When you think of LinkedIn, you might think of it purely as a hiring and career-focused platform. In recent years, it’s become a full-on social network beyond individuals sharing work promotions. It’s a platform where 23 million nonprofit professionals are active and where 71% of donors follow at least one nonprofit organization.
LinkedIn is a natural home for nonprofit storytelling: a place to raise awareness, build a strong reputation, and make connections with donors, partners, team members, and volunteers. It’s also increasingly cited as a trusted source by AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. If your organization is weighing which social platforms to prioritize, LinkedIn deserves a serious look.
In this Constructively Curated, we’ve pulled together resources to help you make the most of the platform and see positive engagement with your nonprofit’s growing network.
1. Take Advantage of the Platform’s Nonprofit-Focused Resources
It’s worth checking out what LinkedIn offers nonprofits for free (or at a discounted rate). Through the LinkedIn for Nonprofits Resource Hub, eligible organizations can access discounted Sales Navigator subscriptions to identify and connect with major donors and prospects, as well as advertising credits or ad grants to extend your reach without hurting your budget. The hub also includes training and free webinars built specifically for nonprofit communicators, from content strategy to fundraising tactics. If you haven’t already, we recommend taking advantage of these resources!
2. Optimize Your Content Calendar & Posting Strategy
According to LinkedIn, it’s best to experiment with the 2-2-1 content model: for every 5 pieces of content, try to include 2 pieces of informational content about your work, 2 powerful stories, and 1 call to action. Leading with too many asks can overwhelm audiences before they’ve had the chance to get to know you. Once your content mix feels right, you can explore which format(s) to try. Go beyond photos to test how your audience engages with videos, carousels, multi-photo posts, polls, etc. Building out a library of templates for each format can also help your team stay consistent without starting from scratch every time you post, which we did for our work with EDC.
3. Share Your Team’s Thought Leadership
Being active on LinkedIn gives your team the opportunity to share their process, celebrate their wins, and share ideas that inspire others to invest in your cause. If your nonprofit already produces a monthly email newsletter, consider repurposing this content for a LinkedIn newsletter. This allows you to have a conversation with followers in the comments and also gives them an easy way to share your work with their own networks. Aside from articles or newsletters, thought leadership can also come from other reports you’re already working on. Annual and industry reports are full of insights that usually never make it past the published PDF. Turn key data points into digestible social creative and effective infographics that make it more likely to be seen and shared.
4. Empower Your Staff to Act as Brand Ambassadors
Your network on LinkedIn is more than just the people who follow your company page. It’s the combined connections of every employee, volunteer, and board member associated with your nonprofit. Start by making sure everyone’s role is listed on their profile (volunteers can add this under the volunteering section, too), so their connection to your organization is clear. When you share valuable content you’d like your staff to repost, you can use the “notify employees” feature so they’re alerted to engage with your content and increase engagement. A quick like, comment, or repost can extend your post reach far beyond your page’s organic reach.
5. Bring Your Community Together with Events
“On average, LinkedIn Live videos get 6x more reactions and 23x more comments than native videos, and are a great way to reach your audience in real time.” If you are already hosting webinars or town halls, consider hosting a livestream on LinkedIn to see how this performs with your audience. You could also encourage Q&A in the comments, which would increase visibility and conversation long after your event wraps. Learn more about hosting events on LinkedIn.
6. Participate in and Create LinkedIn Groups
As organic search and brand discovery shift with the rise of AI, nonprofits can’t rely solely on people finding them anymore. It’s worth building a strategy that meets your audience where they’re already active. LinkedIn groups are one way to do this because they create an ongoing space for conversation around your cause. Start by searching for groups that already exist for the causes your organization supports and join the conversation. If nothing exists, consider creating a group and be ready to facilitate new discussions. Learn more about creating and joining LinkedIn groups.
To Wrap Up
We hope this roundup helps as you consider your LinkedIn strategy! Make sure you’re following LinkedIn for Nonprofits for the latest tips and tricks. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn for more social impact and design resources.
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