5 content ideas for nonprofit blogs, tweets, posts and pins

Is your Facebook page a ghost town?

Have you neglected to tweet in days (or, heaven forbid, weeks)?

Does your organization suffer from “blogger’s block”?

Shake off the cobwebs, open the blinds and try these five ideas for putting fresh content on your social media sites.

1)     Post interesting photos of your nonprofit in action. Take photos of your office, volunteers, clients, playground/outdoor area, garden, hallway, waiting room. Make sure you use descriptive, creative captions and a link to your website if possible. Photos are the most shared and most commented on content in social media (beat only by videos). Pinterest is now the #3 social network. Facebook just acquired Instagram to get in on the photo action. People LOVE visual, so get on it!

2)     Read about trending topics in the national, regional and local news and tie the day’s hot topic to your organization and your constituents. For example, in Boston, Red Sox Opening Day and the Boston Marathon are perfect examples of hugely popular topics. Find an angle that makes sense and run with it.

3)     Ask questions. People love to talk about themselves. Questions that encourage your fans and followers to share personal stories related to your organization can be effective. (For example: “My favorite volunteer experience was when_______”.)

4)     Stop taking yourself so seriously. Every single post, tweet and blog does not have to be about hunger, homelessness, poverty, violence and abuse. Yes, the issues that you tackle every day are serious and they do have significant implications on the world. However, most people don’t get on social media to think about the world’s problems – they get on to see photos of their grandchildren, to check the news and to share thoughts with others. Spreading your message is important, but being authentic, human and having a sense of humor is also vital to growing your following.

5)     Share others’ content, frequently and with attribution. Sharing content does several things – if its quality stuff, you are positioning yourself as a “thought leader” in your industry. People will then look to you for interesting, relevant and timely information on a specific topic – a  time-saver for them! You also create good karma for your organization.

For more ideas, click on these:

Copyblogger – 22 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue

Blackbaud – 5 Content Marketing Success Stories Your Nonprofit Needs to Imitate

What are your ideas for quality content that gets posts, tweets, blogs and pins? Let me know what you think in the Comments section. Thanks for reading!