LinkedIn is a professional network that people use every day to build relationships and connect to opportunity. It has an active user base of over 930 million members, but many nonprofits do not use it to its fullest potential. In this post, we’ll share some ways that nonprofit organizations can use LinkedIn to support fundraising efforts, network, and build a brand. We’ll also dive into the LinkedIn for Nonprofits Resource Hub, which can help you to create more of an impact on the platform while building relationships with others in your mission area.
Nonprofits can use LinkedIn to share their mission and garner support. LinkedIn is also a great place to build a brand and access a different kind of audience.
You can use LinkedIn to connect with grantmakers and potential donors, as well as prospective employees. It’s a great place to start a conversation with businesses and funders, ask questions about opportunities, and reach out directly to specific staff members who can help, rather than relying on a generic Contact Us email address. The ability to make personal connections like these in a trusted, professional space can be especially beneficial to organizations, and having a strong nonprofit brand on the platform makes it more likely that people will respond.
While simply creating a LinkedIn Page for your organization and keeping it active sets you apart from a lot of nonprofits, there are many ways that you can have a more impactful and effective presence on the platform.
First, encourage your staff to complete or update their personal profiles and list your organization as their employer. You can also encourage staff to engage with and share your nonprofit’s content by tagging them in posts where relevant. Team members can also connect with and reach out to other members on behalf of your nonprofit, so it’s important for their profile to convey credibility and reflect their role at your organization.
When people visit your LinkedIn Page, you want to give them a good idea of your organization’s mission, values, and key programs. Aim to review your LinkedIn Page every few months to ensure that the information included is complete, accurate, and up to date. And don’t forget to add your organization’s logo and a link to your website. You can also make your Page stand out by including an eye-catching cover image that conveys something about the important work that your nonprofit is doing.
Once you have a strong LinkedIn Page, start sharing great content. This is one of the best ways to gain traction and attract followers. Consider sharing blog posts that your nonprofit has written or powerful stories and testimonials from employees, volunteers, or beneficiaries. If you’re not creating content already, use LinkedIn as a starting point. Even a short paragraph about a recent fundraising event, tagging the sponsor and sharing a photo and the amount of money you raised, can be a great conversation starter.
LinkedIn is also a great place to find interesting and insightful content posted by others in your space. If you find quality content that is relevant to your audience, you can use the Repost function to share it to your nonprofit’s LinkedIn Page. You can also choose the option to Repost with Your Thoughts to add additional context or to highlight your organization’s point of view on the topic.
In order to help nonprofits to make the most of free LinkedIn features, LinkedIn for Nonprofits has built a curated Resource Hub that compiles step-by-step guides and best practices to help you get the most out of the platform. You’ll find more tips to get you started and build out your personal profile and nonprofit Page, as well as guidance on what to post in order to build engagement, attract job candidates, and support fundraising efforts.
The LinkedIn for Nonprofits Resource Hub covers a wide range of topics:
Whether you’re already on LinkedIn or are just getting started, there are plenty of ways to increase and improve your nonprofit’s presence on the platform. Build a great LinkedIn Page for your organization, get your team involved, and share content that people want to engage with. Use the LinkedIn for Nonprofits Resource Hub to learn more and continue fine-tuning your strategy, and you’ll find that LinkedIn can be a brilliant tool to help you move your mission forward.
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