How to Make an Awesome Facebook Event Page for Your Portrait Fundraiser
When it comes to coordinating your portrait fundraiser, there are so many options for getting word out about it. While you should use the method(s) you feel most comfortable with, we highly recommend that a portion of your marketing efforts be devoted to social media!
Why make an event page in the first place?
Posting from your personal Facebook page is effective and definitely gets the ball rolling, but we suggest you go a little bit further by creating an actual public *Facebook event page where people can follow updates about your fundraiser and share posts directly to their own pages. People who don’t know you may feel more comfortable signing up for your fundraiser if they’re directed to an event page rather than your personal page. It also makes it easier to keep all relevant information about your fundraiser in one place.
*Here we need to clarify something important. Anyone with a Facebook business/non-profit/organization page, like a fire department or a church, can request Knickerbockers to act as “co-host” to their event. If you’re an individual wanting to create an event from your personal Facebook page, you have two options: 1) Create a public event page. 2) Create a group page. They function similarly and either will work well for your Knickerbockers fundraiser. If you send us the link to your page/group, we will happily share it to the Knickerbockers Facebook page. You are also able and very encouraged to share Knickerbockers posts to your event page/group!
Take Your Page from Zero to Hero.
The first step is to create your own event page or group. In case you’re not sure about how to do that, here’s a step-by-step guide.
The second step is to take your event page from “mehh” to “rock-star certificate seller level.” It’s where this process gets fun! We’ve previously mentioned ways to use your Facebook event page, but now it’s time to take it to the next level; we’re going to use a real-life example from one of our star coordinators, Kayla Tilley, to demonstrate how to best promote your portrait fundraiser using an event page!
Introduce yourself and your cause.
You can only make one first impression, so make it a good one! An introduction of yourself or the group you’re representing and the cause you’re raising money for should be the first thing you share on your event page. Take a look at Kayla’s introduction on the left.
While a general rule of thumb when it comes to social media posts is to keep your text short and direct, we think intros are a big exception to this rule. Every person, group, and organization has a story worth sharing. Kayla took the time to share her own personal experience and the impact the Ronald McDonald House had on her family. As a result, it’s clear to anyone reading that she cares deeply about her fundraising cause!
Even if you keep your intro short and sweet, relaying to people why you’re asking them to contribute their money to your cause will go a long way in earning their interest and trust.
Provide all essential information about your portrait fundraiser.
Providing this should be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy! Your event page needs to answer the who, what, where, when, and why of your fundraiser. Creating an introduction like the one we talked about above will cover your why. As for the other 4 w’s, a simple all-in-one option is to post your Knickerbockers flyer (provided to you in your package of materials) with your fundraiser’s info filled out. On the left is an example of Kayla’s flyer.
Provide payment details and link to online payment.
The ability to connect a PayPal or Venmo link, or any other digital payment format you may employ, offers a great opportunity to increase your certificate sales! For one, it makes purchasing a certificate easier for your buyer. Secondly, if someone finds out about your fundraiser through your page and immediately sees a payment link, they’re more likely to act in that moment and buy a certificate than if some time were to pass after learning about your fundraiser and finding out how to make a payment. The easier and faster you can make your payment process, the more likely someone will be willing to purchase a certificate!
Share valuable content.
This is where you get to flex those creative muscles and have a little fun! By “Sharing content” we simply mean posting any photos or videos that highlight your fundraiser and what it’s all about. The goal is to make it sound fun, meaningful and appealing! You could also share any interesting or light-hearted content that’s more generally related to fundraising or portraits.
An easy content resource for coordinators is the Knickerbockers Facebook page! We post daily, so there’s always plenty of content to pull from. If you do share our posts, we suggest you use different examples that showcase babies and young children, as well as teens and adults! Sometimes people ask if Knickerbockers only photographs young children, but as our coordinators know, our portraits are for everyone—so, make sure potential participants know that too!
One last and important piece about sharing content is to relate it to your fundraiser theme! You want any potential certificate holder to know what they are buying, and you’ll want to excite them with a preview!
Let’s look at three different kinds of content Kayla shared on her page!
1) Something Knickerbockers related
Sharing these types of posts is easy, because it won’t require an additional message from you. Like we mentioned before, it’s a good idea to show a variety of images. Kayla’s choices included a range of ages, like an adult couple, kids, and babies.
Kayla also shared posts that are specifically theme-related, in this case she posted promo images of our “Grandma’s Attic” fundraising theme.
2) Something purposeful and related to your cause
Your reason for raising money is the heart of your fundraiser. It’s important not to lose sight of this in the craze of planning and selling certificates. Kayla did a good job of keeping her cause, support of the Ronald McDonald house, in people’s minds. Whether mentioning it in her general posts or sharing specific posts from/about the Ronald McDonald House, she always brought the focus back to her cause!
3) Something light and fun
While not necessarily “essential” content, creating light posts about anything relating to portrait photography or fundraising is one way you can excite people about your event and set a fun tone! Kayla posted a funny Steve Carrell video about husbands and their, uhh, enthusiasm for family portraits. This choice is on point when you consider her audience is predominantly families and parents--even if you’re unmarried, it’s still pretty comical!
Give updates.
Providing updates on your event page makes the coordinating process easier for you and makes it easier for your participants to stay in the loop. Updates can include information about deadlines, number of spots remaining, and anything related to the status of your fundraiser. Even if just reiterating information, updates will serve as reminders to your participants, keeping your fundraiser fresh in their minds!
1) Share milestones reached
Here Kayla announces that they hit their sales goal and uses her selling materials to push for more sales!
2) Make Deadline Reminders
In this post Kayla needed to communicate some important details about approaching deadlines—she did this in an organized way, using camera emojis as “bullet points,” and relayed a necessary sense of urgency. Don’t worry about being a little “pushy” as time draws nearer to your fundraiser. If it means catching people’s attention and getting them to follow through with their appointment, it’s well worth it!
3) Get Participants Involved
Knickerbockers offers a unique opportunity for coordinators to make extra bonuses when meeting certain numbers, and in some cases, double bonuses are available! To make these marks, coordinators need to go the extra mile to sell more certificates. Why not get your participants in on this? Connect your message back to the why of your fundraiser and motivate participants to not only care enough to follow through with their commitment, but to actually feel inspired to spread the word about your fundraiser!
Kayla devoted a large post to talking about the impact of bonuses on their final total! In her case, the final numbers were in and set, but she needed to make sure those who bought a certificate would come through. She emphasized the power the participants have in determining her fundraiser’s final outcome, while keeping the tone encouraging and grateful.
Here’s a quick example from Kayla’s page where she shared one participants concern.
Anticipate and answer questions.
One of the greatest uses of your event page is to use the public, visible space it offers to answer all of your participants and interested participants’ questions. As your organizing and selling really takes off, you’ll have so many different contacts to keep track of and people to get in touch with to schedule portrait appointments. The last thing you need is to answer the same questions over and over again through different channels! Try coming up with common questions people may have upfront and make sure that info is available. If someone asks a new question that you know would apply to other participants, take initiative and post about it on your page.
Now that we’ve covered your Facebook event page essentials and shown you an awesome example from one of our our very own Knickerbockers coordinators, it’s your time to shine and get that page up! We’re wishing you the best of luck with your Knickerbockers fundraiser, and don’t forget, if you need any assistance, we are always here to support you!
