YA’LL. It is episode 30. I know - this is not a big deal. It ranks maybe a little lower than celebrating a half birthday, but it feels good to have 30 episodes under my belt! You KNOW how much I love to celebrate little victories. So that’s what we’re doing today!

I’m celebrating by giving you some really good stuff! Let me tell you about the episode first… Then, we’ll get to the freebies.

Today, we are talking about real life results of Facebook and Instagram and how sometimes, the number of “likes” or followers you have doesn’t tell the whole story.

In fact, the impact you make by having a consistent and purposeful presence on social media can actually extend WAY BEYOND the numbers you see as “likes.” 

How many times have you spent a bunch of time on a Facebook or Instagram post finding the perfect picture to use, crafting something great to say in a caption, and you even go the extra mile and add your location tag, and maybe some hashtags on Instagram – you do EVERYTHING you’re supposed to do, and you eagerly check back a few hours later, and see that only ONE PERSON has “liked” your post. 

Total deflated balloon, right? 

Well, here’s the good news. Facebook and Instagram “likes” don’t tell the whole story. Sure, it’s nice to have a lot of “likes.”  And they can even help your posts be seen by an even wider audience, but sometimes nonprofits have to post about things that are… SENSITIVE! And in case you didn’t know, if someone “LIKES” ANY POST on Facebook or Instagram, their reaction – the “like” – is public. When they hit that little thumbs up or tap that heart button, it is public. Everyone in the world can see it. 

So, think about it…

If your organization has to do with ANYTHING medical or health-related, you can expect that not everyone is going to be “liking” your posts. Medical situations are sensitive, and frankly, not everyone wants the world to know that they need to see a doctor. Or go to a free clinic. Or whatever! There are a lot of people out there who like to keep any and all medical issues and services they might need totally confidential. So, if you’re posting about anything health or medically related, don’t get discouraged if the “likes” aren’t pouring in on your posts.

If your organization has anything to do with helping people in need – say a food pantry. You might not get a lot of “likes” from the people that need your services because again, by “liking” your post, they might feel like they are making themselves vulnerable. 

And let’s be honest here, nobody likes to feel vulnerable.

So don’t fret if you’re not racking up the “likes” on every post. IT’S OKAY! 

Here’s what you DO need to be looking for…

Look at how many people are coming to you for your services and through the door.

You might not see the “likes” on Facebook and Instagram, but are you asking the people you serve how they found you? There might be an uptick in the number of people that come through your door that is related to social media. They might not have “liked” your post – but if they saw it, they still learned about you and took action! And if that’s the case, you are using social media to your advantage!

Now, I told you I was going to give you a present because it’s the 30th episode – here it is!   Knowing how people found you is SUCH AN IMPORTANT piece of information for you to have, that I am giving you TWO templates you can use to ask the people you serve to fill out as they come through your door. 

You can download them as Microsoft Word documents, so you can actually go in and tailor them to your organization. You can add your logo, you can change the answers if you don’t like the ones I already wrote in. There are check boxes and fill in the blanks already made and ready to go – so you can hand this form to one of the people your nonprofit is serving and gather information from them. But what’s VERY IMPORTANT is HOW THEY HEARD ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION!

Did they hear about you on Facebook? Instagram? Maybe you have a radio ad or an advertisement at a church.  There are plenty of checkboxes on the forms, so you can find out HOW people are finding you. 

You can tweak and change these templates so you can ask the questions and get the information you want to find out. When you compile the data from these forms, it will help you learn about your audience and how to talk to them, so they can find you.  You can also use this information to present to your board and your donors. 

I mentioned there are TWO templates – one is very generic – the Information Sheet – it can be used how it is or you can tailor it more specifically to fit your organization. It can even be used to gather information from volunteers, or new people that show up to your events.

The second template form is an Intake Sheet – it’s geared towards a pregnancy resource center – because you know how I love my PRC’s – So, I’m giving you a template you can use at your center – or if you have any type of medical organization, or your organization offers multiple types of services, you can easily alter this template to work for your situation.

SO – how do you get these? You’ll find the link to download these templates at the bottom of these show notes. I’m so excited for you because these forms are going to GIVE YOU SO MUCH VALUABLE INFORMATION!

You can find your marketing strengths when it comes to getting people in the door, and what areas you need to work on for marketing your nonprofit organization to people you serve, your supporters and donors. 

If you’re not seeing those “likes” on social media AND you aren’t seeing good numbers come through your doors… Then consider these two things:

1. Do your posts have a good clear message + a good picture + one call to action?
   • This free download – How to create really good Facebook & Instagram posts – will help you check your posts.
   • And listen to Episode 2 to refresh yourself about how to create a good quality social media post.
2. If you’re posting about a sensitive service, consider boosting a post from time to time.

• • The more money you spend on boosting a post, the more people you can reach, but if you’re operating on a tight budget, $5 is enough to boost a post for 5 days. 
  • Boosting posts puts your post in front of people you might not normally reach because you get to choose the demographics the post reaches 
  • THEN keep track to see if the number of people coming in the door of your nonprofit is affected.
  • To boost a post:  create a new post and then a button that says “Boost Post” comes up.  Click that and it will take you through a couple short little steps and you’ve boosted your post.
  • To boost a recent post, view it and you’ll see on the bottom right corner of the post, a button that says, “Boost Post,” then it takes you through the same steps to boost that post.

Boosting a post results in more people seeing your post. And don’t underestimate the power of even $5. It works! You can get hundreds of people to see your post with just a little budget. 

Be sure to choose your audience – once you click on that “Boost Post” button, you’ll have the option of choosing the audience for your post – age, location, interests. If you’re brand new to boosting your posts, you can start out by just selecting the audience in your geographic area. That way, your post will be shown to local people.  Just start, if it’s your first time! Take the first step, boost a post with $5 for 5 days and in no time you’ll be comfortable with it.  

And as a bonus tip, go back and listen to Episode 12 – you’ll learn how to read the statistics and insights that Facebook and Instagram show you besides “likes.”  It’s a good episode for understanding a little more about Facebook and Instagram numbers. 

Remember, the goal of having a consistent social media presence is to build credibility for your organization, and to help get the word out. You’re not trying to become Internet famous. You’re trying to get people in the door. 

People might not react to your post by “liking” it on social media because of their associated feelings or emotions or the risk of embarrassment, so it’s a good idea to survey them when they come through your door to see where they heard about you. 

Social media is a tool to get people in the door – it is NOT the official tally of how well your organization is doing but it’s an important tool for you to know how to use well and use to your advantage.

If you have any questions – I’m right here for you! Ask away! Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram or send me an email through NonprofitPotential.com and I’ll happily write you back with an answer!

Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or your favorite podcast app, or get episodes delivered straight to your email by subscribing at NonprofitPotential.com. Follow Nonprofit Potential on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for special content released throughout the week, too.

Until next time, my friend!

Links mentioned in This Episode

Episode 2 - The Anatomy of a Good Post

Episode 12 - How Many People Have REALLY Seen Your Post

Information Sheet and Intake Sheet Downloads

How to create really good Facebook & Instagram posts

If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/30