We have been living in the world of the internet for quite a while, and we know that life without it would not be the same anymore. Along with the use of social media tools for nonprofits, online fundraising is also growing fast. Most NGOs in the world are inclined towards social media for their promotion, raising awareness, and running campaigns.
Managing social media accounts for a nonprofit can be a daunting task, especially when you’re juggling tight budgets and limited time. You want to reach as many people as possible, but where do you start? The good news is there are tools that can help, making it easier to stay on top of posts, engage with your community, and grow your audience.
Choosing the right social media management tools for nonprofits, can provide a social media management platforms through which they can manage their social media accounts. Now, the burning question is what are the best social media tools for nonprofits?
Some tools that are widely used are listed below:
Need of Social Media for Nonprofits
Social media is a powerful tool for spreading the word about your cause. It helps you connect with donors, volunteers, and people who care about your mission. It’s also one of the most cost-effective ways to get your message out.
Nonprofits thrive on storytelling, and platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter let you tell your story in a way that inspires people to take action. However keeping up with multiple platforms can be time-consuming, which is why having the right tools is so important. It also helps to generate creative ideas for launching mission critical initiatives. Some of the needs include:
Raising Awareness
Social media provides a platform where NGOs can share their mission, goals, and activities with a wide audience. It helps inform people about causes that might not get much attention in traditional media. Through consistent updates, NGOs can raise awareness about issues they are working on, whether it’s poverty, education, or the environment.
Building a Supportive Community
NGOs can use social media to create and nurture communities of supporters, donors, and volunteers. By engaging with followers through posts, comments, and direct messages, NGOs can build meaningful relationships, answer questions, and keep their supporters involved.
Cost-Effective Outreach
For NGOs working with limited budgets, social media offers a cost-effective way to reach large audiences. Social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow NGOs to share information, run campaigns, and even advertise at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing.
Fundraising and Donations
Social media is a powerful tool for online fundraising. With integrated donation buttons, direct links, and fundraising campaigns, NGOs can collect funds directly through platforms like Facebook and Instagram. It’s also a great way to share success stories and thank donors publicly, boosting donor confidence.
Sharing Impact and Success Stories
Posting updates about the success of projects or initiatives shows followers the tangible results of their support. Sharing impact stories, photos, and videos can inspire more people to get involved and contribute, while also maintaining transparency.
Engaging Volunteers
Many volunteers, especially younger generations, use social media daily. NGOs can use these platforms to recruit volunteers by posting opportunities, highlighting volunteer experiences, and providing a simple way for people to sign up.
Choosing the right social media tool for your NGO can feel overwhelming, but it’s an important step to ensure your efforts are effective and manageable. Here are some detailed tips to help you make the right decision.
Tips for Choosing the Right Tool for Nonprofits
Identify Your Needs
Before selecting a tool, clearly define what your NGO needs from social media. Ask yourself:
Which platforms are we using? If you’re managing multiple accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.), you’ll want a tool that supports them all.
What are our main goals? Do you want to increase awareness, boost fundraising, engage volunteers, or all of the above? Different tools excel in different areas, so knowing your priorities will help narrow down the options.
How big is our team? If multiple people are involved in managing social media (staff, volunteers, interns), you’ll need a tool that allows for collaboration and user permissions.
Knowing these details upfront will guide you toward a tool that aligns with your organization’s goals.
Budget Considerations
Most NGOs operate on tight budgets, so cost is a key factor. Some tools offer special pricing or discounts for nonprofits, while others provide robust free versions that may be enough to meet your needs.
Free Tools: Tools like Buffer and Hootsuite offer free versions with limited functionality. For smaller NGOs, these might be perfect if you only need basic scheduling and posting.
Paid Tools: If your NGO needs advanced features like analytics, team collaboration, or integrated fundraising capabilities, paid versions or tools like Sprout Social might be a better fit. Look for nonprofit pricing or trials to ensure it’s worth the investment.
Ease of Use
You don’t want to spend hours figuring out how a tool works. The tool should be simple enough for everyone on your team to use without needing extensive training. Ask yourself:
How effective is our team? Some tools are more intuitive and user-friendly, while others might require more time to learn. A tool like Buffer is known for its simplicity, while something like Sprout Social might have a steeper learning curve due to its advanced features.
