When developing strategies for their social media marketing, many nonprofits make the mistake of assuming that their approach should be completely different than the branding strategies employed by for-profit companies. In reality, the only true difference is the ultimate goal. By and large, the tactics that each deploys is the same.

If you’re still struggling to build a loyal, and responsive following online, consider taking a page or two from the for-profit sector’s playbook to up your performance.

Spread the Message with Facebook Profile Photos

Nothing captures one attention, or imagination, quite like a great, high-resolution photo. While you are probably already well aware of how powerful the right image can be for encouraging others to click and read and share your posts, don’t forget that there are other ways to use images to drive social engagement.

One’s profile photo on Facebook, for example, is some prime real estate that many causes overlook when asking others to help spread the message. For your next fundraising drive, why not create a customised filter to overlay your organisation’s logo over your profile photo. Next, ask your supporters to apply the overlay to their profile photo to help you raise awareness for your cause

This strategy has worked for several nonprofits and movements, from marriage equality to raising awareness about breast cancer.

Increase Your Following with Trending Hashtags

Regardless of the type of media channel that you use to distribute your nonprofit’s message, all successful campaigns have one thing in common: they go viral easily. One of the easiest ways to increase the likelihood that your message will become popular and spread like wildfire is to find a trending hashtag and use it to draw attention to your social media posts.

From the 17 million who uploaded their #ALSIceBucketChallenge photos to Facebook to raise money and awareness for the ALS Foundation to Coca-Cola Bottling company creating a hashtag out of their popular motto #shareacoke to boost sales, it’s fairly obvious that creating #greathashtags makes it easy to build your brand and increase its support.

Make it Easy to Donate on the #1 Social Media Channel

While many users have profiles on multiple social media channels, Facebook remains the number one destination for most users. Take steps to ensure that you are using it to your best advantage. Take the time to optimise your NFP’s social media account, and post and comment on a regular basis to increase interest and drive engagement with your cause.

Anything that delays or interrupts the donation process increases the chance that your supporter will become frustrated and have a change of heart. Speed things up, and improve your conversion rates by making it very easy for your followers to donate directly to your nonprofit from your profile page.

On your cover photo, in addition to like, comment and share, add a donate button so that readers only need to click or tap once rather than having to follow multiple links and search individual pages on your site to donate to your cause.