News from the Forest

All of us remember show and tell day at school.  The little ones tell the class about their pet, hobby, or toy.  It is an exciting day.  This excitement should be no different for Nonprofits when showcasing your activities. 

You have developed your content calendar, and let’s say it is show and tell day on Friday.  On this day, your organisation virtually opens its doors to your audience and showcases your activities.

Why is it important?  

Certainly, showcasing your activities highlights your successes, presents new opportunities and, through engagement, assists in making more community connections.  The adverse is also true.  It can also shine a light on the challenges that you experience.  To demonstrate the point, one has to look at how Gift of the Givers showcases its activities.  Here are five reasons why showcasing your activities is essential to achieve the objectives of your nonprofit organisation.   

Tell your community what you are doing.  

Your followers are your community.  They are your fans that are already interested in your organisation.  There are different ways to tell your story, for example, through an essay, video, or photographs.  These methods demonstrate how you lend a helping hand to your beneficiaries.

Show donours (and potential donours) how their money is spent.  Apart from the formal reports for corporate donours, individual donours can also see how their donations make a difference in the lives of beneficiaries.  You might inspire more donations. 

Give recognition to your donours.  Social media uses tools such as tagging and hashtags.  By tagging your donour, you not only alert them to a particular post but also show their community that they are a good and responsible corporate citizen.

Give recognition to your employees and volunteers.  Your employees and volunteers want to share their experiences with friends and family.  So, tag them as well.  They deserve recognition.

The media pick up stories from your social platforms.  An objective of your media strategy is to maximise exposure for your organisation.  It is also known that social media is becoming a source of stories for journalists, and the journalists can be your alley when telling your stories.  In America, nine journalists use social media for their jobs (www.pewresearch.org).  There is no reason it should not be the same for South Africa.  Of course, Twitter is their platform of choice, so make sure you use it to your advantage. 

The Last Word

The use of social media platforms will guarantee that your audience feels part of your activities.  Make show-and-tell day a fixed date on your content calendar.  In one day (or post), you can tell your community and your donours what you are doing, give recognition to your employees and volunteers and provide story ideas for journalists. 

#Tellingstories  #BuildingSuppor