501(c)(3) Advocacy During an Election Year
Social Media Advocacy
During this webinar, we are joined by Leslie Barnes of Bolder Advocacy, a program that equips nonprofits with knowledge, tools, and resources to enable them to become powerful advocates within their 501(c)(3) status.
During our time together, Leslie explores whether and when 501(c)(3) nonprofits can:
Use their website, newsletters, and online forums to effectively advocate for the issues they care about
Leverage social media platforms while staying in compliance
Navigate the rules around republishing, linking to, following, or commenting on candidate posts, blogs, websites, and debates
This webinar focuses on social media and online presences.
This is a standalone conversation but we welcome you to build a stronger advocacy foundation by watching the recording of a previous webinar, "501(c)(3) Advocacy During an Election Year," which is available via a link below.
In addition to this webinar, you have access to Bolder Advocacy’s hotline free of charge. See below for more information.
About the Speaker
Leslie Barnes serves as Senior Counsel for the Bolder Advocacy Program at Alliance for Justice. In her role, she provides legal guidance to grant makers and nonprofits on engaging with elected officials, the public, voters, and candidates in a way that furthers their mission, encourages civic engagement and shapes public policy while complying with tax and election laws. Prior to joining Alliance for Justice, Leslie spent over a decade advising nonprofits and government officials on election law and campaign finance. Leslie holds a B.A from Purdue University and a J.D. from Indiana University.
Presentation Materials
Free Hotline: In addition to this webinar, you have access to Bolder Advocacy’s hotline free of charge if you have any questions about the information shared in this training or about your nonprofit advocacy rights in general. Bolder Advocacy’s attorney-trainers are available every weekday to offer free technical assistance: advocacy@afj.org, or 866-NP-LOBBY (866-675-6229). Para communicarse en español: sara@afj.org, o llame al 510-444-6078.
Related Resources
Tools from Bolder Advocacy
Social Media Tips from Bolder Advocacy’s Communications Team
Tips for Increasing Engagement
Increasing engagement on social media relies heavily on consistency. The only way to build an engaged following is for them to consistently see you in their timelines. The more your post, the more content you are giving your following the opportunity to engage with and share with their respective followings.
Increasing engagement on social media varies depending upon which platform you are on, but one thing that remains consistent across platforms is the use of relevant hashtags.
The use of relevant, high performing hashtags on each platform will expand your reach and allow you to be seen by people who do not follow you.
On Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, it’s best to only use hashtags that directly relate to the subject matter of your post, but on TikTok it’s very popular to see hashtags used that may not have direct correlation to get broader reach. For example: #fyp (for you page), #foryou, #CapCut (if you use the CapCut editor), etc.
We’ve found that the platform with the best organic engagement is TikTok. It is the easiest to have your posts get picked up into their algorithm and land in peoples timelines, even if they aren’t following you.
TikTok Video Tips:
Have a compelling subject
Use the trending TikTok sounds
End your videos with a call to action telling them to follow you for more information on your subject matter
Have a detailed but CONCISE caption that explains your video
Which platforms are worth investing time and resources?
Organically increasing engagement on social platforms is becoming increasingly hard because most platforms are leaning heavily into paid promotion.
We’ve found that the platform most worth investing in is TikTok because you get the most views for your money.
Facebook: $50 boosted post will get your post to reach between 1.6k-4.8k people
Twitter: $50 promoted post will get your post to reach between 880-14k people
TikTok: $50 promoted video will get your video to get a guaranteed 8,000+ views
