Grow your volunteer presence through digital.
An unsettling difference.
The UK Civil Society Almanac (NCVO) says there are approximately 15.2 million people who are estimated to volunteer at least once a month in the UK. That’s 15.2 million people giving up their time to care every month.
This week is Volunteer Week so there’s no better time to celebrate those millions of volunteers positive work. But finding their perfect volunteer role across the UK is not as easy as it sounds.
Finding volunteers to match your cause.
People who want to make an impact where they live are looking for voluntary roles. Voluntary roles need to be right for them. There is an extensive list for types of volunteering out there. It can almost be anything and everything. From animal lovers and charity shop assistants to young people and children. The list is vast but how do you connect an environmental volunteer to an environmental cause. We explore the tactics within social media’s capabilities.
The traditional methods of recruiting are changing and the employment market need individuals who have a wide range of skills which will meet the needs of that sector.
Volunteering can hold many benefits to the volunteer as much as it does for a local community. Students are able to complement their academic skills with volunteering, individuals who are in employment or are between jobs are encouraged to volunteer to develop their employability skills. Apart from employability, there are other reasons why people should volunteer, which include helping the local community, building the awareness of the local organization and meeting new people and building an individual’s self-esteem. It then can offer social engagement and encouragement to people in retirement.
Volunteering has been defined by the NCVO as: ‘Any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives.’
Segmentations.
Volunteering comes in many different forms, students’ volunteers whilst they study, individuals volunteer to enhance their career prospect and to give something back to society.
A survey has shown that the top motivating factor to volunteering was people wanted to help improve things and to help people at 49%. The cause was the second reason at 32%.
The survey also showed the routes of getting involved with volunteering, with people knowing people who were already involved with the cause came top with 48% and individuals who had previously used the services of the organisation was the second motivating factor at 23%.
Opportunities.
There are several methods in which charities are able to which encompass digital and offline methods, these include going into local schools, colleges and universities to speak with students, highlight the organisation through the local media, visit local cafes, libraries and community centers.
Raise Awareness.
A survey has found that Facebook and Twitter are the more popular platforms with charities who use them for a range of reasons including raising awareness, inspire audiences and to recruit volunteers. The deputy director of marketing and communications at Bloodwise, Richard Evans, said in an interview, that social media has helped charities meet aims in innovative ways.
Don’t underestimate LinkedIn.
When advertising on TikTok, the targeting capabilities vary. Advertisers have the opportunity to target their desired audience based on Gender, Age, Geo, OS, Environment, Device and Interest.
Being able to define your audience through the above targeting capabilities is a great way to place your message to your desired target.
Make it known opportunities are there.
Finding a unique voice and tone on social media is important for any business and charity, it allows them to communicate to their audience through social media, Kevan Lee wrote: ‘Essentially, there is one voice for your brand and many tones that refine that voice. Voice is a mission statement. Tone is the application of that mission.’
Though typing in ‘Volunteering opportunities’ on Twitter, a wide range of content including the following examples:
Whilst there is a striking difference with these two examples, each organisation has its own unique voice which is being projected. With the use of the GIF on the second example, it is making the content compelling for users to see and be interested in, with the first example using the images to show what the role would entail and the possibilities that come with the volunteers.
The third example from Facebook, allows the organisation to explain the event that they are looking for volunteers for and the tasks that the individual would need to undertake whilst they volunteer, and they provide details on the number of days they need to volunteer for. Facebook has allowed the organiser to expand more in detail without the word limit restriction that Twitter has.
Use hashtags.
Instagram allows the organisation to use hashtags to highlight the various topics that are related to the subject. With the topic of #Volunteeropportunities there are 7,068 posts related to the topic and is worldwide.
Speak to us.
Contact our ad-ops team about using social to increase your awareness and to recruit volunteers, email sayhello@crunchdigitalmedia.com
