One challenge that many nonprofit organizations face is trying to reach two or more audiences, primarily:

1. People they want to serve
2. Donors and supporters

It’s a complicated situation because usually, these two audiences look very different. 

Because these two crowds look very different, you might think you need to have separate Facebook and Instagram pages to talk to each audience, but the problem with that is – that takes time you don’t have! 

Even though these crowds look very different, you can talk to BOTH of them and grow your relationships with them by using just ONE Facebook page and ONE Instagram page really well. 

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about a few different ways you can grow your relationships with your two audiences without doubling your workload. 

Here’s why this matters… The less you have on your plate, the better you can accomplish your goals. If your day is loaded down with a million things to do – what happens? You have a hard time accomplishing everything AND then you have that cloud over your head remembering how many of those things are done half-way, or that you cut corners to get them finished. If your goal is to have a really great Facebook and Instagram presence for your nonprofit organization, then focus on having ONE really great main page for your organization. If you put all of your energy, all of your time, and all of your focus on your nonprofit’s single Facebook and Instagram pages, you can make it that much better! Don’t do two pages badly, focus your efforts on doing one page really well!

You won’t be spreading yourself thin by trying to show up consistently for two pages – one specifically for your supporters, and one for the people you’re trying to serve.  You’ll be spending less time with more reward for your efforts if you focus on having one central location where people can find your organization on social media.

Another reason why you should just focus on having one central page, is because your donors and supporters want to see your mission in action. They want to see where their money and support is being used. So if you train your donors and supporters to like, follow and share on your organization’s one and only Facebook page where you are posting things aimed at the people you want to serve, they can see – and support – your mission in action.

Your nonprofit’s ONE Facebook page and ONE Instagram page are letting your donors see what you’re doing. You’re letting them be on the front lines with you – and they’ll love it! They’ll feel more involved and more supportive and see the need for their role in supporting you.

Ok so let’s talk for a minute about the actual logistics of how this is going to work. It all sounds great, but there are a few tips I want you to know that are going to help you do this well and then be successful.

1. Focus your posts. Make sure your posts are talking to the audience you want to reach. If you’re talking to the people you want to reach, then write that post and pick out the photo you’re going to use with it as if you were laser focused on that person you want to serve. If you are talking to your donors – talk to your donors like they are the only ones you’re talking to. 

Here’s an example: If you’re a community food pantry and you need canned food – ask for it from your donors. Don’t ask for canned food, and then squeeze in a bunch of information trying to attract people that you want to serve too.

Don’t confuse both of your audiences by making your post about more than one thing and talking to more than one audience. Zero in on what you want to say, and who you want to say it to and save everything else for another post.

2. Aim to post twice a week talking to the people you want to serve in your community. If you have a fundraiser, or an event for your donors, or you need something from that donor and supporter audience – add that as a third post in the week. So that’s 2 posts per week for the people you want to serve, and if you need it, add in a third post per week for your donors.

3. Maintain your relationships with your donors via your email list. Email is a wonderful tool for giving your donors updates and information that they might want to know, and maybe isn’t a good fit for a social media post. Also, if you email your donors consistently – once a month or more – that’ll help to grow your relationship with them even more.

4. Train your donors and supporters to like, follow and share on your nonprofit’s social media pages. In your emails to your donors, encourage them to follow your nonprofit on Facebook and Instagram and include links so they can find your pages easily! Let them know that by supporting your nonprofit on social media, they are helping your pages reach more people – AND they can have a front row seat to seeing your important mission in action! Remember, they want to help – they believe in your mission! So let them be out on the front lines with you and see the need for your organization play out on your nonprofit’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Ok – so there are some tactical tips on how to manage two audiences and one Facebook or Instagram page.  Now, let’s talk about a real life example of handling not just two, but THREE audiences and how to make something like that situation work!

I’ve talked about this before in this podcast – back in the early days – there’s a wildly popular sport here in Wyoming, and really, the Rocky Mountains, Canada, and basically anywhere else that it snows 8 months a year so you have to find ways to entertain yourself. I’m talking about skijoring. If you haven’t heard of it – it’s a competition where a person rides a horse as fast as they can while pulling a skier behind them through an obstacle course. There are moguls, and jumps and sometimes there are rings the skier has to grab from a post… It’s pretty much crazy. Google a video of it after you finish listening to this.

Anyway, every year in my community, a local nonprofit hosts a skijoring race to raise money for local causes. Last year, they asked me to take care of marketing the entire event from start to finish on social media. There wasn’t even a Facebook page in existence when they asked me to start – so it was a big uphill climb! 

In order for the event to be a success, I needed to zero in on three different audiences: Horseback riders, skiers and spectators. All of those people are very different, and have very different priorities, concerns, and different things that attract them.

So in order to manage all these relationships with these audiences – I looked at the timeline of the weeks leading up to the event. I realized that the horseback riders were making the BIGGEST commitment because loading up a horse in a trailer and driving anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours is a lot to ask of a person. 

The horseback riders would need to know about the event the farthest in advance, so I started talking to them first.

I made sure the posts that were talking to them zeroed in on their concerns and priorities – free boarding for their horse, a safe dirt track to race on, a cash prize and belt buckles, and the fact that they didn’t have to have a partner – we could pair them up. Whenever I wrote a post for that first stretch of the marketing, I made sure to address those things and talk to that one specific audience.

The thing is, even though I wasn’t necessarily TRYING to talk to a skier or a spectator, if one of those people saw the post – they still understood that a skijoring race was happening soon and they could still be interested, they could sign up, buy tickets, and make plans. They had general information and knew the event was going to happen even though the post was not specifically focused on skiers or spectators.

After a few weeks of aiming my posts at the horseback riders, I moved on to targeting the skiers, and then in the two weeks leading up to the event, I focused 100 percent of my efforts on getting spectators to show up. 

Remember, just because your post is aimed at one audience, doesn’t mean your other audience won’t get something out of it too.

The same is true for your audiences.  The people you serve are learning about your services, and your donors are seeing what your nonprofit does in the community.  When it’s time to reach out for a specific event or fundraiser, your donors and supporters will already have a good idea about what your nonprofit organization has been doing for others throughout the year.  They’ll be ready to listen when you start talking to them specifically.

Alright – I think that’s enough to think about for today! I hope this was some food for thought for you – as always, if you have any questions – I’m here for you! Write me an email at NonprofitPotential.com or send me a message on Facebook or Instagram. 

You are doing an amazing job. What you are doing matters! No one can do what you are doing like you do it.  Your donors and supporters think so too! I want you to think of ONE PERSON you have impacted with your work. Think of that person and how you made their life better. Feels good, doesn’t it? Let that motivate you and keep you going! You are doing great!

Remember to subscribe to this podcast – it’s the best and easiest way to support the show. If you want us to keep going, we need your support! You can subscribe through email at NonprofitPotential.com or through your favorite podcast player like Apple Podcasts or Google podcasts.

Get access to the guide that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever. It’s available now at NonprofitPotential.com

Thanks for listening. I’m Lauren Creagan. Meet me back here next week as we keep Unlocking Your Nonprofit Potential.

Links I mentioned in this episode: The Guide to REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram Posts If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/25