With so much to do with such a small budget, charity shops are crying out for volunteers to help with everything from sorting through donations to operating the till. However, with charities now under increasing pressure to embrace the digital world, many are looking to volunteers to help them win over social media users.
If you’re friendly, creative and love social media, volunteering at a charity shop could help you to boost your CV and get your foot in the door of a fast-paced and exciting industry.
And the good news is, whether you’re at college, university, or you already have a job, you can often squeeze volunteering experience in around your current schedule. It can be your little side-gig until you build up enough experience to get a paid social role.
Here are just a few tips to help you get started in the world of charity shop volunteering:
Find the right charity for you
The first thing to do is decide whether you want to work for a charity that is known all over the world or a very small cause that may have only recently opened its doors.
By volunteering at a large organisation with many shops across the country, you’re likely to benefit from lots of guidance and support. It may be the case that before you came along, someone else operated the charity shop’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. By taking over, you’ll benefit from a sense of responsibility but you’ll also be able to gain inspiration from those who tweeted before you.
If, on the other hand, you help out at a very small charity, you may well be starting from scratch. This can be an extremely exciting time as you’ll be able to unleash your creativity and take ownership of the brand. Remember to talk to your charity shop manager about your plans before you set any accounts up. Whether they’re familiar with social networks or not, they may want to work with you in the early stages to see what you’re up to.
If you manage the new accounts successfully and work hard to build a strong following, you’ll have some great experience to put on your CV.
Choose your accounts wisely
Although it can be tempting to set up every single social media profile there is, think carefully about how much time you have and which networks are most suitable. If you can only volunteer one afternoon a week, it might be best to stick to one platform at first. That way you won’t be spreading yourself too thinly.
If you’re great at taking photos and you’re an expert when it comes to putting vintage outfits together, why not start with a visual social account such as Pinterest or Instagram?
If, however, you have the gift of the gab and you’re great at chatting to people in 140 characters or less, a Twitter account may be a better starting point.
Don’t forget to ask yourself where your target audience hangs out. After some research, you might find that a certain network isn’t worth your time.
Create a plan
As tempting as it can be to simply jump straight in at the deep end and start tweeting straight away, it can be a good idea to create a plan and have a bit of a strategy. After all, employers are likely to be more impressed if you can demonstrate an ability to plan ahead and know your target audience.
Follow other charities so you can get a feel for what they’re up to. Take note of the campaigns you like and the ones you’re not so keen on. If there are any accounts you’re not a fan of, think about what it is you’d do better and integrate that into your own campaigns.
Use the right tools
It may be worth familiarising yourself with a range of social media management tools.
If you only have time to volunteer for a few hours a week, Buffer is your buddy. It will enable you to schedule your tweets to go out at different times, meaning you can have a continuous social media presence even when you’re away from the charity shop.
Tweetdeck is another must-have as it allows you to organise other people’s tweets and manage your Twitter accounts more effectively. You’ll be able to follow certain topics and hashtags with ease and stay up-to-date with the news that is most important to you.
Not only can such tools make your job as a social media volunteer easier, employers are likely to want to see that you can use such tools to your advantage.
Be creative
Unleash your creativity and, as cliche as it sounds, ‘think outside the box’. Try to keep your posts as varied as possible and monitor the success of each one. By experimenting and trying new ideas, you’ll soon learn what works best and what could be improved.
Whether you’re sharing photos of the best donations or writing blog posts about the great work the charity does, there are so many ways to boost awareness and get people talking.
