Entering its fifth year, GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. The movement estimates a 470% increase in online donations since its inception.

Here are a few ways to leverage social media for your association and engage both new and old donors.

1. Tell Your Story

Our brains are wired for storytelling. According to Uri Hasson from Princeton, a story is the only way to activate parts in the brain so that a listener turns the story into their own idea and experience.

The use of storytelling can be more than just a sales strategy, but also a useful platform to engage with your audience and give a voice to those who don’t have one.

2. Engage vs. Broadcast

According to Case Foundation, 74% of nonprofits use social media as a means to share events and broadcast what they are about instead of engaging their donors.

This means it’s important to not just broadcast about your organization, but also connect and engage with your community.

3. Brand Your Social Media Profiles

One way to show your organization’s support for #GivingTuesday, is through social branding. In fact, people donate 38% more on branded pages compared to generic pages.

Not sure where to start? Here are some simple branding tips:

  • Set your profile image to the #GivingTuesday logo.
  • Change out your cover photo to one that #GivingTuesday put together.
  • Post a few of the sample tweets to engage with the entire #GivingTuesday mission.

4. The Power of a Hashtag

Did you know that tweets with hashtags get twice the engagement?  Be sure to include #GivingTuesday across your social channels.

Here are some other creative ways to incorporate hashtags and bolster your engagement efforts:

  • Many nonprofits are rebranding #GivingTuesday for their organizations.
    From #GivingShoesDay to #GivingZooDay, give a twist to the official hashtag and
    promote your brand and mission.
  • Integrate #GivingTuesday into your end-of-year campaign. Use this day to experiment
    and try a new strategy to close those end of year gifts.
  • Encourage your online community to share their #UNselfies with you on Twitter and
    Facebook. Try to highlight the best stories via social media.

Check out the #GivingTuesday complete toolkit for even more inspiration!