LinkedIn for Nonprofits: 3 Benefits and Tips for Success

It’s no secret that social media is essential for nonprofits. It offers a free platform for promotion and furthers your organization’s mission. Social media channels are a primary form of outreach, promotion, and storytelling. 

Many nonprofit organizations use social platforms like Facebook or Twitter. However, they often seem to forget the platform LinkedIn, when actually, it happens to be immensely useful for nonprofits. In fact, a HubSpot Survey for nonprofits in the United States found that LinkedIn was their third most utilized social platform, with a little less than 55% of nonprofits using it. 

As the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn can provide a unique type of promotion for nonprofits. Compared to platforms like Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn’s career-oriented nature makes the platform better for networking. 

We’ve decided to highlight the three main benefits of using LinkedIn to your organization’s advantage. Alongside these benefits, we’ve snuck in some crucial LinkedIn tips for nonprofits as well. 

1 - Expand your Audience

The biggest difference between LinkedIn and other social platforms is the nature of its audience. There are over 770 million members worldwide – this is not an audience that should be overlooked. 

If your nonprofit seeks to reach government officials, academics, grant funders, corporate funders, and/or staff that work at other nonprofits, then LinkedIn should be your social media channel of choice. In fact, more than one-third of LinkedIn’s members have upper-management positions.

The most important aspect of growing your audience on LinkedIn is making your profile as gravitating (and keyword-dense) as possible. Make sure to add an interesting profile photo and cover photo, something that tells a potential new donor what your organization is all about. 

Storytelling is key. Create a detailed description that will hook a potential donor into wanting to learn more. Make sure to use keywords that a potential audience would use to find you. Use other popular organizations’ pages as inspiration.  And don’t forget: always link to your primary website somewhere prominent on your profile, so potential visitors have easy access to your site. 

Create a schedule and post regularly. Be sure to post a variety of different things on your profile, such as inside scoops, current events your organization is involved in, fundraisers, donation links – the list goes on!

2 - Stay Connected

A nonprofit’s success is connected to its relationship with its community. This doesn’t just include their volunteers and donors, but similar organizations and thought leaders with like-minded missions. LinkedIn is designed to make these connections simple. 

LinkedIn has a program called LinkedIn for Nonprofits which acts as a nonprofit resource hub. The site provides discounts on some of its services, including fundraising and marketing tips. It also offers free live events and webinars led by field experts. These resources can help a nonprofit connect with leaders in the field and network with other organizations. 

Cooperative networking is also a great way to expand your organization’s sphere. Share similar nonprofit fundraisers and support the efforts of other local organizations on your profile. LinkedIn also has a “groups” feature where you can meet other similar accounts that are committed to your mission. 

Thought leaders in your nonprofit’s field of interest likely have their own accounts on LinkedIn. Make sure to follow them to stay up to date with current events. You can network with similar accounts through their profile. 

3 - Recruit Team Members 

LinkedIn is designed to be used as a job searching site – it’s one of the best recruiting tools for nonprofits. If you’re looking to expand your team, LinkedIn is the perfect place to find passionate and experienced volunteers and employees. Many members on LinkedIn list their qualifications and experience on their profiles, making it easier to find team members that fit well with your organization’s needs. 

The easiest way to find potential volunteers or employees is to post keyword-rich job listings.  Ensure you frame your organization as a choice nonprofit. Do everything to make your job listing as attractive as possible to potential team members. 

Urge your existing network to point potential volunteers and employees to your listing. Make it obvious that you’re interested in expanding your team.

Check other popular job listings in your organization’s field to see what catches a potential employee’s eye. LinkedIn for Nonprofits also offers some added tips and tricks to bring your job listings to life. 

The payoff for integrating LinkedIn into your organization’s social media roster cannot be understated. The benefits and steps we’ve listed here are just the beginning. LinkedIn is built for networking. It’s the perfect place for an organization to make meaningful connections with a new and passionate audience.