What Are Your Socials Doing For You?

Many times when we speak with clients regarding their social media campaigns, common issues tend to be brought up. For one, many organizations don’t have the capacity or budget to sink endless amounts of time into optimizing their social media. What gets posted is usually not on a consistent enough basis or doesn’t reach their target audience. While staying visible on social media is key, sinking time into inconsistent or misaligned campaigns only leads you back to square one.

Lots of organizations also struggle with communicating their mission through their social media. For instance, let’s say we are setting yearly goals with a development team. What are we trying to accomplish? How are we using our social media to aid in that? If you are a nonprofit with a donor revenue goal in mind, posting donor impact highlights makes more sense than filling your feed with general holiday graphics or unrelated trending memes.

Most organizations don’t even realize they do this. However, you can start to shift your focus in a few easy steps:

Focus on Value, Not Volume

A common mistake is believing that more content is automatically better. While activity matters, it is the quality and relevance of posts that truly make the difference. A smaller number of carefully created posts that highlight your impact, share meaningful stories, or connect directly with your goals will resonate much more than posting for the sake of staying busy. By emphasizing value, you create content that feels authentic and builds long-term trust with your audience.

Define and Align Your Outcomes

Every campaign should begin with clarity on what you want to achieve. Are you looking for more event registrations, increased donor contributions, or higher overall visibility? The answer to that question shapes the strategy.

For example, we’re currently working with a nonprofit that had no existing social media presence. Because they are still building name recognition and awareness in the community, the focus of their initial campaigns is visibility, ensuring they are seen by as many relevant audiences as possible. In this case, success means growing reach, generating interest, and establishing a recognizable identity. By starting with that clear objective, we’re able to craft a strategy that prioritizes audience growth and platform selection over fundraising or conversion, making every post a purposeful step toward long-term impact.

Know Your Audience and Speak Directly to Them

Effective social media campaigns are not about reaching everyone, they're about reaching the people who matter most to your work. Understanding your audience allows you to craft messages that resonate with them and choose the platforms where they are most active.

According to Pew Research, 85% of U.S. adults use YouTube, while only 50% use Instagram, with usage varying widely by age group and demographic. This shows why it is important to be intentional. If donors are your target, your content should highlight impact and transparency. If volunteers are the focus, posts that showcase opportunities and community involvement will be more effective. By aligning your messaging with the right platform and audience, your social media becomes a true extension of your mission rather than a pursuit of broad engagement.

How We Help

Shifting your focus to make your social media calendar support your mission is simple in theory, but putting it into practice can be challenging, especially when your internal resources are stretched thin. That’s where our team at Donnelly-Boland can help. We offer outsourced communications support that’s both strategic and scalable. Through customized proposals and flexible pricing plans, we help you make the most of your budget while ensuring your social media campaigns get the focused attention they deserve. This way, you can stay focused on your mission, while we develop and manage a content calendar that aligns with your goals and connects with your audience.

For additional information and questions regarding your organization’s marketing strategy, feel free to reach out to the professionals at Donnelly-Boland and Associates. We have been working with nonprofits since 1992, and we help build you custom solutions to ensure you can focus on what you do best, and leave the rest to us.