LinkedIn for NPOs

Social Media channels have collectively brought the world together on online platforms. From sharing life updates, news, entertainment etc to spreading awareness on different social topics, acting as discussion forums for social change, social media has eased communication across different stakeholders. Whilst Twitter is beneficial for posting and staying on top of latest updates, Instagram for user-centric portfolio and influential artists, Facebook for personal engagement and relations, LinkedIn is known for professional networking and career development. 

Deep Dive into LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional hub for students, job-seekers, recruiters, executives from different corporate levels, senior management, companies etc. LinkedIn platform is also a great medium to increase the professional visibility of any firm, be it for profit or not for profit.

Understanding LinkedIn Profile and LinkedIn Page -

LinkedIn profile talks about a specific person, where he/she elaborates on their personal achievements, skills and experience. 

A LinkedIn page on the other hand, is a collective representation of an enterprise or company that shares its ideals, goals and developments of their product or services. They also connect with various profiles that are either their employees, potential leads or interest groups. It is important to differentiate and carefully examine these two models so that any user/company can rightly create its own space and start working on enhancing its image on this platform.

Getting started on an organisation’s LinkedIn page -

Before connecting and networking, any page needs to stand out and look attractive. One should create a page that is attentive to exclusive information, engaging, and visible to potential prospects or other LinkedIn users. One would need to place the right amount of content, visuals, achievements and initiatives by them or their organization that could create the desired impact on the page visitor. At the same time, one must also not oversell a page on LinkedIn.

Here’s how a LinkedIn page can be set-up:

• To start with, provide the organization’s name on the page 

• Next, add a cover photo and logo and some additional photos with captions that capture the essence of the organisation's work (or its workspace) 

• Draft a clear and concise description 

• Detail past accomplishments and future plans or vision. 

• Brainstorm and ideate the perfect content for your LinkedIn posts. Post about activities at regular intervals 

• Connect your website and other mediums to your LinkedIn Page to gain extra credibility. (This can aid in the page standing out and coming up on top in LinkedIn searches.) 

Once the profile is set up, the admin (or the user who manages the page) can even upload and post sponsored and organic content to increase page visibility.

Gaining like-minded & talented people -

LinkedIn is considered the largest platform to recruit the most qualified people for any organisation. This makes this platform the ideal source to find successful people that are ready to volunteer/work for these organizations. NPOs could chance upon professionals who offer their professional services pro-bono for certain causes and engage them in volunteering activities. 

Represent and amplify brand -

Branding is equally important in attracting like-minded people to work for the cause. An organisation’s brand can be amplified with the help of consistent quality communications, using a specific font, colour, image etc that audiences would easily be able to relate with. 

Nonprofits must also ensure that all its employees and board members area part of its LinkedIn Page and that each of them follow brand guidelines with any communication that they put out with regards to the organisation. 

Encouraging members of the organisation to tag the organisation’s page in their profile could help in garnering attention from all second and third level connections (audiences who are not directly connected with the page, but are connected to those who are a part of it), while also increasing the page credibility. This could also help organisation’s donors, volunteers and other stakeholders to connect with the appropriate functional representatives of the organization and aid in eliminating duplicates or scams from an external source. A LinkedIn page with the workforce tagged and brand clearly communicated could help in protecting the organisation’s reputation.

Leveraging LinkedIn Groups and other communities -

Joining various LinkedIn groups could aid in promoting content among a larger audience, without having to run paid promotions. It could also give exposure to how organizations and other members that are part of the organisation, create impact, share knowledge and work. In special cases, many organisations note that the content they post on groups snowballs and move forward and garner a larger momentum. 

Posting on groups could trigger interesting debates and discussions on new ideas, problems and solutions surrounding the organisation and its cause. Nonprofits could consider joining national and international groups for larger visibility.

LinkedIn for Nonprofits

LinkedIn offers a special platform specifically for nonprofits, called ‘LinkedIn for nonprofits’ that offers an array of specific services for nonprofits at discounted rates (as opposed to using LinkedIn premium). Nonprofits can use this space to hire, market, fundraise and learn best practices. It also hosts webinars, posts volunteer opportunities, offers case studies and other resources, specifically for nonprofits.

LinkedIn for nonprofits can be accessed here:

Conclusion -

Any nonprofit can benefit from having a presence on LinkedIn. By culminating their brand with dedicated efforts to join, connect and network with other people and organizations, NPOs can pitch itself as a credible brand and fetch itself visibility.