Leveraging Social Media For Nonprofit Marketing: 5 Brand Examples

Nonprofit organizations are brilliant at making the world a better place. As some of the most impactful businesses on the planet, their goodwill does not go unnoticed, or does it?

In such a busy online landscape, the organizations that really make a difference to the world are often in the shadow of mainstream brands, popular influencers, and viral content trends that dominate social media.

Social media platforms are among the best places to promote a cause, build an audience, and share worldwide content with one click. The question is: could social media improve nonprofit marketing in 2024?

With this in mind, let’s jump into the benefits of building a social media content plan as a nonprofit.

Unlocking the benefits of social media content plans for nonprofits

With over 4.76 billion social media users on the planet, nonprofits without a social media presence are missing a trick. Not only can social media marketing help increase brand awareness across the globe, but social networks are the perfect place to get to know your audience and tailor your campaigns to attract their attention. 

There are a number of benefits associated with leveraging social media for nonprofit marketing. 

From driving fundraising efforts to aiding in recruiting a global network of volunteers, the positive results for charities that choose to use social media to their advantage are endless. 

Here are just a few ways you can use social media to enhance your nonprofit marketing strategy:

• Drive fundraising efforts: Nonprofits are always looking to improve their fundraising efforts. Did you know that a well-positioned social strategy could speed this up? With the ability to include links to donation and go-fund pages within your social posts, platform bios, and live stories, apps like Instagram and TikTok are brilliant at facilitating a donation drive.
  
• Spread the word: Social channels can reach audiences worldwide. If your mission aligns with viral content trends and current hot discussions, make sure that you use your social platform to get in on the action. Use viral content hashtags and video content formats to gain more visibility and ensure that your content sparks conversation amongst your target audience.
  
• Share your successes: If you want social media consumers to support your mission, make sure that the content you share also discusses the current positive impacts of your fundraising. Take the time to get personal with your nonprofit marketing content. Share real-life stories and screencaps of your annual report, and show the money raised working in action to help incentivize consumers to keep giving.
  
• Connect with investors and volunteers: If you want to attract larger clients to your nonprofit or even begin a recruitment drive for more volunteers, building a social platform helps establish your nonprofit as a genuine, active organization. Not only will social success help make your brand more visible to potential volunteers, but with a larger social following, potential investors will take your mission seriously and be more likely to contact you.
  
• Build a powerful community: When you create a social platform for your nonprofit, you are creating a new community for your supporters to congregate. With the ability to link out to your content and share it on their own social feeds, supporters will often do the work when it comes to sharing your cause. You just need to give them content to share and talk about. 

Meet the nonprofits smashing their social media content plan

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of creating a social strategy for your nonprofit marketing campaign, it’s time to look at some of the brands that are seeing success in action.

There are a number of social media platforms to consider for your nonprofit. Here are just a few examples of nonprofit marketing campaigns that have gone viral across numerous social media platforms.

1. Make-A-Wish Foundation

First up, let’s talk about Make-A-Wish. This nonprofit organization dedicated to granting wishes to children suffering from long-term illnesses, is well known across the globe.

In an effort to fulfil one child’s wish every 40 minutes, the charity documents many of the wishes granted on social media platforms to demonstrate the lengths it will go to support those in need.

Alongside this, they regularly run interactive social giveaways to encourage engagement on their website. 

Take this example from May 2024. Advertising a free-prize draw on Instagram, Make-A-Wish created a brilliant call-to-action campaign based around a giveaway. 

Nonprofit marketing campaign by Make-A-Wish UK, showing the power of running competitions to drive brand awareness.

For nonprofit marketers aiming to raise both site and social engagement, inserting site CTAs within your social strategy is a brilliant way to drive traffic from all angles..

2. Community Foundation of Louisville

Next up, let’s talk about the Community Foundation of Louisville. This organization raises funds for numerous local nonprofits using Facebook Live.

Going live on social media is brilliant when hosting in-person rallies, fundraising events, and documenting checkpoints within your mission.

Screenshot of a live fundraising event by the Community Foundation of Louisville showing nonprofit marketing in action

Louisville does just this, allowing online viewers to comment and get involved with live events, even if they are on the other side of the world. Supporters can donate directly from the Facebook Live as they watch, as well as win prizes for turning up digitally.

3. Malala Fund

The Malala Fund also uses video marketing to enhance its nonprofit social strategy. Using TikTok’s video platform, it regularly shares real-life stories from activists and engages in regular Q&A content with Malala herself.

With more than 800K followers on the TikTok platform in 2024 and videos receiving up to 4 million likes, it’s a great example of just how powerful TikTok can be in generating a buzz around your nonprofit.

Screenshot of an AMA broadcast run by The Malala Fund, showing nonprofit marketing in action.

If the leader of your nonprofit has their own social following in the same way Mala Yousafzai does, positioning them at the center of your social strategy as the figurehead of your brand can also drive stronger brand recognition and engagement. 

4. ONE

ONE is also another great example of a nonprofit marketing campaign that uses social media to its advantage. The advocacy organization dedicates itself to helping those who live in extreme poverty in Africa and has had several viral social campaigns in the last few years.

Screenshot of an engaging word-search campaign run by nonprofit ONE.

Take this great example they posted recently on their socials. Users are encouraged to work out the word search puzzle before swiping to discover the answers. Not only is this an engaging piece of content, but users are also educated on some of the key diseases the charity is fighting to combat in poverty-stricken areas. 

“People haven’t just played the game and carried on with their lives; they’ve shared it with others,” says Roxane Philson, Chief Marketing Officer at ONE. “I think people have been really drawn to that idea of having a bit of fun, learning something, but then doing something positive with that action.”

5. World Wide Fund For Nature 

Social media is a great place to send a message globally. The World Wide Fund (WWF) did just that with its #EarthHour campaign in 2020.

While many people were unable to attend in-person fundraising and awareness events due to the spread of COVID-19, WWF created an interactive content campaign on Instagram that supporters could get involved with without leaving their homes.

Screenshots of UGC created for WWF’s Earth Hour campaign.

The nonprofit called out to followers to take part and share a picture of themselves in the dark with the hashtag #EarthHour on social media. 

As a user-generated content campaign, this is a perfect example of fostering a community online as a nonprofit organization. By harnessing branded hashtags and timely campaign moments, you can encourage people to take action, get involved and feel connected to others.

👀 Keep Reading: Meet the 8 not-for-profit Plann’rs changing the world, one post at a a time. 

Ready to level up your social media plan? 

With these practical tips and inspiring examples, you’re probably wondering how to start harnessing the power of social media marketing as a nonprofit. 

The first step is getting the right support in place to ensure you can show up consistently, remain on-brand and grow your audience across multiple platforms. Luckily, Plann is here to help. 

From AI-generated captions to cross-posting, analytics, hashtags and more, Plann can help you maintain a consistent posting schedule while you remain focused on fundraising targets. We even auto-post your TikTok videos and Instagram Reels to take the hassle out of growing organically on these platforms! 

Go on, and redeem your 7-day free trial of Plann Plus. If you don’t like it, keep using Plann for free!