Do we have time for setup? Some tools require more customization upfront, while others are ready to use immediately. If you need quick implementation, look for tools with a short learning curve and minimal setup.
Collaboration Features
For NGOs with multiple team members managing social media, collaboration features are essential. You want to ensure smooth communication, easy sharing of drafts, and proper approval processes.
Role-Based Permissions: Tools like RecurPost or Hootsuite allow you to assign different roles to team members (e.g., contributors, editors, approvers), so content goes through the right approval channels before it’s published.
Team Communication: Some tools offer internal messaging, making it easier for teams to discuss trending topics and fundraising goals to achieve without having to switch to email or other platforms.
Analytics and Reporting
Understanding how your social media posts are performing is crucial for refining your social media strategy and demonstrating the impact of your efforts for stakeholders and donors.
Basic vs. Advanced Analytics: If you’re looking for basic metrics (likes, shares, clicks), free or low-cost tools like Buffer or Later may be sufficient. However, if you need detailed presentation ready reports that break down engagement trends, follower growth, or post-performance over time, you’ll need a more advanced tool like Sprout Social or Hootsuite.
Custom Reports: If you regularly report to a board of directors or donors, look for a tool that can generate custom reports. This makes it easier to show how social media efforts contribute to your NGO’s goals.
Content Planning and Scheduling
A good social media tool should simplify the process of planning and scheduling content in advance.
Calendar View: Some tools, like Later, offer a visual calendar that allows you to drag and drop posts into valuable time slots. This feature is helpful for seeing the big picture and ensuring a steady stream of content across platforms to increase productivity and save time.
Content Libraries: If your NGO frequently reuses evergreen content (e.g., regular fundraising appeals or awareness posts), look for tools with content libraries or recurring post features. RecurPost excels in this area, allowing you to set posts to repeat automatically.
Using social media tools for nonprofits can significantly enhance the social media strategy for NGOs, enabling them to streamline content creation, track engagement, and amplify their impact. With the right tools, NGOs can effectively share their mission, connect with supporters, and drive meaningful community action.
Top Social Media Management Tools for Nonprofits
Here are five free social media management tools that are ideal for NGOs looking to manage their social presence effective.
Detailed explanation of each of these social media tools.
RecurPost
An all-in-one comprehensive social media tool for Nonprofits(Web, iOS, Android)
RecurPost is the #1 choice for over 100,000 marketers. If you have evergreen content, such as blogs, then RecurPost is the only tool you want to use. NGOs can use this social media management tool for their social media marketing.
Features of RecurPost
RecurPost is particularly useful for nonprofits because it allows recurring posts for consistent content and supports multiple platforms, including Facebook and LinkedIn. It also offers features for content libraries and basic analytics, making it an affordable option for NGOs looking to streamline their social media platforms. Some of them are
- Schedule Posts in Bulk
- Maintain and share Social Calendar
- Content Scheduling and Recurring Posts
- Content Libraries
- Team Collaboration and Canva Integration
- Affordable Plans
Schedule Posts in Bulk
With RecurPost, you have the ability to generate loads of social media posts in one go. While creating bulk schedules, you can also customize the posts for individual social media platforms as per your specific requirements. Apart from creating images, links, and text posts, RecurPost also allows you to create bulk schedules using CSV or excel files.
Maintain and Share Social Calendar
Creating a social media calendar using RecurPost will ensure that your social accounts never stay idle. The evergreen content libraries let you create recurring schedules, set a frequency for posting, and let it bring new traffic to you every time posts get shared.
Content Scheduling and Recurring Posts
RecurPost is known for its ability to schedule posts across platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google Business Profiles. It’s a great way to keep a steady flow of content going without manual posting.
Content Libraries
The tool allows you to create content libraries with recurring posts, ideal for promoting ongoing campaigns or causes, such as donation reminders and volunteer recruitment.
Team Collaboration and Canva Integration
RecurPost enables teams to work together seamlessly and even integrates with Canva, so you can create eye-catching graphics directly within the tool.
Affordable Plans
RecurPost offers a free plan with essential features for NGOs, and the paid plans are also affordable for those who need advanced functionality.
Best for: NGOs needing easy content scheduling with recurring post capabilities for ongoing campaigns.
