Using social media to fundraise

Posting about your event or sponsorship appeal on social media can connect you to a vast number of potential supporters, helping you hit above and beyond your fundraising target.

Social media fundraising - basic tips

• Start by writing a post explaining what you are doing and why., Keep it snappy and try to grab people's attention. Most importantly, include a link to your online fundraising page, making it as easy as possible for your audience to donate.
• Encourage people to sponsor you without being too pushy. Instead of sharing the same link over and over, write posts thanking those who have already donated, this will hopefully remind others to do the same.
• Be creative. The more creative you are, the more likely others will be to 'like' and 'share' your posts. Keep your updates fresh and interesting, try not to repeat yourself or overshare.

Social media platforms each differ in how they should be used in order to be most effective. A popular post on Facebook will not necessarily be as effective on Twitter. The following tips will help you engage successfully with your online audience.

Facebook

• Create a fundraiser. Your birthday is a great time to raise money for Alzheimer's Society through your network of friends. Facebook will cover all processing fees so that 100% of donations made are paid directly to us.
• Including relevant photos or videos in your Facebook posts tends to dramatically increase interaction. 
• If you 'like' our Alzheimer's Society page you can post the details of your event on our wall. Supporters who view our page may well choose to sponsor you.
• Use page tags in your status updates using '@'. For instance, if you 'like' the Alzheimer's Society page on Facebook you can tag us in posts about your event. If you are taking part in a specific event, check if it has a Facebook page and tag it in your post.
• Ask your friends to share your status update or a link to your fundraising page. This will open you up to a wider audience via their friends and followers.

Twitter

• You only have 280 characters so use them effectively. Be concise in your tweets letting people know what you're doing and why they should sponsor you.

• Twitter is less personal than Facebook so you can get away with posting more regularly. However, it is still never advisable to become overly repetitive. Try and tweet a variety of news and information.

• Tweet your fundraising page link and ask your followers to retweet so it reaches their followers too. Typing 'Pls RT' at the end of your tweet is the universal way of requesting a retweet.

• Mention us in your tweet using the tag @alzheimerssoc. With a tag we can easily see tweets from people that are supporting us. This will also help others to find information about Alzheimer's Society.

• Include hashtags (#) in your tweets to reach a wider audience. Look to see which ones people are using to talk about the event you are doing. For example, if you are taking part in a 5k Big Fun Run, you could include '#bigfunrun' in your tweet. Your tweet will then be visible in a feed to anyone searching for that tag.

Flickr and Pinterest

• You can use sites like Flickr or Pinterest to upload and share your fundraising photos or posters.

• Upload pictures of any preparation or training you're doing and milestones as you reach them. This will keep your supporters up to date and entice those who may not have donated yet.

• Include relevant #hashtags in your descriptions underneath photos.

• Share your Flickr and Pinterest posts on your Facebook and Twitter pages. Try to say something different about the pictures on each social media platform.

Finally, when your event is over, remember to thank all your sponsors and let them know your final fundraising total. This is both a kind gesture and another great way to promote Alzheimer's Society.

If you need some more inspiration why not visit our social media pages below? You could start by sharing one of our Youtube videos as an introduction to our work.