Get More Nonprofit Social Media Exposure: A Simple Idea From #bbcon

Sadly I wasn’t able to attend the Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits (#bbcon) in person this year, but just by following the Twitter hashtag, I have learned a lot!

I am especially fond of one small, yet very powerful idea that you can use to raise even more money at your next event – and get your nonprofit social media exposure to boot!

The idea of Blackbaud’s Social Media Give Back campaign is brilliant, because even the smallest nonprofit can use it. You will need to partner with a loyal donor or a corporate partner to provide the funds.

This year bbcon chose the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee to be the recipients of their Social Media Give Back campaign – smart, considering the conference is in Nashville.

You know you’re at a great conference when giving back is built in to the experience #bbcon @bbcon pic.twitter.com/Yym7ZgKZKs

— Stasha Carrasquillo (@StashaSays) October 6, 2014

The premise is simple. Blackbaud donates: $1 per photo shared from their Give Back Booth at the conference – you need to fill out the #GivingTuesday pledge and tweet using both hashtags (#GivingTuesday & #bbcon) 50 cents per photo tweeted or shared on Facebook and Instagram (using #bbcon) 25 cents per tweet using #bbcon – based on the sheer volume of tweets from the first hour, they are on track to raise hundreds from just this promise! $1 per Foursquare (Swarm) check-in using the hashtag #bbcon. The brilliance of using a Social Media Give Back campaign is that it’s a win-win for everyone. The nonprofit helps promote the conference and the marketing hashtag to get more donations; and people can feel good about sharing photos and insight on social media channels.

Social media “lurkers” – the people who just look and watch but don’t post – may even become more inclined to do so now that their social media actions are worth money to a real organization!

How can your nonprofit adapt this Social Media Give Back campaign to raise money and exposure at your next event?