Using social media as a non-profit is an effective way to connect with your audience, build awareness, and drive action. However, for small- to medium-sized non-profits, managing social media can feel like a daunting task. Limited budgets and time constraints often mean that hiring a professional social media manager or investing in high-end content creation is out of reach.
 

Yet engaging visuals are key to capturing attention and inspiring action on platforms that are increasingly saturated with content. The good news is that with thoughtful planning and a bit of creativity, even the smallest non-profits can use visuals effectively. Here's how to choose the right visuals for your social media accounts.
 

Understanding Your Audience and Goals

Before you start selecting or creating visuals, take a step back to think about your audience and your objectives.

• Who are you trying to reach? Are they potential donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, or a mix of all three?
   
• What kind of action do you want them to take after engaging with your content?

For instance, if you’re targeting younger donors, dynamic and authentic visuals might resonate best. If your goal is to educate about an issue, clear infographics or compelling before-and-after photos could be more effective.

Understanding your audience and goals will guide your visual choices and ensure that every image serves a purpose.

Prioritising Authenticity Over Perfection

Many small non-profits worry that their visuals need to look as polished as those from large organisations. However, authenticity often resonates more than perfection.

• Photos taken during your events, candid moments of volunteers in action, or snapshots of your beneficiaries (with their consent) can tell a powerful story.
   
• These images might not be magazine-quality, but they show the human side of your work, building trust and connection with your audience.

Making the Most of Free or Low-Cost Tools

If you don’t have a professional photographer or designer on hand, there are plenty of resources that can help you create high-quality visuals on a budget.

• Canva: A free design tool offering templates for social media posts, infographics, and more.
   
• Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay: Free platforms providing high-quality stock photos for your posts.
   
• Your Own Photo Gallery: Repurpose photos taken during events or activities. Modern smartphones often capture impressive pictures.

By leveraging these tools, you can create engaging visuals without needing advanced skills or expensive equipment.

Using Your Branding as a Guide

Consistency in your visuals helps establish your organisation’s identity and makes your posts instantly recognisable.

• Define basic branding guidelines, such as your logo, colours, and fonts.
   
• Use tools like Canva to overlay your logo or apply your organisation’s colours to visuals.

This small step ensures that your visuals look cohesive and professional, even on a limited budget.

Focusing on Storytelling

One of the most effective ways to use visuals is to tell a story. People are naturally drawn to narratives, and compelling visuals can make your story even more impactful.

Examples:

• Share a photo series showing the journey of a beneficiary and how your organisation helped.
   
• Post before-and-after pictures of completed projects like community clean-ups or renovations.
   
• Use short videos to share testimonials or showcase real impact stories.

Keeping Accessibility in Mind

Accessibility is essential for ensuring your content reaches everyone, including those with disabilities.

• Use alt text to describe images for screen readers.
   
• Ensure text overlays have sufficient contrast and are easy to read.
   
• Avoid using colour alone to convey important information, as this may exclude colour-blind users.

By prioritising accessibility, you make your content more inclusive and expand your reach.

Experimenting with Video

Video content is increasingly favoured by social media algorithms and audiences alike. You don’t need fancy equipment to create impactful videos—just a smartphone and a simple editing app.

Ideas for video content:

• Short clips of your team in action.
   
• “Thank you” messages from beneficiaries.
   
• Behind-the-scenes glimpses of your projects or events.

Keep videos short (under 2 minutes) and engaging, with captions for those watching without sound.

Engaging Your Community

Your supporters can be a valuable source of visual content.

• Encourage volunteers, beneficiaries, or event attendees to share photos or videos and tag your organisation.
   
• Repost this user-generated content (with permission) to showcase community involvement.

This approach reduces your team’s workload while fostering a sense of belonging among supporters.

Analysing and Adjusting

Not all visuals will perform equally well, so it’s important to track what works and refine your approach over time.

• Use analytics tools provided by social media platforms to monitor engagement metrics.
   
• Identify patterns: Do photos perform better than videos? Are infographics more shared than other content?

Focus on the types of visuals that resonate most with your audience for future posts.

Conclusion

Choosing the right visuals for your non-profit social media accounts doesn’t require a big budget or a dedicated team. By focusing on authenticity, leveraging free tools, and prioritising storytelling, you can create content that engages your audience and drives action. With a bit of planning and experimentation, your small non-profit can use social media to make a big impact.