How do you get your nonprofit on TikTok is a question we’ve been asked by some of our clients. Why? Because TikTok is the perfect platform for nonprofits to reach millions of people with one viral video. You can show educational content, fun and entertaining videos, and answer FAQs.
At Slam Media Lab, we help mission-driven organizations take their TikTok to the next level. We specialize in helping nonprofits grow their reach on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to millions in reach.
In this article, we'll walk you through how to make that happen.
Why should your nonprofit be on TikTok?
Gen Z and Millennials love TikTok because it’s so easy to consume content there. It’s fast, to the point, and entertaining unlike other platforms.
TikTok started out as a platform for teenagers to post videos doing dances. Over time, it has become used for different purposes, including:
- Creating brand awareness for organizations and topics
- Serving as a gateway to your website
- Engaging the community
- Sharing resources
- Recruiting talent, volunteers, donors
The platform now has over 1 billion users. The age breakdown for TikTok users is:
- 10-19 year olds: 32.5%
- 20-29 year olds: 29.5%
- 30-39 year olds: 16.4%
- 40-49 year olds: 13.9%
- 50+ year olds: 7.1%
Google executive Prabhakar Raghavan said in July 2022 that the company surveyed 18-24 year olds, and learned that 40% of this group would look for a new restaurant to try on Instagram or TikTok, not Google. This is a big change in nonprofit SEO to be aware of.
TikTok for Good: Getting Your Nonprofit on TikTok
TikTok's "TikTok for Good" program helps organizations activate their users to support important causes and issues (i.e. the pandemic) and educational content (Peer Health Exchange’s health resources for youth) to help people make good decisions. You can contact them here.
The program's benefits include:
- Account management
- Advanced Analytics
- Promoted Hashtags
If you’ve seen campaigns like #EduTok, #DanceForChange, #Petbff, #RedNoseDay, then you’ve seen the impact it has had on billions of people across the world.
How to Get Your Nonprofit on TikTok
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The best way to get your nonprofit on TikTok is based on your nonprofit’s goals, including how many resources you have, your target audience, and what type of content you want to create. Let’s start with the basics:
Get your Nonprofit on TikTok 101
If you're new to TikTok, getting started is easy.
- Just download the app
- Create and pick a username that represents your org and brand
- Add or change a profile photo or video (photos must be at least 20x20 pixels)
- Link to other social media accounts. You can add your Instagram or YouTube profile
- Start watching videos to get familiar with the platform
- Browse videos by topic, location, hashtags, trends, sounds
You can browse videos by topic or location, or search for specific users or hashtags. When you find a video you like, you can like, comment, or share it with your community. You can even create a duet with the creator, or create a reaction video.
TikTok Features to Leverage as a Nonprofit
TikTok offers a variety of video editing tools to help you create professional-looking videos, including:
- Speed control
- Transitions
- Text
- Filters
- AR effects
- Sounds
- Stickers
You can also add music to your videos from TikTok’s library of soundtracks, or use your own audio.
How to Plan Nonprofit Content on TikTok
Having a content writing and strategy is key to get rolling. If you want to go viral on TikTok, or build a following, you need to publish content at a cadence. The nice thing about TikTok is that you don’t need a following to go viral.
The first step is to download our Notion TikTok Content Planner. We've helped nonprofits just like you reach 100K+ new people on the FYP by scaling their content production processes. Our template comes with a content tracker, script template, and step-by-step instructions to get started. Download it today and start winning the FYP!
Writing Your North Star
What do you want your account to be known for? At Slam, we’ve helped our clients figure out what content to post by having them fill in the blank of this sentence:
“This TikTok account is all about ______.”
In the past, they have used phrases like “student photography around high school,” “fun health tips,” and “people slamming marketing.” This allows you to focus on what you share instead of going off-topic.
Content Types of Nonprofit Content
Now that you have an editorial calendar set up and your north start written down, it’s time to come up with content buckets for each of the topics you want to share.
Here are some suggestions:
- Story Time Videos: Have a powerful story to share? This is your place to connect with people!
- How-To Videos: These videos show your community how you can make an impact, or how-to use your resources.
- Educational Videos: As a nonprofit, you likely have educational material like statistics, reports, and complex topics that need to be broken down. You can use TikTok to educate your audience on your mission, your work, and the issues you care about.
- Promotional Videos: This is the opportunity to get more donors and get volunteers
- Trend-based Videos: Jump into the latest TikTok sounds!
You can use these as types of content on your editorial calendar and start brainstorming topics!
Nonprofit TikTok Example: Peer Health Exchange
We've been working with Peer Health Exchange to help them produce TikTok videos to reach Gen Z. Peer Health Exchange’s mission is to give youth the resources they need to make good decisions around health and sex.
We'll use our work with them as an example to show you how to develop a strong TikTok strategy.
For Peer Health Exchange, the four content buckets we landed on were:
- Mental health
- Sexual health
- Identity
- Relationships
These pillars provided solid jumping off points for content covering birth control, burnout, and everything in between.
We started pushing out content including:
- Educational videos: Latest information on Biden’s executive order around mental health
- How-to videos: We thought youth information about orgasms, safe sex practices, and pronouns.
- Promotional videos: Promoting Peer Health Exchange’s selfsea – an app for youth to find community around identity, sex, and health.
- Story-time videos: We told the stories of youth across the country
Check them out here:
Get Your Nonprofit on TikTok Now!
As you get more experienced with running a nonprofit TikTok account, you'll start to see what content gets the best engagement. Follow your instincts here, as TikTok is constantly changing and you may need to adjust your strategy.
At Slam, we’d love to continue helping you grow your TikTok. This is why we’re creating resources and a course to help you nail TikTok.
Sign up here to get resources to plan your TikTok strategy and first dibs of our course:
- TikTok Presentation Template
- TikTok Notion Planner Template
- Airtable Editorial Calendar Template
- Google Doc Template
Liked this? Check out our Airtable content calendar.
