July 18, 2012; Source: Razoo
Joe Waters has been following Elizabeth Arden’s #PintoGiveIt fundraising campaign on Pinterest, which is a good example of how nonprofits can take advantage of the new image-sharing social media sensation. The Pin to Give It campaign is raising money for the nonprofit Look Good Feel Better, which provides beauty support and services to patients undergoing cancer treatment. Waters (who, in the interest of full disclosure, is an NPQ contributing writer) has drawn guidelines from this campaign on how organizations can utilize Pinterest for fundraising, and NPQ has added some additional tips here:
- Get Connected with a Partner: Creating a partnership for social media campaigns on Pinterest will expand your audience reach. Find a business that is invested in your cause and is willing to give a donation for every campaign image repin. Waters suggests connecting with a company that “knows and trusts you.” Also, make sure to pick a company that will reach out to all their networks via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail lists.
- Boards, Pins and Hashtags: Set up a new board for your campaign, start pinning some intriguing images (like these entrancing lips) and create a hashtag which makes images easier for users to locate and share. Keep your image pin descriptions short and sweet to define your campaign, and remember that, as Waters notes, “keyword-rich descriptions will help get boards and pins discovered more easily via search.” Keeping Pinterest boards simple, elegant and organized will be much more aesthetically pleasing to users. Take some time to explore who is on Pinterest, and be sure you are following other organizations and foundations that would be interested in supporting your cause.
- Getting the Word Out: Now that your campaign Pinterest board is ready, use your organization’s other social nets to spread the word. Just as the business you choose to partner with will reach out to their networks, make sure your nonprofit does the same. Tout the new campaign through blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook and any other network your organization has a significant presence on. Waters also suggests creating a tab on Facebook especially for Pinterest.
- Count Pins and Donations: Revisit your board and check how well your campaign is going by the amount of repins you have. Continue to keep your followers updated on your campaign status so they feel engaged and share your posts. Send motivating messages, such as, “Only five more repins to go; help us hit 100 donations!”
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Setting up a Pinterest fundraising campaign can be simple and is not very time consuming. Finding a dedicated partner to support your campaign, like Look Good Feel Better found in Elizabeth Arden, will likely be the most challenging aspect. Do you think Pinterest could prove to be a beneficial resource for nonprofits? –Aine Creedon
