Using LinkedIn to Reach Nonprofit Volunteers

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April is National Volunteer Month

April is National Volunteer Month. Need to know how to use LinkedIn to reach potential nonprofit volunteers? Use your personal profile, company page, and other resources.

There are tips here to find volunteers and other LinkedIn strategies for nonprofit careerists.

HASHTAGS

  • Make sure you have a branded hashtag for your nonprofit that you can use on your personal posts and the company page posts. You can see the hashtag #GreatCareersPHL in posts I have made and on the nonprofit company page. Your goal is to get people to follow your hashtag and see your content in their feed.
  • When you set up Creator Mode on your personal profile, consider using that branded hashtag as one of the five hashtags you usually use when posting on LinkedIn. The Creator Mode hashtags are visible right under your profile picture.

PERSONAL PROFILE TIPS

  • Customize your LinkedIn URL so it’s memorable and you are easy to find
  • Publish newsletters with stories about your nonprofit impact and share them in your featured section, making sure you have a call to action at the end requesting volunteers.
  • Create different types of posts announcing you are looking for volunteers or Board members – text only, text with image, carousel, etc.
  • If you are a job seeker, you can fill an employment gap under your work experience section by utilizing your skills as a volunteer.
  • Optimize your profile with keywords.
  • Format your content so there is white space between bullet points, and it’s easy to skim and scan.
  • If you are a key person at the nonprofit, create a custom banner that reflects that brand.
  • Make sure you have 50 skills to not miss out on any opportunities in anyone’s search.
  • Ensure you have over 500 connections so the algorithm works in your favor.
  • Although you can like and share others’ posts, it’s far better to engage on content with at least five words or more.
  • Do Boolean searches for people who might be volunteers or lead you to volunteers.

COMPANY PAGE TIPS

  • Create a custom banner and logo image that tells about your brand.
  • Anyone can share a post from your nonprofit company page, and it’s best shared by clicking on the three dots at the top right of the post and tapping “copy link to share” instead of using the share button.
  • Add Amazon Smile posts, so your registered nonprofit gets support from fans and volunteers who purchase on Amazon.
  • Share your success stories, testimonials, impact stories, and more, and behind-the-scenes posts of your volunteers and staff.
  • Create a Kudo Board online and post the link, verbiage, and 3-5 hashtags.
  • Export your free analytics monthly since you cannot go back more than 60 days.

NONPROFIT RESOURCES

“People who volunteer tend to experience fewer aches and pains.” In addition “People 55 and older who volunteer for two or more organizations are significantly less likely to die early, and that’s after sifting out every other contributing factor, including physical health, exercise, gender, habits like smoking, marital status and many more. This is a stronger effect than exercising four times a week.”  These quotes were passed on to me by a TEDx Wilmington speaker who read them on the Random Acts of Kindness website . They come from a book called Raising Happiness: In Pursuit of Joyful Kids and Happier Parents by Christine Carter.

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