5 Nonprofits Crushing Instagram & what you can learn from their examples

When attention spans are fleeting and competition is fierce, nonprofits and impact organisations need to get creative to stand out and connect with their audiences.

And what better platform to do this than Instagram?  It's visual, it's engaging, and it's where your potential donors and supporters are hanging out.

But how do you cut through the noise and make a real impact?

The reality is most nonprofits aren't doing Instagram very well. 

That's why today, I've rounded up 5 different nonprofits from around the globe who are achieving their Instagram goals - as well as some of my thought on what they are doing well (that you can totally steal for yourself).

The New York Public Library: @nypl/

With over 1.7 million followers, The New York Public Library uses Instagram to promote their collections, programs, and events. 

1. Despite being a library, they aren’t stuffy. They’ve embraced entertainment and pop culture. A lot of their posts are memes or humorous takes on issues relating to books, reading or their library.
2. They tie trending topics back to the library, for  example they used a recent image from the Met Gala to talk about the book the events theme was drawn from.
3. They share compelling stories of real people with great photos of them taken inside the library.

OzHarvest: @ozharvest

With over 50,000 followers, this Australian cause focuses on feeding vulnerable people with food that would otherwise have gone to landfill. 

1. They use Carousels. When you use multiple images, there is a better chance your post will be shown to your followers multiple times – once per image. This can increase reach and engagement. 
2.  Behind-the-scenes content is a staple of their channel. Instead of just telling people what good they are doing in the world – they show us what they’re doing and let us draw our own conclusions.
3. OzHarvest teach valuable things that give their audience a reason to follow them. As well as sharing their cause and asking for support, they lean into their food waste story by teaching followers how to cook healthy recipes that also reduce food waste.
    

SPCA New Zealand: @spcanz

This leading animal welfare organisation in New Zealand has an Instagram feed full of heartwarming animal stories, adoption appeals, and information about their work to protect and care for animals.

1. Call to action posts – they know what they need to achieve and lean into it. For example, if an animal is having trouble being adopted they will share a deep dive video on that particular animal and get multiple enquiries for adoption. Too many Instagram channels lose sight of the important outcomes. 
2. Emotional language – there is nothing stuffy about their captions. They use casual, every day language with lots of emotion and humour.
3. Transformation stories –SPCA show the impact of the work they do by sharing the before and afters of animals they have rescued. They are great at telling the impactful story and illustrating it with emotive images.

Yellowfund: @yellowfund

Yellowfund are a reproductive justice organisation in Mississippi. They have a very vibrant style and are tailoring their content to Millennials.

1. Their branding game is on point. You can spot one of their posts in your feed with the vibrant colours and consistent tones they use in their posts.
2. They don’t shy away from the purpose of their account is to fundraise. They are direct with asking, but take people on a journey celebrating their progress and making their audience feel like they are part of the team.
3. They embrace video content, whether it is showing the latest project they are working on or even just showing you step by step how to make a donation, their Reels game is strong.

Care France: @care_france/

Care France is part of the CARE group who fight against extreme poverty and inequalities in 109 countries. Care France built more than 37,000 followers by leaning in to some of the different Instagram features.

1. Stories – they used the stories feature to do exactly what it is meant for, to tell the stories of 7 women over 7 days from different parts of the world. It was a powerful way to highlight their mission by showing real people.
2. Reels – they have leant in to video sharing videos from around the world, with on screen captions in French sharing issues of poverty and inequality. They also use Reels to spread information and education.
3. UGC – they are also tagged in content other Instagram users are creating, helping them reach an even bigger audience, without even creating the content themselves. 

These are just 5 examples of  the amazing work nonprofits are doing on Instagram. But by following their successes, you can gain valuable insights and inspiration to boost your own organisation's social media.

If you want to up your IG game fast, don't miss out today as I am going LIVE with my Instagram for NonProfits and Impact Organisations class.

You can join me at midday AEST OR watch it later inside the Learning Hub.

You'll get lifetime access plus unlimited upgrades each time I update the class.

And it's only $50 so if getting on or growing your IG has been on your 2024 to do list - here's your sign to do something about it.

Join the class here. 

Happy 'gramming,
Alecia