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MINISTRIES
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MINISTRIES
SHOPPERS
Online sharing is what makes funding with your new Gaingive profile possible. If you’re already a whiz at social media, your skills will certainly help you promote your ministry—but there are strategies and tactics specifically that can really help you get the most from your efforts. Promoting your Ministry page online starts with sending your support letter to your congregations, family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, then doing whatever you can to spread your message as widely as possible. With the following best practices, that initial share could grow to reach many more potential donors.
Attention spans are short on social media. When you keep messages brief, you increase the likelihood they’ll be shared.
Somewhere in every post, tweet, or message, briefly ask people to share your Gaingive page. Without this, the idea of sharing may not occur to the reader.
Think about promoting your Gaingive page with a custom hashtag. When you create a hashtag, if appropriate, use it in tandem with established hashtags for larger events (for example, a natural disaster). Use both tags each time you post. This will dramatically boost your exposure to like minded people and those looking to help.
Consider creating a dedicated Facebook page for your fundraiser or cause. This is an especially good idea if you’re raising money for an ongoing need, rather than funding for a specific life event.
As friends, family, and random strangers scroll through their social media feeds, your featured photo is the first thing that grabs their attention—followed in rapid succession by the title of your ministry or cause and the first sentence of your description.
If those three elements work well, people seeing them might think “I need to share this” before they’ve even seen your Gaingive page. A visit to your Gaingive page should then seal the deal for both a donation and a share.
Once you’ve told your story as best you can, go through it one more time. Look at it as if it were someone else’s profile—ask yourself which parts would inspire you to donate and share. Should any of those parts be expanded or clarified? How can you make them even stronger?
Don’t underestimate the importance of sharing updates on your Gaingive page and through social media. The more you share, the more opportunities you get to inspire your supporters to reshare, widening the reach of your profile and free funding.
As each update appears on your Gaingive page, it shows existing and potential donors how your story is unfolding—and inspires them to become part of it, to donate again, or to share your progress on social media. We’ve found that this is especially true for updates that show how prior donations have helped your beneficiary, include photos or videos of fundraising events, or show supporters spending time with the beneficiary.
In your updates, don’t be afraid to share both good news and hardships, making clear both the beneficiary’s positive progress and his or her continuing need. For details on writing powerful and effective updates, see: How to Write an Update.
How often should you post fundraiser updates? At least once a week—and each time, you and everyone on your fundraising team should share each update on social media.
