The world is facing a situation many of us have never faced before. The circumstances are affecting individuals, families, and our communities. As a non-profit you serve the community in many ways, and you may find yourself serving more people than normal. Despite the unfortunate situation at hand, the spotlight is on, and, as a result, you are able to reach more people than ever before. Your target audience is made up of the people you serve, your supporters, and potential supporters. People worldwide are spending more time online. This means you are able to reach them exactly where they are right now.

During this time it is natural to be unsure of your messaging as you navigate these waters. There are ways you can reach your audience with meaningful content that helps your cause. Here are 4 tips for navigating your messaging and managing nonprofit community engagement during the crisis.

Keep Sharing!

Your first thought might be to stop posting on social media and creating content for your audience, but you shouldn’t. This is really a time to bring all types of supporters into the fold as well as get new ones. 2/3rds of Americans get their news from social media which means they are more likely to see your messaging right now. This is because they are spending more time at home and on their phones. You have the ability to grab their attention and get their support when you need it most. Additionally, organizations similar to yours will stay active and if you’re not adding to the conversation, you may be losing out on valuable opportunities.

Don’t Forget to Listen

It’s all too easy to get lost in sharing your own content and stories in order to get people behind your cause. Your community is filled with stories from the people you help to your volunteers. Engage your audience by having them share their stories using your hashtags. In turn, you can share those stories with you wider audience. This helps show how you’re helping and how vital you are to the community especially right now. Interact with major hashtags of the moment and join in on the conversation. Listen to what people are needing right now and be there if they need any assistance.

Make Connections and Show Appreciation

Your core audience has a typical need, but now more than ever, more people are dealing with struggles they aren’t used to. Whether it’s feeling isolated or trying to feed their family, everyone is dealing with something and may not know where to get the help they need. Like we said, listen. Not only listen but engage with people. Put together a FAQ for your organization and let people know how you are ready to help them. Show appreciation for people taking time to connect with you and those helping your cause right now. Nonprofit community engagement can be done by creating posts that encourage people to interact with you and use features like Facebook Live to interact and build connections in real time. Showcase businesses that partner with you and are supporting you during this time. Consumers want to see big businesses taking part in the community right now and know they are making a difference too.

Encourage User-Generated Content

This is a chance to have some fun! As we mentioned previously, your community is compromised of the people you assist, supporters, and prospective supporters just discovering your organization. Having your community of followers create an be a part of your content is a way to have your message go the extra mile. Ask questions that check in with your audience and allow them to interact with you in real time. Instagram has a question box feature in their stories function that is perfect for this! Brands have had users curate museums with photos from their home and even share their favorite ways to stay fit right now. Your non-profit can do the same by asking different questions. You may even want to create fun games that let people escape from the news for a little bit. Staying connected is incredibly important right now and this will give people the ability to be a part of something important when we all need it the most.