For a portion of my blog, I decided to reach out to nonprofits I recognized as doing well with their social media presence. I did this to find out more about their approach and what success they are having from it. I hope others learn as much as I have. If you have a nonprofit that I should feature, please feel free to reach out to me.
I sat down with Kathryn Stevens, the Marketing Manager at Portland Fruit Tree Project. Portland Fruit Tree Project’s (PFTP) vision is to see every fruit tree as an abundant resource that contributes to a food system and enhances the well-being of people, community networks, habitat, and our climate. Portland Fruit Tree Project also aims to bring BIPOC communities back into segregated places regarding fruit trees.
Stevens came on board in March 2022. Immediately following, she took over PTFP’s social media. She posts two to three times daily on Instagram, Facebook, and their Stories.
“Engagement was sporadic when I started as our posting was not consistent,” Stevens said. “Now that we’re posting consistently it is up about 200% month over month on IG, with 1000+ new followers since I started (up to 3000+ from just under 2000 last March).”
Stevens noted that the impact of posting more consistently has led to an increase in interested volunteers for more than just what they are known for (fruit tree gleaning). During their year-end appeal, PFTP had more donations than any other organization on average featured in the Willamette Week Give Guide, even though the total number of donations was down for them.
“We are also branching out into other programming, so we are seeing much more engagement from other organizations and agencies where we have content overlap (e.g. more people who are focused on urban forestry, shade equity and climate change overall are cross-posting our content more regularly).” Stevens said.
Looking forward, PFTP is planning to reach a larger audience with better storytelling, focusing more on their “why” and not the “what”, “when” or “how”. PFTP is developing a strategy for posting to TikTok. They will also branch more effectively out to LinkedIn, Yelp, and Google business to better promote their services and opportunities.
Moving beyond social media, PFTP is expanding in all marketing and branding areas. They are looking to increase in real-life face-to-face with potential volunteers and donors. PFTP is looking to increase hosting events and creating merchandise to attract more interest.
Those interested in learning more should check out https://www.portlandfruit.org. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
