The social media landscape keeps shifting. Platforms rise and fall, demographics migrate, and attention fragments. For fundraisers trying to reach donors where they are, keeping up can feel exhausting.
What the Data Shows
Recent research suggests that different donor segments concentrate on different platforms:
- Baby Boomers: Still largely on Facebook, increasingly on YouTube
- Gen X: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram
- Millennials: Instagram, YouTube, increasingly TikTok
- Gen Z: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat
But these are generalizations. Your specific donor base may differ significantly.
Strategy Over Tactics
The mistake many organizations make is trying to be everywhere. A better approach:
- Know your donors: Where do they actually spend time? Survey them.
- Focus your efforts: Better to do two platforms well than five poorly.
- Match content to platform: What works on LinkedIn doesn’t work on TikTok.
- Measure what matters: Engagement and conversion, not just follower counts.
The Deeper Question
Social media is a tool for relationship-building, not a replacement for it. The organizations that use it most effectively treat digital engagement as a single touchpoint in a broader relationship strategy—not as a magic solution for donor acquisition or retention.
