One powerful way to promote volunteer opportunities is to display them within a Facebook Page app.
This gives the organization a home-base within Facebook where people can read volunteer stories and even get notifications about volunteer opportunities.
Eight Steps for Using Facebook Apps to Recruit Volunteers
Let’s be clear though. Recruiting volunteers on Facebook is more than just coding HTML. There are at least eight steps for recruiting volunteers with a Facebook app:
1. Be clear about your goals
If you’re going to invest the time and money to create a custom tab, make sure you are very clear about your goal. Are you looking to acquire more email subscribers? Or are you looking to promote your Instagram presence on Facebook?
Read more about smart goals for your volunteer program in this blog post.
2. Include one call-to-action
Competing call-to-actions can reduce the chances that someone will take the action that aligns with your goal.
For example, including your Twitter stream next to your volunteer signup form will defeat your goal of recruiting volunteers. That’s because it’s easier to follow someone on Twitter than it is to fill out a volunteer application.
3. Design for Mobile
More and more people are using Facebook via smartphones and tablets.
Before you promote your custom tab out to the world, make sure it looks beautiful on mobile. Make sure the content is presented in a way that’s engaging – and easy to use.
4. Use powerful images
Generally speaking, people take action because they are moved emotionally. Nothing conveys emotion like pictures (1,000 words).
The most powerful types of images include people. Find a picture that reflects the emotion you want people to feel after they interact with your Facebook app.
5. Make buttons stand out
You can get more people to take action within your custom app simply by making the call-to-action buttons stand out. It doesn’t matter what color you choose, as long as it stands apart from the other colors within the custom app.
6. Use a mobile URL
Most third-party Facebook apps include a unique URL that will enable the app to display correctly on mobile. For example, the smart URL for Static HTML tabs is displayed in the dashboard.
Make sure you use this URL (a unique URL for each app) everywhere you promote your app. This will ensure that your volunteer app will look great on any device or browser.
7. Drive traffic to your custom tab
Facebook is not a “Field of Dreams.” People will not engage with your app just because you build it. Develop a strategy to promote your app that integrates all of your other marketing channels, like email and social media.
8. Measure results
Finally, measure the effectiveness of your app based on your original goal.
If you’re looking to drive traffic to your website, use an analytics package to track visitors from your tab. If your goal is to acquire email subscribers, track the number of new signups via your app with your email marketing software.
After reviewing the results, continuously make adjustments to your campaign.
Learn more about VolunteerHub’s volunteer recruitment software.
