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Facebook

The Facebook app can help your nonprofit connect with people who care about your cause through features like Pages, Groups, Live and Messenger.

As you build an online community, you can use it to raise awareness, share information and stories, mobilize and recruit staff and volunteers, fundraise, celebrate successes and so much more. If you’re not already on Facebook, start by creating an account, and then create a Facebook Page for your nonprofit.

Create a Facebook Page.

As a first step, create a Facebook Page for your organization. A Facebook Page is a free and flexible way for your nonprofit to build an online community and engage with your supporters.


Think of your Facebook Page as your organization’s online voice. You can customize your Page to include the information you want, such as your mission statement, contact information, events and more. You can also do things like stream Live videos and communicate directly with supporters. Anyone can Like and follow your Page. That’s how you start to grow your community.

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YOU’LL HAVE ACCESS TO THE FOLLOWING FREE PAGE
MANAGEMENT TOOLS:

  • News Feed
  • Instagram account linking
  • Follower Insights
  • Advertising

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What to include on your Page.

To get the most out of your Facebook Page, try to make it inviting and inspirational so that people who visit it will want to follow you. Here are some ideas on how to make your Page engaging:

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CHECK SOME OF THE IDEAS:

  • About: Be sure to include information about your organization’s mission and purpose so people know how you’re making a difference right away.
  • Profile Picture: Add your nonprofit’s logo to help people recognize your organization and build awareness.
  • Cover Photo: Bring your Page to life by choosing an engaging image that represents the work you’re doing and the communities you serve. You can change your cover photo at any time, for example to feature a special event or inspiring story.
  • Video and Images: You can upload a photo or video, which your supporters will see as a post in their News Feed. This is a good way to showcase the work your organization is doing and stay top of mind with your supporters.
  • Milestones: Show people the history of your organization and the progress you’ve made. You can include things like when your nonprofit was founded and the impact of successful programs.
  • Events: Your Page is a great way to let people know about events your organization is hosting, such as a walk, run or gala.

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Engage with your followers.

Once you have a Page, you can start to engage with people online by creating your first Facebook post. Here are some ideas for first posts:


  • Write a welcome post: Welcome people to your new Page by telling them about your nonprofit and providing information about what you’ll share on the Page. The goal of this post is to encourage people to Like your Page and follow you.
  • Pin your welcome post: After you create a welcome post, pin it to the top of your Page so that it's the first thing people see when they visit. The pinned post remains at the top of your Page until you change or remove it.
  • Share meaningful content: Anyone who comes to your Page will see your posts. Make sure to post quality content regularly that resonates with people and makes them want to follow your nonprofit.
  • Evolve your content strategy: Continue to improve upon your posts and content strategy by using metrics found in the Page Insights and Comments Insights dashboards.
  • Encourage engagement: Think of your Page as a community. Post content that will encourage your audience to start or join a conversation.

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Facebook Page Insights.

Insights provide key metrics that give you a better picture of who is following your Page and how they’re engaging with your content. You can use these insights to help you create content that is most relevant so you can grow your community.

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KEY METRICS INCLUDE:

  • Demographics: Understand which groups of people most enjoy the content on your Page.
  • Positive engagement: Learn which posts people interact with the most.
  • Negative engagement: Find out if people hide your posts or report them as spam.
  • Time of posts: Find trends for when your followers engage most often.

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HOW TO USE THE METRICS:


  • Update your target audience: If you find that more members of a certain audience are coming to your Page, consider creating content that's more targeted to them.
  • Use content people like: Take note of the posts that perform well and integrate those learnings into upcoming posts.
  • Edit content that isn't working: When people hide or report your posts or ads, there might be something offensive or non-meaningful to them. Re-examine your content and edit it to be more impactful.
  • Make your posts actionable: Ask your community a question or to take an action to encourage engagement beyond the post.

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Instagram

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available on iPhone and Android. The app can help your nonprofit raise awareness, connect with supporters, fundraise and inspire people to get involved with your cause.

How to use Instagram.

