would like to wish you an amazing rest of your day. Thanks, everyone. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Have a great day.