Good intentions don’t build great social media – but a solid strategy does. Here’s what every charity social media manager needs to have nailed before they schedule a single post.
Running social media for a charity is one of the most rewarding, and demanding (I know, I’ve been there!) comms jobs out there. You’re telling powerful stories, rallying supporters and doing it all on a budget that would make a startup founder wince.
But here’s the thing: even the most passionate social media manager can’t do their best work without a clear strategy underneath them. And a real strategy isn’t just a content calendar. It’s five connected building blocks – and if any one of them is missing, the whole thing wobbles.
Let’s walk through them.
1. Goals
Before you think about what to post, you need to know what you’re trying to achieve — and that means working at three levels. Your organisational goals (what does the charity need to accomplish this year?), your marketing goals (how does comms support that?), and your social media goals (what specific outcomes do you want from these channels?).
If your charity wants to grow its volunteer base by 30% this year, that’s an organisational goal. Your marketing goal might be to raise awareness of volunteering opportunities. Your social goal? Drive 200 volunteer enquiries via social channels by December.
When your goals are layered and connected like this, every piece of content has a job to do. You’re not just posting for the sake of it – you’re posting with purpose. And that makes it a lot easier to justify your time and budget to senior leaders and trustees too.
- Revisit your goals quarterly – things change, strategies should too
- Map your social goals back to organisational priorities
- Make them specific and time-bound – “increase awareness” is not a goal
2. Audiences
Charities often have multiple, very different audiences and the mistake many make is trying to talk to all of them in the same voice, on the same channel, with the same message. It doesn’t work. A message written for everyone lands with no one.
Your donors are not your beneficiaries. Your corporate partners are not your volunteers. Your local community supporters are not the policymakers you’re trying to influence. Each group has different motivations, different questions, and different places they hang out online.
Build simple audience personas — not War and Peace, just a name, a motivation, a barrier and a platform preference. That’s enough to start writing content that actually speaks to someone.
- List every distinct audience your charity needs to reach
- Identify their primary motivation for engaging with your cause
- Understand what barrier stops them from taking action — and address it
3. Channels
Pick your platforms with intention, not FOMO (Fear of Missing out).
You do not need to be everywhere. Say it with me: you do not need to be on every platform. Spreading a small team across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube isn’t a strategy – it’s a fast track to burnout and mediocre content everywhere.
The right channel strategy flows directly from your audience work. Where do your donors actually spend their time? Where are your volunteers? Which platform gives you the best shot at reaching the people who can actually move your mission forward?
Two channels done brilliantly will always outperform six channels done badly. Own your core platforms before you even think about expanding.
- Audit which channels are already driving results – check your analytics
- Match channels to audiences, not trends
- Commit to 2–3 channels and give them your full effort
4. Key messages
Key messages are the handful of core ideas you want every audience to come away with after interacting with your content. They’re not slogans. They’re not taglines. They’re the strategic truths that underpin everything you say and they should stay consistent even as your content varies.
Think of them as your north star. Whatever format, whatever platform, whatever campaign – your key messages are the thread running through it all. They answer the questions: what do we do, why does it matter, and why should you get involved?
A good key message is specific enough to be meaningful but broad enough to be woven into lots of different content. “We support young people” is too vague. “We help young people in London find their first job – and keep it” is a message.
- Agree on 3–5 key messages with your wider team – consistency starts internally
- Adapt the language per audience, but keep the core idea the same
- Test your messages – do they resonate? Do people repeat them back to you?
5. Content pillars and ideation
Content pillars are the categories that your content lives in — and they’re what stops you staring at a blank screen every Monday morning wondering what on earth to post. A good pillar framework makes ideation faster, content more consistent, and your feed more balanced.
Most charities benefit from four to five pillars. Think: impact and stories, education and awareness, behind the scenes, calls to action, and community celebration. Every piece of content you create maps to one of these — and you can make sure no single pillar is dominating your feed (hello, endless donation asks).
Pillars also make it easier to involve your whole team in content ideas. When everyone knows the framework, anyone can spot a good story, a great photo opportunity, or a timely moment worth capturing.
Once your pillars are in place, build a simple ideation habit — a running document, a shared Notion page, a WhatsApp group where ideas get dropped in as they happen. Inspiration is everywhere in a charity. The trick is capturing it before it disappears.
- Define 4–5 content pillars that reflect your goals and messages
- Aim for a balanced mix – not every post should be a donation ask
- Create a shared space for capturing content ideas in real time
Want to build your strategy from scratch?
We’ve created a free workbook that walks you through all five of these pillars — with prompts, templates, and examples built specifically for charity social media managers. No jargon. No fluff. Just a practical tool to help you build a strategy that actually works.
Email hello@socialfirefly.co.uk and we’ll send it over to you free of charge.
Mel is a creative digital marketer who loves working with the public sector, charities and businesses to help them achieve their goals. She's been working in marketing and communications since 2011, and when she's not being a dynamite marketer she loves reading about psychology, travelling, running or hanging out with her daughter Mia.