Social media can really help you with fundraising if you use it effectively. However, think about how often you browse through your social media and see someone asking for sponsorship – you need to post consistently and effectively if you want to maximise your sponsorship!
1. Ask close friends or family members to sponsor you first! – Before you post anything publicly, send a private message to your close friends or family asking them to sponsor you. We won’t bore you with the psychology of it, but people are far more likely to donate to a page which already has some donations on it! Ideally ask someone generous first as often people will look at previous donations to decide what an appropriate amount would be.
2. Explain what you’re doing in your first post – Your story starts here! Explain what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and why people should sponsor you.
3. Post consistently to maintain momentum – Decide how often you can realistically post on social media and stick to it! This will mean that people are given regular reminders to donate; sometimes when people see your posts they may be in the middle of work and not have time to get their card out, or they may be stood on a crowded train, in the middle of a gym workout, or just too tired to bother. If you keep reminding them, eventually they will donate! Posting regularly also shows you care about the challenge and the cause, which will encourage people to donate.
4. Thank people publicly – Send thank you posts when people donate and tag them in it. It makes the person who sponsored you feel good, it also encourages more people to donate! If you and the sponsor are both part of a group chat, thanking them in there alerts everyone else in the group!
5. Post with a point – Create reasons to give updates, rather than every post being about how much has been raised. If you’ve been out for a run, walk or cycle take a selfie and give people an update… Then give a link to your fundraising page!
6. Fundraising milestones – Use fundraising milestones as an opportunity to encourage people to donate now! If you would like, we could make you a graphic like this…
7. Consider when you’re posting – When are your friends likely to look at social media? When are they likely to have time to see my post and donate? What time of month are they likely to have more cash – around payday?
8. Use photos and videos wherever possible – If you’re out training, take a photo of the view, a selfie of you looking tired, or record a short video of you explaining what you’re doing. You don’t need fancy equipment – smartphones can do amazing things very easily!
9. Don’t forget email – Consider friends and family who aren’t on social media and make sure you reach them. You could send them an email, a text message, give them a call or write them a letter – think about who you’re contacting and what is likely to have the best impact.
10. Find a balance – Quality over quantity is important. If people become fed up of reading your posts, they will just skip past them. Some social media platforms will even stop showing your posts to as many people.