Sprout Social
A social media tool for Nonprofits with robust publishing features(Web, iOS, Android)
Sprout Social does not have a free plan but offers a 30-day free trial. This tool is more robust and suited for larger NGOs or those with complex social media needs. During the trial, users can connect multiple profiles and access advanced features like in-depth analytics, social listening, and collaboration tools.
Features of Sprout Social
The free version offers these vibrant features. During the trial, you can connect multiple social profiles and take advantage of advanced capabilities, such as in-depth analytics that help you understand your audience better and measure the effectiveness of your posts.
- Full-Service Management
- In-Depth Analytics and Reports
- Collaboration Tools
Full-Service Management
Sprout Social is a robust tool that includes content scheduling, social listening, analytics, and engagement tracking. While it doesn’t have a free plan, it does offer a 30-day free trial, which is a great way for NGOs to test its full range of features.
In-Depth Analytics and Reports
Sprout Social provides detailed reports, ideal for tracking engagement and performance over time and sharing impact with stakeholders or donors.
Collaboration Tools
It offers excellent collaboration tools for teams, making it easy for multiple members to work together on campaigns and approvals. This is particularly beneficial for larger organizations that need to coordinate efforts across different departments.
Best For: Larger NGOs with complex social media needs or those that want to test advanced features during the trial period.
Alternative- Facebook Meta Business Suite.
Hootsuite
A social media tool for Nonprofits with robust publishing features(Web, iOS, Android)
Hootsuite’s free plan allows NGOs to connect up to 2 social profiles and schedule 5 posts at a time. This platform is known for its user-friendly interface and simple analytics dashboard, making it a good starting point for smaller NGOs to organize their content.
Features of Hootsuite
It is a great choice for nonprofits looking to manage their social media efficiently. Hootsuite is renowned for increasing productivity on social media. It enables you to handle all of the connected social media networks from a single unified dashboard. You can obtain a clear, comprehensive picture of the activity on your social media profiles. Some of its features are
- Multi-Platform Scheduling posts
- Basic Analytics
- Content Calendar and Planner
Multi-Platform Scheduling posts
With its free plan, you can connect up to 5 social accounts and schedule up to 30 posts at a time. It supports all the major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, making it easy to keep all your channels organized.
Basic Analytics
While the analytics features on the free plan are somewhat limited, Hootsuite still gives you insights into how your posts are performing. This helps you understand what resonates with your audience so you can tweak your strategy when needed.
Content Calendar and Planner
Hootsuite offers a content calendar view, so you can see your upcoming posts and ensure consistent content distribution across platforms and integrate them under one dashboard. This makes it simple to plan your content and ensure a steady stream of updates across your social media platforms.
Best for: Small to medium-sized NGOs looking for a reliable scheduling tool with access to multiple accounts.
Alternative- Facebook Meta Business Suite.
Buffer
A social media tool for Nonprofits with intuitive features(Web, iOS, Android)
Buffer’s free plan lets users connect 3 social accounts and schedule 10 posts per account. It’s simple to use, allowing NGOs to schedule posts across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter without a steep learning curve.
Buffer offers a user-friendly free plan that’s perfect for individuals and small NGOs looking to manage their social media effectively. With plans for bloggers, small businesses, startups, and everyone else, it will be suitable for anyone looking to establish a social media presence. You can schedule multiple posts on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest using this platform.
Features of Buffer
Buffer offers several free features for the benefit of NGO’s. These are
- Social Account Connections
- Post Scheduling
- Browser Extension
- Link Shortening
Social Accounts Connection
With Buffer’s free plan, you can connect up to 3 social accounts. This includes popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, allowing you to manage multiple channels from a single dashboard without feeling overwhelmed.
Post Scheduling
Buffer enables you to schedule up to 10 posts for each connected account at a time. This feature helps you plan your content in advance, ensuring a steady stream of updates and allowing you to engage with your audience consistently.
Browser Extension
Buffer offers a convenient browser extension that makes it easy to add content to your posting queue while you browse the web. This allows you to quickly share interesting articles or updates relevant to your cause without having to switch back and forth between tabs.
Link Shortening
Automatically shorten links in your posts, which not only saves space but also allows you to track the number of clicks each link receives. This helps you understand which types of content resonate best with your audience.
