Tips for online volunteer recruitment

At the end of February 2019, weorganised our first charity workshop in Amsterdam. The focus: Recruitingvolunteers online. A topic that is on top of the list for most many Dutchvolunteer coordinators.

We addressed the following topics:

1.      Who is theflex-volunteer?

2.      Which 'tools for good' shouldyou use?

3.      Technology can be intimidating

4.      Who is the modern volunteer?

The era of the fervent weekly volunteer iscertainly not over. However, we have had to make way for the 'flex-volunteer'.Some of the characteristics we can recognise the flex-volunteer as: lack oftime, a life at an increased pace and especially a very busy online life.

These constant stimuli ensure that theirattention is focused on online content (e.g. text, photos, sounds, videos,animations etc.) that is original, varied and striking. To increase the numberof applications for your volunteer vacancy it is therefore important to makesure that your vacancy stands out.

Who, What, How

A simple framework for online volunteer recruitment is 'who, what,how'.

Think:

WHO you are trying to reach (photoshopexpert? guitar teacher?) Be specific!

WHAT your mission & story is (tell itwell & people will care)

HOW you tell it (use photos, videos &good texts)

Discover our tips here: 3 tips for writinga good job ad  

Social media are useful & necessary

It takes some work and time but consistentuse of social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) almost always pays off.

Collectively, we spend a great deal of ourtime on social media. Therefore, it is not surprising that companies are usingtargeted marketing teams and agencies to bring in new customers through socialmedia.

Charities are also making successful use of social media. The Dutchblood bank Sanquin, for example, recruited some 5,000 additional donors in thepast year through Facebook advertising.

Even without financial resources, an onlinepresence is within reach for charities. Keep it simple and get started withthese tips:

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1. Join relevant Facebook & LinkedINgroups around your mission

 Animal protection? Then join a group foranimal lovers. Do you organise meetings for refugees and locals? Then findmeetup groups and reach a larger audience.

Within these groups you can post vacanciesand thus easily recruit interested volunteers for your cause.

2. Promote vacancies within your network& via social media

Besides your Deedmob page, your own socialmedia channels are a good way to share your job opportunity. Using fun photos,videos & texts is a must!

Social media offers your charity the chanceto stand out with a story or mission. So keep it relevant, current, andconsistent.

We collected our favourite creativewebsites and tools to get you started!

3. Tap into the Deedmob community

Good news! The Deedmob community has apassion for volunteering and is therefore also open for fun, new jobopportunities. Post your deeds in Deedmob's Facebook groups & recruit newvolunteers.

To have a vacancy promoted by us, send an email to hello@deedmob.com 😊

4. Stay relevant and keep your content fresh

Online news articles, blog posts, films,youtube videos. Chances are your followers get their news from one of the abovemedia. It is therefore important to respond to current themes & news. Thesehandy creative websites can also help you create beautiful, informativecontent.

At Deedmob, we did this in 2018 throughevents around plastic. Indeed, the UN declared the 'War on Plastic' at thebeginning of the year. In this way, we capitalised on themes and issues thatare already on people's minds.

5. Get to know your followers

The name says it all: social media. Theyare a very efficient way to get to know your target group and followers. Thisis useful information that you can then use when formulating volunteervacancies. If possible, you could give preference to events & short termvacancies.

·      Demographics (age, location,gender)

·      Willingness & commitmentlevels

·      Interests

·      Feedback & complaints

Recruiting volunteers is the final goal.Before the applications come in, it is up to you to communicate why someoneshould care about your mission or story.

The principles and techniques used bycompanies to hook customers are therefore also applicable!

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