Utitlizing Social Media to Increase your Fundraising Reach

After taking a break from FUNdraising Fridays over the July 4th weekend, we are back with some more tips and tricks to easily and quickly boost your fundraising!

This week’s focus is on utilizing your social networks and social media to get out the word about your Walk team and to increase your Walk fundraising.

These tips can be a great way to boost your online donations – which could help you be a winner in the July fundraising challenge!  The challenge has been extended, and will now run until next Friday, July 18th.  For every online donation you get between Monday, July 7th and Friday, July 18th you will be entered for a chance to win a $150 gift card to Karns – perfect for that summer cookout we know you’re planning!

Make sure to use #JDRFWalkHershey when posting about the walk on facebook, twitter, or instagram!

Facebook

Make sure that you use the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes Facebook application to ask for donations, share information about the Walk and ask others to join you in your efforts.  You can quickly and easily share you page from the Facebook icon in the blue bar at the top right of your Participant Center, or click the orange button that says GO TO THE APP under the facebook section.  The facebook app can automatically post updates to your wall for you throughout walk season!  *Note – if you have installed the facebook app for a past walk, you may need to uninstall it from facebook before setting up the app for the current Walk.  Please call the office at 717-901-6489 for assistance with this if you need any!

Posting a link to your Walk web page and sharing your story on your timeline is great, but you may also want to consider sending a Facebook message to your friends as well.  It will guarantee they get the info (they may not see it on your wall), and will probably be a more effective way to spur them to action, whether you are asking them to register and join your team or to make a donation.

Make sure to make it personal.  Share your story.  Share pictures of your or your loved one with T1D.  Let people know what it’s like to have to live with this disease 24/7 365 days a year.

Twitter

Similarly to facebook, you can easily tweet about your walk team, your experience with T1D, and your fundraising efforts using the incon in the blue bar at the top right of your participant center.  Tweeting pictures, videos, and links often helps generate more interest and catch the attention of your followers.

There are many things you can do to spread the word! Any social media platform that you and your network use can be utilized to spread the word about your Walk Team and your fundraising efforts.  The more you put it out there, the more people will see and think about it, the more likely they are to join your team or support your efforts with a donation.

• Put a link to your Walk page in your email signature
• Put a picture of your team from last year or of your T1D loved on your facebook cover photo
• Set a walk, T1D, or JDRF photo as your facebook picture.
• Put something about your walk team in your twitter or instagram profile
• Post pictures from your team fundrasiers and instagram, twitter, and/or facebook

If you have other ideas or experiences with fundraising via social media, please share them in the comments here!  We’d love to hear what’s working for you!