Even the most digitally-savvy marketers can get swept up in the number of trends, reports and “up and coming” platforms these days. For nonprofits, B corps and social enterprise teams, these social media tips don’t always apply. Where most businesses are trying to make money, purpose-driven organizations like ours have a variety of different goals that don’t line up well with typical sales funnels or goals. 

That’s why we looked at recent predictions for social media marketing trends through a purpose-driven lens. Here are the most important takeaways for growing your digital impact.

1. Community matters, and you have the advantage.

Per Hubspot’s reporting, 90% of social media marketers say online community building will be essential for success moving forward. These online communities are a uniquely powerful space for nonprofits because your purpose is a stronger unifier for audiences than just profit or consuming a product. That interest and passion can fuel deep bonds in a community. People are hungry for community in a polarized, post-pandemic world, hence the rise of platforms like Discord and Letterboxd. If you make community building a priority for your digital work, it has the potential to pay off exponentially.

With the separate chaos of Twitter and Tiktok both under fire for different reasons, brands and companies are more cautious about their social presence these days. After all, it sucks to invest time and effort in your social media channels only to lose your verification or disappear completely. 

If you don’t already have a strong following on your social media profiles, it may be worth spending the rest of this year investing in your email newsletters, blogs, or other content that goes straight from you to an audience. Consider starting a Substack newsletter, a Medium account or another minimal, low-maintenance online space to share thought leadership and updates.

It’s no secret that generative AI can speed up your work, especially if you’re short on time or social media resources. Currently, one of its best functions is as a thought-starter for your content, to avoid the “blank page paralysis.” It can also help employees handle smaller tasks quickly or repurpose content from one platform to another. Just remember: there’s no replacement for human ingenuity. Always be on the lookout for any ethical issues that can come with automating tasks, like accessibility or copyright issues.

As you build your online community, don’t be afraid to get specific. Try seeking out people who are already invested in a cause related to yours. For example, if you’re a reproductive health nonprofit, you could start by finding young adults on TikTok who are sharing their stories about birth control or seeking information. Find content creators and topics you relate to and let them show you what hashtags to use and how to best reach them with relevant content.

“Users are turning away from traditional platforms, and businesses are seeing lower revenue gains from advertising and social media efforts. The solution? Building niche communities. They’re the perfect incubators for brand awareness, engagement, loyalty, and trust.” – Crystal King, HubSpot Academy Social Media Professor

5. Consider a micro-influencer ambassador.

Eight in ten social media marketers believe most companies will have a creator/influencer as the face of their brand in 2023. This can be extra powerful for nonprofits seeking awareness and loyal supporters who are personally invested. The best part? The majority of influencer marketers say they work mainly with smaller creators and micro-influencers–people who will be easier to reach on a nonprofit’s budget, as opposed to mega-celebrities.

This piece can go hand-in-hand with your influencer marketing, especially when it comes to video and audio content. Creating a campaign that highlights user-generated content can be powerful for setting up an authentic, long-term fanbase for your cause. A micro-influencer can help kickstart things by making their own sponsored content, and having your brand channels interact with your audience can fuel the movement further. Speaking of which…

This doesn’t just refer to being a good community manager. Comments, likes and reshares are valuable, of course, but don’t forget to respond to things like trends or related events. For example, if your community loves funny content and memes, don’t be afraid to jump in with them, as Lionsgate did with TikTok. (This is also where having a micro-influencer or ambassador can be extremely beneficial!) It’s important that you feel like a contributing member of the community, not just a quiet brand presence, so you can build loyalty and awareness.

7 Social Trends for Purpose-Driven Organizations

Regular

There are 6 steps in the design thinking process.

Where are steps 1 and 5 you ask? Well, they often get overlooked in projects based on time and budgets, unfortunately. Step 1 is empathize, and step 5 is test. Designers should be fighting for these steps all the time. It’s invaluable to get a better understanding of your target audience through their perspectives followed by testing the designs so necessary improvements can be made. Both of which can save time and money in the long run. 

Designs are only as successful as your user makes them out to be. Not only can visual accessibility and usability oversights lead to result limitations, but these oversights can cause legal issues to arise, too.  Target, Domino’s Pizza, and even the Savannah College of Art and Design have run into ADA lawsuits from users based on website accessibility. (Nothing takes up time and money like a legal battle does ).  

If you find yourself in a spot where you need to test the visual accessibility of your designs but don’t have the allocated resources to do so, here are 4 free design tools that can act as a bandage. These tools can also serve as visual aids to show your client what their users might be seeing. This can lead to a deeper understanding of user empathy and help replace any of your client’s personal visual preferences with visuals that work better for the enduser. Best case scenario, it will convince your client to implement user-testing to ensure designs are visually accessible. 

Adobe Color
Adobe allows you to input a color palette and test for color-blind accessibility. Additionally, it simulates how those colors are perceived for 3 types of colorblindness. 
Colorblindness Audience Research: Colorblindness affects more men than women. 95% of the color-blind community are men and 98% of those with color blindness have red-green color blindness. (Source: Enchroma) 

Silktide 
Silktide is a Google Chrome plugin that simulates in real-time what users with visual impairments may see on websites. This resource offers a variety of accessibility experiences including colorblindness, dyslexia, Myopia/blurred vision, blindness, and tunnel vision/peripheral vision loss. 
Blurred Vision Audience Research: Cataracts affect 30% of people aged 65 and over half of all 80-year-olds.  (Source: Outside Clinic)

The A11y Project
The A11y Project (A11y standing for accessibility) is a community-driven effort to make web accessibility easier for web developers and designers. This website is an educational resource filled with articles, workshops, and Q&A relating to creating accessible online design. The A11y Project also includes a website accessibility checklist, built from The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Who Can Use
This online resource allows you to test color and contrast accessibility based on WCAG grading. Its categories include 8 types of colorblindness, cataracts, glaucoma and low vision. In addition to vision impairments, it allows tests for situational circumstances, such as viewing the screen in direct sunlight or in night mode. 

4 Visual Accessibility Resources for Designers

Designs are only as successful as your user makes them out to be.

4 Visual Accessibility Resources for Designers

More design know-how