Social Media Strategies for Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday – or as it’s more commonly known, #GivingTuesday – is a global movement that combines the generosity of people and organizations to transform communities. Giving Tuesday is held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States, and will land on November 29th this year (2022). 

To participate in Giving Tuesday, nonprofit organizations can register on the official Giving Tuesday website, run their own #GivingTuesday fundraising campaigns, and/or launch a corporate partnership to support their mission. The annual giving tradition began in 2012 and has led to over $1.9 billion¹ raised for nonprofits in the United States alone. Globally, Giving Tuesday campaigns have led to millions² of acts of generosity.

This year is the 10th anniversary of Giving Tuesday, so we’re expecting it to be bigger and more publicized than ever before. For nonprofit organizations and brands, this milestone is an opportunity to bring awareness to their causes and develop new audiences using social media, while also engaging with a feel-good global movement.

How Nonprofit Organizations Can Use Social Media For #GivingTuesday

Giving Tuesday provides a rare opportunity to engage with people and companies in a collectively generous mood. Nonprofits should use this to their advantage by using content strategies that highlight their mission, encourage donations, and gain new supporters. Giving Tuesday provides a unique chance for nonprofits to increase visibility and capitalize on a “holiday” that was made just for them. It also creates an opportunity to couple social media content strategies with actionable campaigns that lead to results. 

Tactics That Use Your Branded Social Profiles

• Build awareness – Starting in early November, remind your audience that Giving Tuesday is coming up at the end of the month.
• Create a call to action – Come up with a goal for your organization that you hope to meet from efforts made on Giving Tuesday. For example, you may want to sign up 50 new volunteers or raise $5,000 for a specific fund. 
• Be repetitive, but not redundant – The entire month of November can be filled with content that connects back to your Giving Tuesday goals. Share content that educates your audience about why your effort is important, show progress bars if your donations or sign-ups are already open, and encourage followers to share your posts with their friends to reach new people.
• Celebrate what you accomplish – Even after Giving Tuesday has ended, it’s important to share what you were able to raise or achieve through your campaign, as validation. Thank your followers for sharing the message and give kudos to those who contributed. This could also be an opportune time to decide what your goal for the next Giving Tuesday will be and to prepare your followers for that.

 

Incorporating Corporate Partnerships into a Giving Tuesday Content Strategy

Adding a corporate partner to your Giving Tuesday campaign can greatly benefit your organization in various ways. Tagging another organization, ideally larger than yours, in social posts will help increase awareness, reach, and contributions to your cause. Many companies allocate or pledge resources toward generosity campaigns as the holiday season approaches. Partnering with a motivated and passionate company that wants to support the Giving Tuesday movement should help your nonprofit receive stronger results, and lead to lasting relationships.

A corporate partnership also guarantees access to that brand’s social media followers, which can quickly create a halo effect on your nonprofit’s social following and sometimes grow it overnight. For organizations with limited resources, this type of partnership can be transformative. If this is something that seems like a good fit for your organization, we recommend beginning corporate outreach by at least early summer (which means now!).

 

Giving Tuesday’s Involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a phrase that encompasses all of the efforts a company makes to support nonprofit organizations and positively impact society. CSR programs usually benefit the community economically, socially, or environmentally, and carry innate benefits for the company itself. 

When a company is perceived as “doing good,” they are more likely to attract new employees and have turnover rates 50% lower³ than companies that do not engage in CSR. Additionally, positive CSR efforts have been shown to increase customers’ brand perception⁴ and may be a deciding factor for new customers to make a purchase⁵.

Still not convinced? The last thing we’ll say about corporate social responsibility is that it can also boost a business’s bottom line by creating value, increasing innovation, improving customer and employee relations, and expanding growth options6. Giving Tuesday provides the perfect opportunity for your brand to dip into CSR and watch the benefits unfold.

 

 

Ways to Maximize Contributions with Corporate Partnerships

There’s no doubt that today’s consumers care more about a company’s social actions than ever before. The fastest way to see just how much an audience cares about a charitable cause is to develop an engagement-focused #GivingTuesday social media strategy that incorporates both the corporate partner and nonprofit organization.

Here are a few social media content campaign ideas that can maximize contributions from corporate partnerships. 

First, work with the corporation to create a social post or series of social posts educating their audience about your nonprofit organization, or the social issue you wish to encourage donations for. 

Then:

• Encourage them to offer to donate $1 for every like, comment, and share a certain post receives. 
• If $1 per engagement is too ambitious, suggest that they donate based on how many people participate in a user-generated content campaign. This could include requesting people share relevant photos, participate in a video trend/challenge, use a branded hashtag, or some combination of those options.
• Have the corporation directly ask their followers to donate to your nonprofit by providing a direct link to your donation page. As a bonus, suggest they offer to match donations up to a certain dollar amount. 
• Hold a live fundraising drive on Instagram Live. Instagram allows users to host live video events in conjunction with other accounts. Include a representative of the nonprofit organization and someone from the corporation and keep the audience updated with donations as they roll in. You can fill time by discussing why the organization is important and how they are making a positive social impact.

 

Be Generous With Your Social Strategy

In order for your organization’s social strategy to be truly successful, contributing something impactful should be at the heart of social media efforts. Consumers have a keen eye for what’s authentic and what’s inauthentic–especially when it comes to a brand or organization’s presence on social media. Use your social strategy for good and make a positive change this #GivingTuesday.

 

SOURCES

(1) https://kindful.com/nonprofit-glossary/giving-tuesday/  

(2) https://www.givingtuesday.org/about/impact/ 

(3) https://www.satellinstitute.org/study-reveals-companies-engaged-in-csr-can-reduce-staff-turnover-rates-by-50/ 

(4) https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/consumer-markets/consumer-insights-survey.html

(5) https://www.feefo.com/en/business/resources/reports/brand-perception-report 

(6) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3549827 

Frequently Asked Questions

How does social media help businesses promote GivingTuesday?

Businesses can use social media to promote Giving Tuesday by building awareness, creating call to actions, and garnering support for campaigns.

What are some popular ways to participate in GivingTuesday?

You can participate in Giving Tuesday by partnering with participating nonprofit organizations to raise funds, volunteering, or participating in events that support the Giving Tuesday campaign.

What are the best small business marketing ideas for GivingTuesday?

Small businesses can choose a local nonprofit organization to support on Giving Tuesday by either volunteering with them or raising funds through social media campaigns.