Convoy of Hope has tried to spread word of its humanitarian/disaster-relief work through many social media: Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook.
Now, the Springfield, Missouri-based charity has topped 200,000 views on its recent video collaboration with YouTube musician Mike Tompkins to raise awareness of its work.
Molly Erickson, Convoy’s creative communications director, recently shed light on what has made the organization so successful on social media in an interview with #DrurySMC:
Which social media outlets does Convoy of Hope use?
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Vine, Periscope, YouTube, Vimeo, and a blog.
What social media strategies have been effective for Convoy?
We have a lot of success with kids’ photos. We’re feeding nearly 150,000 kids in 10 different countries, and people love seeing smiling kids. We want to keep everything light. Keep it light, keep it bright, keep it tight. We don’t want to put out sad pictures. We want to focus on the hope that we’re trying to provide through these meals.
On our accounts, you’ll see big smiling faces and full bowls of food. That resonates with people. Also, whenever we post during an actual disaster, those typically get a lot of traction because that’s what trending and that’s what people want to know about.
Have there been any strategies that have not been effective?
I think with everything that comes out, it’s trial and error. There are definitely posts that get more traction than other posts. It may have been the time of day that we posted, or if we had targeted or boosted posts. We try to gather all the information that we need to make it better moving forward.
Has there been growth since Convoy started using social media?
Oh, yes. We did something new earlier this year with Mike Tompkins, who is a YouTube superstar. He wrote an original song for us, and then filmed a music video in Tanzania with the kids in our feeding program and the women in our women’s empowerment program. That was a trifold strategy to raise funds, get more awareness for what Convoy’s doing, and reach a new demographic of people.
Are these strategies that you’ve talked about today specific to nonprofits, or do you think they work across the board?
I think a lot of them work across the board. I think the bigger piece is not necessarily for nonprofits specifically, but everything has to be tailored to your business or organization. Because what works for us isn’t necessarily what’s going to work for another nonprofit. So you really have to do your research and find out who your audience is and what they want to hear.
Do you have any tips for nonprofits that are wanting to grow or wanting to use social media?
Try new things. It’s easy to get in the habit of doing the same things over and over. It’s important to branch out. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. At least you tried, and that way you can reach more people and ultimately help your organization. Don’t be afraid to learn. We’re never done learning. There are always new things that can be taught and new strategies behind what we’re doing.