Social Media is no longer optional. In this article, we wanted to explore ways in which Twitter and Marketing Automation can play a role in your nonprofit or association right now.
Top 5 Ways Social Media can be enhanced by Marketing Automation Software
If your nonprofit has been around a while, chances are that you’re pretty experienced with email marketing automation. You have got a handle on segmenting your association membership list into different categories and sending targeted emails to donors depending on their engagement levels. But have you thought about using marketing automation in other areas? Social media is ripe for keeping connected with your donors and constituents.
Here are some ideas derived from nonprofit executives for handling your Twitter feeds with the same professional panache.
1. Ramp up for upcoming events
A great way to engage your community is to give them regular reminders for upcoming events. Set up automatic tweets about the event when the registration goes live, just before the early registration deadline, then two months, two weeks, and two days before the event. If there’s an option to attend online, make sure to tweet about that as well.
2. Don’t automate everything
Yes, it’s good to set up a schedule, but if something cool happens at headquarters, don’t hesitate to tweet. Nonprofit organizations rely on keeping that human connection, so send a picture of the summer staff picnic #wishyouwerehere.
3. Use a social platform
Leading Marketing Automation platforms provide a social platform to monitor effectiveness and catch trends. In the same way that email automation software tracks response, open rates, click-throughs and other relevant data, you will want to monitor activity within groups of your Twitter followers, what hashtags are active, etc. This will help in planning your future automated tweets, and also give you the chance to jump into a particularly active conversation with a retweet or comment that keeps your nonprofit in the forefront of your constituents’ minds.
4. Twitter Prospecting
Many Marketing Automation tools today have integrated Twitter Prospecting capabilities into their offering. Marketing Automation prospecting capabilities may lead you to that ultra-relevant tweeter member or donor who needs your help or is ready to give a donation– right now. Using targeted search terms, you can search Twitter to quickly find people who are tweeting about topics relevant to your membership group (medical, law, plumbing), conference or offer. Your entire staff can see what’s top of mind with them and respond appropriately. Increase your traffic. Build new relationships. Drive donor and non-dues revenue.
5. Retweet your Posts with Marketing Automation
Blogs can still be relevant, weeks after they are written (and, of course, tweeted at the time!). If there’s something going on in your industry that relates to an old post, retweet that post and make the connection to the news.
It does sometimes seem like Social Media is taking over the world. However, take a deep breath, and recall that Twitter and marketing automation software are simply tools in your arsenal to help engage your members and donors. And, when applied to uses which increase value, can be awesome!
To learn more about various social media automation software tools available today, and/or how they may help improve both visibility and constituent engagement at your nonprofit organization, contact us today.