How to Move Followers From Social Media to Your List

Many nonprofits have tons of passive onlookers on social media, fans and followers they have not yet activated. So how do you convert those social media likes to your list?

Why is that important? Remember that social media is fickle. You don’t own those followers and your access to them could disappear or change at any time.

It’s vital you move folks down the funnel from follower to friend. First get them on a list you control, then get them to take action to support your work (donate, volunteer, etc.).

How to Move From Social to Subscribe

Here are several approaches you can take to convert those followers:

• Sign up form: Simply point to a sign up form. We’ve got several forms you can use, like this one or this one, and a video to walk you through it.
• Text: You can ask followers to text a KEYWORD to 24365. You’ll need to setup a specific workflow for subscribing.
• QR code: You can create a QR code that will subscribe people, either by linking to a form or sending a text.

But these are just some of the processes you can use. You’ll need to think strategically about how to entice them.

Tips to Subscribe

Here are some tips to get more social subscribers:

• Why: You need to give followers a reason to subscribe. What’s in it for them? Often it’s about offering value. It could be inside access (updates from the founder) or valuable info (tips and advice in your area of expertise). It comes down to what you’re sending. Nobody wants to sign up just to be inundated with donation requests.
• Lead magnet: A classic marketing strategy to move people down the funnel is the lead magnet. Offer a valuable resource, such as a PDF booklet that educates people about your cause, but they have to subscribe to get it.
• Donate: Getting a social media follower to go straight to a donation is an ideal way to get them on your list. Make sure your donation forms include an option to opt-in to future updates. We’ve seen nonprofits get creative and ask for $1 donations as a vote for a specific solution, and then they’ve moved those followers to their list for future follow up and, hopefully, larger donations.
• Events: Whether in person or online, events can be another way to entice followers to hand over their info and subscribe.
• Frequent: You can’t just ask your social followers to join your list once. It should be a regular, repeated mantra: “Don’t forget to subscribe!”

The more you can tie a subscription into your ongoing mobile strategy, the more it’s going to connect with your followers and be an easy decision.

Remember: Subscribing means those followers are trusting you. They’re handing over their mobile number or email address, and relying on you not to abuse that trust. Use it wisely. Don’t flood their inbox or waste their time. But be sure to use it—too many nonprofits gather contact info but then never reach out.

More: If you want more help or want to see how it works on Rally, get started.