Social media is a highly effective tool for not-for-profit organisations. Brilliant for raising awareness, driving loyalty, thanking supporters and encouraging user-generated content, it, therefore, offers a wealth of opportunities for causes to make themselves heard. In this blog, we look at three not-for-profit organisations that are bossing it on social media.

1. WWF UK

Climate change can feel overwhelming at times, but Wildlife charity WWF is using Instagram Stories to cut through the noise. We love its ‘WWF’s Guide’ Story Highlight because it includes different guides to how viewers can increase their knowledge and live more sustainably.  

The first guide includes various sources that users can visit to find out more about climate change. We love how they suggest other accounts to follow as well as linking out to their own content.

The third guide ‘Watch What You Buy’ suggests various swaps viewers can make to reduce their carbon impact. We like how it includes some key questions they can ask themselves – (‘do I really need it?’ etc) and then three actions they can take.

WWF are also making great use of interactive Stories. We particularly like how they’ve used the emoji slider for a poll in the first image.

2. THE EVE APPEAL

Each May, The Eve Appeal launch the #GetLippy campaign to help raise awareness of gynaecological cancers and drive donations. The campaign lasts throughout the month, and the charity’s brilliant cross-channel social media strategy helps drive large and sustained reach throughout the entire period.

This year’s campaign has been a smorgasbord of activations stretching across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Our favourites include:

• The return of the annual #GetLippy UGC call to action which encourages women to post a photo of themselves wearing red lipstick on 17 May (Get Lippy Day).
• Partnering with a huge range of influencers – including authors, a gynecologist, a skincare expert, a personal trainer, DJs, bloggers, a life coach, and a comedian – to allow them to tackle the issue from every angle. The influencers featured in a campaign launch video and have posted on their channels throughout the campaign.
• A mini case-study campaign featuring women who have been diagnosed with gynae cancers. The tag line ‘I’m one of the 58’ is used throughout, which is a really effective way to drive home the message that 58 women are diagnosed each day

A series of GIFs for Instagram Stories

3. EXTINCTION REBELLION

Climate change awareness organisation became infamous after taking over the streets of London in April as part of its International Rebellion. Since its conception, the organisation has relied heavily on social media to raise awareness, share its message and recruit volunteers. The group’s style of peaceful protesting is reflected on its Instagram account, which is full of beautifully-shot, energy-filled photos of participants and members.

We love the #HumansofXR mechanic that has been used to introduce its volunteers. Each post is dedicated to an individual and why they’re supporting the cause. The ‘Humans of’ trend is popular across social and is particularly effective. By allowing users to see and read about people who are ‘just like me’, the organisation comes across as approachable and relatable. This removes the preconceptions that people may have about activists, which makes volunteer recruitment far easier.

Have you seen any great examples of not-for-profit organisations bossing social media? We’d love to see them, so do share them with us and with the Avocado community in our Facebook Group.