Tips for charities from LinkedIn

On 19th May, Social Misfits Media invited a select group of charities, nonprofits and foundations to a free #MisfitsLive event to provide advice directly from LinkedIn speakers about the platform. LinkedIn currently has over 23 million in the UK, with an average age of 48. 44.4% of LinkedIn members are likely to donate to charity on a weekly basis (compared to 12.1% on Twitter). LinkedIn has also recently launched an internal ’Recruiting for Good’ programme, supporting local charities in their recruiting process for executive-level roles. Below are some of the top tips about recruiting the best talent from the day:

Growing awareness and marketing your organisation

When it comes to using the platform to grow awareness and market your organisation, it’s important to think about these top four tips: 1) Make your organisation’s company page work as hard as it can Many organisations don’t use the company page as effectively as they could – it should be leveraged as a hub for your marketing and campaigning efforts. It’s not just for posting the latest job or volunteering opportunities available – represent what your cause stands for with content. 2) Share content, constantly test & learn Make sure your content works across all devices, and experiment with written, visual and interactive formats - don’t just talk about the work of your organisation, but curate content that your audience will find valuable. Post daily – anything that’s getting above a 1% engagement rate is doing well. 3) Become a thought leader in your area of expertise Get your CEO or senior management to start using the platform to share thought leadership pieces. Be authentic and share your passion – good editorial can help build your reach and your reputation. When writing on LinkedIn, write what you know, and write often. It doesn’t have to be perfect (800-2,000 words is the sweet spot) – but it should be entertaining. If you’ve got writer’s block, consider the Law & Order approach – news makes news, so write about something topical that is relevant to you or your organisation. 4) Extend reach & nurture supporters through sponsored content If a piece of content has performed well organically, consider boosting it to make it reach a wider audience. Organic content is preaching to the choir – you want to make your content be as effective as possible in bringing new followers and supporters.

Attracting Talent

A robust content strategy for LinkedIn can also help recruit the best talent – 79% of members are interested in job opportunities from companies they are already following. It’s worth keeping this in mind when you’re updating your status – questions get 50% more comments, links to articles get 45% more engagement, and top tips and “best of” links get 40% more clicks. When recruiting for a role, be sure to use a tool like TagCrowd to see what keywords the job description is optimised for – many organisations focus too much on the work or impact of the organisation, rather than the role they need filling in particular. Everyone is a brand ambassador – encourage your employees, current trustees and fundraisers to become followers. Whether it’s cultivating affluent millennials or recruiting the perfect hire out of the 490,000 third sector professionals, content and engagement on the LinkedIn platform is key. This article was written by Erin Niimi Longhurst from Social Misfits Media. Click here to find out more about Social Misfits Media or to attend a #MisfitsLive event.