6 Effective Social Media Strategies for GivingTuesday

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GivingTuesday is a powerful day when people worldwide unite to support the causes they care about. With a little planning and the right social media strategies, your organization can make the most of this global day of giving! To help drive engagement, boost visibility, and inspire donations, here are six simple but effective tips to inspire giving on GivingTuesday.

1. Choose campaign keywords

First things first, let's talk about keywords and hashtags (#). Think of them as the secret sauce to your social media success. Create a unique keyword, use it as a hashtag and use alt image text to ensure your posts reach the right audience.

The right hashtags and keywords in alt image text help your post appear in searches and increase its discoverability.

A unique campaign hashtag adds consistency across your posts and encourages your supporters to join the conversation. But remember, less is more—avoid overcrowding your post with too many hashtags. Stick to 5-10 relevant ones to keep it clean and effective.

Avoid overcrowding your post with too many hashtags. Stick to 5-10 relevant ones to keep it clean and effective.

Encourage followers to use the hashtag, especially when sharing stories about why they support your cause. It's like a digital high-five that spreads your message far and wide!

• Tip: Aim for a balance of broad and specific hashtags. For example, use the hashtag #GivingTuesday, as well as location, mission, and organization specific hashtags.

2. Tell stories that inspire action

Storytelling is your best friend on social media. Share real-life stories of the people, communities, or animals that your organization helps. This creates a deep emotional connection with your audience.

Include testimonials from the people you serve, sharing how their lives have been impacted. Or, if anonymity is important to your constituents, ask them to share stories or quotes of impact that a staff member can share. Pair stories with strong calls to action to encourage followers to be part of the impact

Pair stories with strong calls to action to encourage followers to be part of the impact

Using visuals to tell your story, like videos and pictures, makes these stories even more compelling. Stay up-to-date with trending formats like Reels on Instagram, short-form videos on YouTube Shorts, or carousels on LinkedIn. These formats often get prioritized by the platforms, so experimenting with them can give your posts a boost.

• Tip: If there’s a trend that aligns with your brand, jump on it with your own spin! Be consistent by creating a schedule for regular content in these trending formats to build up an audience over time. By adapting to platform trends, you increase your chances of getting more views as social media platforms often promote new content styles.

3. Partner with others

Collaboration is key! Partnering with followers, influencers, or other organizations helps amplify your reach and extend your impact. By joining forces, you tap into new audiences, foster a sense of community, and build credibility around your cause. Encourage your partners to share your campaign hashtag and stories, and consider co-hosting events or live sessions to engage both audiences.

Cross-promote on social media Share each other’s posts and stories to create a seamless narrative across platforms. Tagging each other in posts, stories, and live videos strengthens your visibility and demonstrates unity. Plus, an added benefit is that it allows you to show up in front of their audience, growing your own!

Do a social media takeover Before GivingTuesday, plan for a social media takeover. A social media takeover is when an individual—like an influencer, employee, supporter, or partner organization—temporarily takes control of a brand’s social media account to share content, insights, or experiences directly with the audience. The goal is to bring fresh perspectives, new stories, and unique voices to the account, which can boost engagement and reach.

During a takeover, the "guest" posts updates, photos, videos, and stories to showcase their personal connection to the brand or cause.

Takeovers can be an exciting way to showcase events, highlight behind-the-scenes moments, or amplify key messages in a way that feels authentic and personal. This is a great way to build momentum and hype in the days leading up to GivingTuesday.

4. Go live and get personal

Consider going live on GivingTuesday to connect directly with your audience. Whether you’re hosting a Q&A, giving a behind-the-scenes tour, or interviewing someone your organization has helped, live content feels personal and genuine. It’s also an opportunity to answer questions in real-time.

Live Ideas: Show a day in the life at your organization, or have a team member explain how donations will be used. You could also do a countdown live as you approach your fundraising goal.

Encourage viewers to comment or ask questions. Acknowledge their names, thank them for joining, and interact to make it a two-way experience. Going live makes your organization feel approachable and human, which can be incredibly effective for engaging supporters.

Tip: Before the big day, make sure you have a commitment to tune in from your staff, volunteers, or key major donors. Going live is more engaging and fun, if you have an audience.

5. Engage with your audience

Social media rewards engagement, so respond to comments, likes, and shares as quickly as possible. This interaction not only keeps your post active but also tells the platform algorithms that your content is engaging.

Tag people when it’s appropriate, or ask questions in your post captions to invite responses. If someone comments on your post, reply promptly with a thoughtful or playful response to keep the conversation going.

Engaging with followers shows the algorithm that people are interacting with your content, which can help boost your reach.

6. Use countdown reminders

Build excitement and urgency by counting down to GivingTuesday. A countdown creates anticipation, reminds your followers of the big day, and gives them multiple chances to consider donating.

Start at least a week out, posting daily or every few days with “X days to go!” reminders. You can count down the hours on the day itself to add urgency.

Try graphics with a countdown number to make your posts eye-catching and easy to spot in people’s feeds. Reminding supporters that the clock is ticking can help move people from thinking about giving to actually donating.

It’s also a great idea to add a campaign thermometer that shows your fundraising progress. Like countdown reminders, a campaign thermometer helps to build a sense of urgency and motivation.

Conclusion

With GivingTuesday just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to put these social media strategies into action! Combine keywords, powerful storytelling, and countdowns to build a compelling campaign.

Inspire your audience and build community by going live, partnering with others, and engaging your audience on your social media posts.

Remember, getting more views on social media is all about smart, consistent moves. Make every post count this GivingTuesday by implementing data-driven insights with a nonprofit CRM like DonorDock.

Wishing you a successful and impactful GivingTuesday!