Last updated by Kasey Murphy on 03/13/2021

Social Media has really grown over the years into a tool that can easily connect individuals, but also as a business tool! 

As a volunteer organization, social media is something that you can use for the following volunteer management techniques. 

• Volunteer Engagement

• Volunteer Recruitment

• Donor Recruitment 

• Community Awareness

If you are wondering how social media can help you with these tasks, stay tuned, we have some ideas for you. 

Ideas For Volunteer Programs Can Use Social Media 

The basic act of using social media involves posting on a social media site like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. These can be updates, announcements, or even just fun posts to get interactions from the community! 

But, there are a few different ways to post on social media and use your social media account to get interactions! 

Volunteer Engagement Through Social Media 

Volunteer Engagement can occur through a few different ways on social media. As a volunteer organization, you can create a volunteer program social media account separately, or you can use your volunteer organization’s social media to interact with volunteers. 

In order for this to work effectively, you’ll have to ask your volunteers to follow the account on social media. Then, you can post things specifically designed to get the volunteer’s attention! This can even be something that makes volunteers feel special. 

Here are some ideas: 

• Volunteer of The Week - each week post a photo of volunteers doing work or a picture you ask them to submit. You can make this as detailed or as basic as you would like.

  • For extra points, you can reach out to other volunteers to get nice comments about the Volunteer of The Week. 

• Volunteer Event Poll - some volunteer programs and organizations use social media to gather insight and information on their volunteers. You could write a poll (and even make it anonymous) asking volunteers how they feel about a certain event, a theme they could do, or even the next “team bonding” event! 

• Volunteer Shoutout - similar to the volunteer of the week - you can do Volunteer Shoutout for special occasions on social media in your volunteer organization. This could be birthdays, or when volunteers reach a milestone goal on the number of hours they have volunteered. This would be a great idea for a social media story on Instagram or Facebook. 

If you are interested in more volunteer engagement ideas, check out this article! 

Volunteer Recruitment Through Social Media 

Volunteer Recruitment can be tricky sometimes, we know. But, one of the main benefits of having social media is that potential volunteers can look at it and get excited about volunteering with your organization! 

Social media is a great way to produce an idea to potential new volunteers of what being a part of your organization is going to be like. Here are some ideas that can be aimed specifically at recruiting volunteers on social media. 

• “Why I Volunteer Wednesday” - This is a trend that many organizations have taken a part in, but it really is a great opportunity for current volunteers to express their reasoning for volunteering and for future volunteers to see what type of volunteers they are going to be surrounded by. 
  Have your volunteers sign up to create a write-up and a photo they would like to be posted on the organization’s social media. 

• Listing Info Sessions - Use your social media to advertise info sessions you have that are coming up or even to “cover” orientations. This is a great way to show potential new volunteers that you want new volunteers and you train them adequately - all on social media! 
  Use a free tool like Canva to create fun graphics for announcements like this. 

• Showcasing Volunteer Incentives - be sure to incentivize volunteers and don’t hesitate to brag about your volunteer program on social media. This is great content for potential new volunteers to see! 

Donor Recruitment Through Social Media 

While donors might not appear on social media very often, some donors might want to double-check where their donations are going, and your organization’s social media might come up! 

Social media can be used as a fundraising tool, and as a promotional tool for your organization. This can get the donor’s attention, and allow your volunteer organization to raise more funds! 

• Goal Chart - this can be a digital or physical goal chart for money raised. Post about it once or twice a month to let followers know that you are working towards a goal - one they can help out with! 

• #FundraisingFriday - make this a hashtag as well as other popular hashtags in your community to get the attention of potential fundraisers. These posts can be anecdotes about a fundraising event or updates on your upcoming fundraisers! 

• Create a shareable Fundraiser - this is mostly on Facebook, but you can have volunteers and members of the community share an online fundraiser. This is a great way to get the word out about your organization and to collect donations digitally. 

Community Awareness Through Social Media 

In today’s day and age, many people are used to communicating via a computer or smartphone through social media. It is quite easy to do! As a volunteer organization, you can use social media to do this and maybe even partner up with other organizations! 

• Events The Community Can Attend - make sure to always share about events the community can attend. Sharing on social media and creating events in platforms like Facebook is a great way to gain a few attendees. 

• About Your Mission - Remember every month or so to include a heartfelt message about your organization’s mission. Sometimes, especially in social media, it is easy to get wrapped up in superficiality. Be sure to keep your social media page updated with your organization’s mission and vision! 

• Interact With The Community - You can follow and like other organization’s pages and posts on social media! This is a great way to get your organization involved online and achieve interactions from a supportive environment or business. It might even build a networking path for your organization! 

Many organizations are building social media profiles, and volunteer organizations should not be exempt! There are many benefits from maintaining a social media presence, you can even ask a volunteer to help you with a social media strategy or setup!