Best for- Small ones or those starting out with nonprofit social media and wanting a no-fuss scheduling tool.
Alternative- Facebook Meta Business Suite.
Later
Offers the best visual editing features for Instagram and Pinterest(Web, iOS, Android)
With Later, a potent social media management tool, businesses can plan social media posts across various channels. It is loaded with easy-to-use features and quick insights to help you increase your reach and ROI. Your social media marketing strategy will be more effective and efficient if you employ Later’s social media scheduling, which blends detailed images with simple features.
Features of Later
It offers several free version features for NGO’s to manage multiple accounts on social media. Some of these are:
- Social Account Connections
- Post Scheduling
- Linkinbio
- Mobile App
Social Media Connections
Connect up to 4 social profiles for platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. This includes popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, allowing you to manage multiple channels from a single dashboard without feeling overwhelmed.
Post Scheduling
Schedule up to 30 posts per month for Instagram, along with a limited number for Facebook and Twitter. This helps you plan your content in advance. This feature helps you plan your content in advance, ensuring a steady stream of updates and allowing you to engage with your audience consistently.
Linkinbio
Create a Linkinbio page (available on Instagram) that allows you to add multiple links to your bio, driving traffic to specific campaigns or web pages.
Mobile App
Manage your social media scheduling on the go with Later’s mobile app, which makes it easy to upload content and make quick changes.
Best for- NGOs with a strong focus on visual content or those whose primary audience is on Instagram.
Alternative- Facebook Meta Business Suite.
Case Studies- Nonprofits using these social media tools
Data Umbrella (RecurPost)
Data Umbrella a nonprofit that allows individuals to lend money to low-income entrepreneurs and students, uses RecurPost to manage their social media content effectively. By scheduling recurring posts, it can consistently promote its mission, highlight success stories, and share updates about new loan opportunities. The platform’s integration with Canva allows their team to create visually appealing graphics, enhancing their social media presence. This approach has resulted in increased engagement on their platforms, helping them attract more lenders and supporters for their initiatives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, effectively using social media management tools is vital for NGOs aiming to connect with their target audience across major social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. By utilizing these tools, organizations can streamline their content creation and scheduling, monitor engagement, and analyze performance metrics. This not only enhances communication with supporters but also amplifies their reach and impact. As NGOs continue to navigate the complexities of digital outreach, adopting the right social media tools can make a significant difference in achieving their goals and driving meaningful change in their communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best social media platform for an NGO often depends on its goals and target audience. Here’s a quick rundown:
Facebook: Great for building community and engaging with supporters through posts, events, and fundraising campaigns.
Instagram: Perfect for visual storytelling. NGOs can share impactful images and videos to highlight their work and engage younger audiences.
Twitter: Useful for real-time updates and conversations. It’s effective for advocacy, sharing news, and connecting with influencers.
LinkedIn: Best for professional networking and partnerships. It’s ideal for NGOs looking to connect with businesses, funders, and industry professionals.
Canva: Offers templates and content ideas designed for nonprofits, including campaigns for fundraising, awareness, and event promotion.
StoryChief: Tailored for impact-driven organizations, it provides content ideas and storytelling prompts to help nonprofits craft engaging stories.
Yes, volunteers and interns can easily learn how to use social media management tools. Most platforms, like Hootsuite, Buffer, and RecurPost, are designed with user-friendly interfaces and offer plenty of tutorials and resources. These tools often include step-by-step guides and video tutorials, making it simple for anyone, regardless of their tech skills, to get started.
To measure campaign impact beyond likes and shares, focus on metrics that show deeper engagement and real-world results. Track click-through rates to see how many people took action by visiting your site, conversion rates to measure donations or sign-ups, and comments or direct messages to assess meaningful interactions.
Yes, many social media management tools, like Hootsuite and Sprout Social, offer integrations with popular nonprofit platforms. These often include connections with CRM systems and donation platforms, helping nonprofits manage donor interactions, track engagement, and streamline outreach in one place.
Some tools even support integrations with fundraising software and email marketing tools, making it easier to track campaigns and donor engagement across channels.
Shubham Agrawal is a passionate content writer, with over a year of experience in this field. He excels in creating content in informative and creative way that aligns with readers. He juggle with words to create an engaging content.