Managing your charity’s social media on a limited timeframe

If you work for a small charity, chances are social media isn’t your main role, and if it is, you are probably feeling stretched with limited time and resources. You might only have a few hours a week (or less) to dedicate to managing your charity’s social channels, which makes it essential to be smart about how to focus your efforts. 

This guide will help you prioritise and make the most of your social media presence – even if you only have part-time hours to spare.

Focus on the right platforms 

It’s important not to spread yourself too thin across multiple platforms – you don’t need to be everywhere.  

Instead, focus on 1-2 platforms where your audience is already active. Guide your decisions using data, where possible, such as: 

• Website referral traffic: Which platforms are driving visitors to your website?
• Email subscriber demographics: What do you know about your audience’s age, location or interests?
• Engagement stats: Where do you get the most likes, comments, shares or clicks?
• Survey feedback: Have you asked your audience where they prefer to connect?
• Competitor activity: Where are similar charities seeing success? 

Once you have a clearer picture, match the platform to your goals: 

• Instagram: Ideal for visual storytelling, campaigns, and behind-the-scenes content
• TikTok: A good shout if you’re working with or for young people
• LinkedIn: Useful for partnerships, funders, and professional networking
• Facebook: Great for community updates, local events, and older supporters
• WhatsApp: Ideal for direct communication with supporters and organising events and action 

Create a realistic schedule 

Posting every day might be ideal for increasing engagement, but it’s not always doable. It’s much better to post consistently once or twice a week than to start strong and disappear for months. Choose a schedule you can stick to and align it with your goals. It is important to prioritise quality over quantity. 

Plan content around: 

• Your charity calendar (events, appeals, campaigns)
• Key awareness days (focus on the ones that fit your cause)
• Existing content you can rework (see repurposing old content below!) 

You can use a basic content calendar, such as a shared Google Sheet or Excel, to plan posts in advance around awareness days or other important events for your charity. Hootsuite has a great free template.

Utilise free tools 

There are plenty of free tools out there that can help you save time and stay consistent. For scheduling posts, try tools such as Buffer, Later or Meta Business Suite. To design branded graphics, Canva offers free templates that are ideal, quick and easy for charities. See our five free marketing tools for charities resource for some inspiration. 

You don’t always need fancy tech – just the right free tools in your toolkit!

Prioritise quality anchor content 

If time is tight, plan one solid piece of content per month (like a blog, short video or story) and repurpose it across channels over a few weeks. This is sometimes referred to as anchor content. Anchor content can give structure and ensure that you’re telling meaningful stories rather than just filling a feed. 

Example schedule: 

• Week 1: Blog post about a service user
• Week 2: Pull quotes into a graphic for Instagram
• Week 3: Short behind-the-scenes video with your team on the service featured
• Week 4: Email newsletter mention and repost on LinkedIn

Repurpose old content 

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you make a new post. A blog post can be transformed into an Instagram carousel or a series of TikTok videos. A thank-you message to volunteers can double as a public post to boost community morale. A behind-the-scenes photo from your latest event can be used again when promoting your next one. The possibilities are endless! 

Keep a folder of evergreen content, such as impact stats, quotes from programme participants or important photos, and reuse them across different formats and platforms. 

You could do this after an event, such as a panel discussion. If multiple panellists spoke, you can repurpose their key points into a series of short-form videos or written content, released gradually over a few months.

Involve your team and volunteers 

Social media shouldn’t be a solo effort, even if it is your job to lead on it. Ask your colleagues, volunteers, trustees or service users to share updates, photos or ideas. Encourage them to tag your charity when they post – user-generated content can be incredibly engaging and adds a flair of authenticity! 

A simple and effective way to share the workload is through TikTok or other short-form video. Many popular trends involve individuals recording separate clips that are later edited into one video. For example, you could create a script to promote an event or project, then assign each line to different staff members, trustees or volunteers to film their parts individually.

Link social content to your charity’s core goals 

Social media shouldn’t be separate from your wider charity strategy. Start by asking, what are your key organisational goals this year? Are they:

• More donations?
• Volunteer sign-ups?
• Raising awareness of an issue?
• Reaching a specific community? 

Every post doesn’t need to directly ‘convert’, but your overall content plan should clearly support those goals. 

Try mapping your content to goals: 

• Inform: Share what your charity does and why it matters
• Inspire: Show impact, stories, testimonials
• Engage: Ask questions, run polls, start conversations
• Activate: Promote events, fundraising asks, or sign-ups

Look after yourself, not just your socials 

Burnout can creep in quickly, especially when you feel pressure to be constantly posting or creative. Set clear boundaries around when you check or post on social media and make sure to avoid comparing your content to larger organisations with full-time teams and budgets. 

Remember, your energy is a vital resource. Build in breaks, batch content when you’re feeling inspired and don’t be afraid to skip a week if needed, your audience will understand! Check out Few and Far’s guide to planning your day and avoiding overwhelm for more information. 

Now, it’s your turn 

Managing social media for your charity on part-time hours and a limited budget is doable with some smart prioritisation, a bit of planning and the right tools. With these in mind, you can build an impactful presence that supports your charity’s mission without overwhelming your schedule.

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