5 Cs to leverage Instagram for marketing your NGO

Digital has added a new dimension to the way non-profits communicate online; we put forth a checklist on how Instagram can be included in an NGO's social media strategy.

Having a presence on social media is key for a non-profit when it comes to building credibility and spreading the word. NGOs have to act like brands and find ways to engage with potential partners who can help them with the cause. Here are a few ways that can help you build your NGO's Instagram strategy.

Communication clarity

There should be clarity on what you wish to communicate and what you seek from your followers. Use your bio to give a brief description of what you do and use the feed to reflect the same. Attach a link to your official website as a landing page for the incoming leads and use your logo as visual collateral for easy identification. Using a short URL instead of the complete version is a good strategy to follow.

Choose features carefully

Should this go on the Feed or on Stories? This is the most important aspect that has to be decided each time before a piece of content goes up on the page. If it's going on Feed, is there a specific theme that has to be kept intact of would you be breaking the flow? If it's going on Stories, should you be using a chat sticker or emoji slider or take a poll to drive engagement? Showcasing bytes from celebrities is a great away to leverage Stories, the kind of content that may feel stale after a while on Feed.

Create peripheral content

While it is important to discuss the core topics you deal with, it is equally important to create peripheral content. It could be slightly distantly related to the objective of your NGO. For example, if your work revolves around trees, you could talk about the legislation around them or a cleanup drive or even a campaign against the use of plastic. The idea is to have a brand connect in place and several related associations that reflect peripherally.

Also Read: How to create a brand for social work?

Consistency is key

It is important for you to have a consistent overlying theme in the content you put forth on Instagram. This is simply true given the visual documentation nature of the medium. If one were to scroll through the page, the flow of content should feel seamless. This is true for the colour scheme as well as the kind of content you post. You could go for a few days of creative-first content followed by real-life photographs in the next few.

Campaigns to run

Running a campaign on Instagram can help you create content that goes beyond the regular pieces that push on your page. You can make use of Instagram Grids to create a separate, visually distinct space for the campaign on your NGO's profile page. This is where you can take a niche topic and build a story around it. It need not be something very time-consuming for as long you can keep your audience hooked for a while.

If you know of other interesting ways to leverage Instagram as part of an NGO's social media strategy, do write to us at content@socialsamosa.com.