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HERE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS YOUR ORGANIZATION CAN USE INSTAGRAM TO HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT:

Include Bio Features
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Display details about your nonprofit organization such as your organization’s story, a link to your mission, contact information, and a Donate button (if eligible).

Fundraise
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You can collect donations through a Donate button on your profile bio on Instagram. Your supporters can also raise money for your causes using Live, Stories and Feed. Sign up to be eligible to use our fundraising tools.

View Instagram Insights
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Leverage insights about your followers and how they’re engaging with you on Instagram to make your content even more impactful. Learn more about Instagram Insights.

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Get started.

The first step is to create an Instagram Business account for your nonprofit. Once you have a Business account set up, you can access Instagram features that can help you grow your organization.


Need help? Learn more about how to set up an Instagram Business account.

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ONCE SET UP, HERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO BEGIN ENGAGING YOUR FOLLOWERS:

  • Create your first Feed post and build a content calendar to plan for future posts.
  • Grow your community. To maximize your reach, consider using all of the free features available on Instagram including Feed, Stories, Live and Reels.
  • If fundraising online makes sense for your organization, help your followers understand how they can fundraise on your behalf.

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Instagram Insights.

Insights provide key metrics that help you understand your followers and how they’re engaging with you on Instagram. You can use those metrics to improve your content strategy and grow your community.

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KEY METRICS INCLUDE:

  • Content you shared: View insights for specific posts to see how each performed and how people are engaging with them.
  • Your audience: See who is following you on Instagram so you can make your content more relevant.
  • Timeline metrics: Find out when your followers are online to reach them at the right time.

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HOW TO USE THE METRICS:


  • Adjust your content strategy to post when your followers are online.
  • Revise your post content to align with what’s most engaging with your community.
  • Adjust your photo and video content to ensure it speaks to your audience.

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Communicate directly with supporters, staff and volunteers.

Our fast and reliable messaging tools can help you stay connected and build one-to-one relationships from anywhere, on any device.

Messenger

Messenger provides a simple and convenient way for people to get in touch with your organization through your Facebook Page. How can you use Messenger to accomplish your goals?

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HERE’S A GUIDE TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY THE BEST APPROACH FOR USING MESSENGER:

  • For a simple live chat experience, start by turning on Page messaging from your Facebook Page to respond to your supporters manually.
  • You can set up Instant Replies and other automated features to ensure your supporters and followers always get a prompt reply. Learn More.
  • Read Three Tips to Master Messaging with Your Customers to learn more about crafting an effective Messenger experience.
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WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a fast, simple and reliable way to message anyone in the world. In certain global regions, WhatsApp is a popular way for people to connect. If you’re in a region where WhatsApp is widely used, it’s a great tool to help you communicate with your supporters, staff and volunteers.

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FOLLOW THESE BEST PRACTICES FOR USING WHATSAPP:

  • Create a business profile to let people know where to reach you.
  • Respond to people when they message you.
  • Send notifications to ensure your messages are seen.
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TRY THESE TOOLS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF WHATSAPP BUSINESS:

  • Create a greeting message to automatically introduce people to your organization.
  • Set an away message when you’re unable to answer.
  • Save time with quick replies to reuse answers to frequently asked questions.
  • Allow your supporters to get in touch easily through an ad that clicks through to WhatsApp.
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Workplace

Workplace is a communication tool that connects everyone at your organization. It makes sure important messages get to the right people, at the right time, in the right way.

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THOUSANDS OF NONPROFITS USE WORKPLACE TO:

  • Share updates and best practices.
  • Coordinate fundraising campaigns.
  • Build internal culture for employees and volunteers.
  • Collaborate internally using mobile-first features like Groups, Chat, Rooms and Live video broadcasting.

Workplace for Good gives nonprofits free access to a range of additional support, including internal communications training, the Workplace Academy and a peer-to-peer nonprofit community.


Learn more about Workplace and Workplace for Good.

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Ready to get started?

Here’s a quick review of the first steps to get started with Meta technologies:

  • Create a Facebook Page and Instagram Business account.
  • Engage with your followers.
  • Choose the right messaging tools.
  • Grow your community.
  • Get inspired.
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