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10 Hashtags Every NonProfit Should be Using


 

It's time to make room for the #hashtag!

 

If you’re not including hashtags in your post, you’re not fully utilizing the awesome social power of Twitter. Sure, you’re followers will see what you post, but hashtags allow you to join conversations, attract new followers, and build relationships based on topics of interest.

Hashtags even show up in search results outside of Twitter, meaning that people can type in a hashtag on Google, not just on Twitter, and view your tweets. This can lead to more people viewing your content, even if they aren't already following you on Twitter!

Even though there is no one "best hashtag" to use, there are definitely some winners that can lead to better engagement, follower growth, establishing relationships, and spreading awareness of your organization (be careful not to tweet with more than 2-3 hashtags)!

 

What's a Hashtag?

 

A hashtag is a pound sign (#) placed before any word or group of words (#CharityTuesday) and makes those words a searchable link. With this link, you can organize content and track discussions and topics using hashtags. So, if you wanted to tweet about your favorite charity, you’d mention the charity name in your tweet, and include the hashtag #CharityTuesday somewhere in your tweet. Now you’ve joined the Charity Tuesday conversation! If you click on the hashtag, you can also see all the tweets and users that include the hashtag in real time.

 

What do the numbers say?

 

These recommendations are not just a hunch or a gut feeling, Blondies. There are numbers to back up benefits to using hashtags in tweets.

Tweets with hashtags get double the engagement of tweets without! Additionally, a study by Dan Zareela (social media scientist) suggests that incorporating at least two hashtags into a tweet increases the chances of being retweeted by 55%! That's nothing to sneeze at!

 

Where to start?

 

No need to stress if you're not sure which hashtags to include in your tweets. There are already some established hastags commonly used by non-profits to inspire social good.

I decided to do a little research. Using Keyhole, I ran about 30 hashtags commonly used in large non-profit organization tweets (@ASPCA, @Amnesty, @WWF, @CharityWater, etc) and came up with 10 that had the highest reach and number of impressions. So without further ado, here are 10 hashtags (in nor particular order) that every non-profit should be making room for:

 
  • #activism - Use this hashtag to promote your organization's activism, and join in conversations about activism. This hashtag isn't just used by non-profits, so you can reach a wide audience.
  • #volunteer - With this hashtag, you can highlight all of the hard work and accomplishments of your volunteers. You can also use it to broadcast potential volunteer opportunities for supporters to get involved in your organization.
  • #dogood - This hashtag can be used in real time to show your organization's efforts in making a positive change. You can highlight past, present, and future efforts with this hashtag.
  • #giveback - You can use this hashtag as a call to action for people to give back to the community, or use it to show how your organization is giving back (should be inspiring!)
  • #change - Even though this is a general hashtag, it's still very effective in spreading the mission of your organization with a wide audience.
  • #causes - This general hashtag can be included in a variety of tweets: calls to action, sharing stories, general announcements, and showing your support of other organizations.
  • #donate - Use this active hashtag when asking for donors to support your non-profit organization financially, or when you're asking for support for other causes.
  • #fundraising - Use this hashtag in your tweets announcing upcoming fundraising events, during donation campaigns, or spotlighting other donation opportunities. You can also use this hashtag to showcase fundraising results and thanking your donors.
  • #nonprofit - This hashtag is tricky in that it should be used in the context of your post. You can include it at the end of a tweet, but it works better if you are in a conversation with or discussing non-profits.
  • #charity - You can use this hashtag when highlighting your nonprofit, or when you're highlighting another charity (BONUS: Using #CharityTuesday can encourage your followers to join you in supporting another charity)
  

 

Let's be frank, Blondies: being on social media means being social. By incorporating hashtags into your tweets, you can network with other organizations, volunteers, donors, media, and supporters who share similar passions in helping bring about a positive change. You can use hashtags to reach a larger, general audience or target a smaller, specific group, depending on your goals. With hashtags, you can spotlight an event, broadcast behind-the-scenes efforts of a campaign, ask for donations, or highlight individual people within your organization. The sky's the limit!

Hope you find this useful!

Have more hashtags to add? Let us know which hashtags have worked best for your non-profit!

All my love,

 

Blondie