#GivingTuesday is almost here, and it’s kind of a big deal. Guidestar notes that #GivingTuesday has emerged as the largest day of [charitable] giving with $116M raised, 114M Twitter impressions, and 1.3M social media mentions in 2015 alone. The bottom line? It’s pretty important not to blow it.

Whether you feel that you have your act together or whether you feel that #GivingTuesday kind of sneaked up on you, these five quick-and-easy ideas should help you totally crush your social media campaign on November 29.

1. Keep social media social. Causevox undscores the importance of keeping your social media efforts social by staying actively engaged with supporters. Respond to comments. Thank them for helping get the word out about your cause. Foster conversation and community and you’ll create relationships lasting well beyond the end of the year.
2. Tell a story. Kristen E. Roche tweets about using stories that will create powerful emotional responses in a very short amount of time. Photos can tell visual stories, too. Images and stories of the people you serve and of your good people doing their good work create a more visceral response for donors than logos or stock photos. And the more potential donors feel, the more likely they are to act.
3. Just say thanks. Claire Axelrad of Clairification.com takes a novel approach. She suggests forgoing the usual call for donations in favor of turning #GivingTuesday into a day devoted to showing gratitude to supporters and making them feel like the heroes they are. Doing so would make your organization stand out on a day when donors’ timelines are cluttered with requests. It may also help you keep your donors, Axelrad says, since [t]he number one reason for folks not giving again is that they weren’t thanked.
4. Don’t forget to test. And finally, Candace Cody’s funny list on JohnHaydon.com of 5 Epic Ways to Ruin Your Giving Tuesday Campaign includes so-obvious-that-you-may-be-overlooking-them tips about what not to do on #GivingTuesday. Things such as not testing your donation forms to ensure a clear and pain-free donation process. Please don’t forget to do that.

Good luck!

Photo by Markus Winkler.