To help raise awareness for your center and reach more women considering abortion, you’ve likely set up your Facebook page several years ago and have been posting on and off ever since. We commend you! You’ve made an investment in your marketing strategy and increased your opportunities for visibility.

However, If you haven’t changed your strategy in the last few years (or even in the last year), it’s definitely time for a refresh! Platforms like Facebook and Instagram constantly change, and the people who visit those platforms change as well.

Today, we look at common mistakes people make when posting to social media, and what you can do to correct those mistakes to maximize your effectiveness in reaching abortion-vulnerable women.

First, let’s start with a simple audit you can perform …

Do you have a client-focused Facebook account for your pregnancy center?
Do you have an Instagram account for your pregnancy center?
How often do you post on both platforms?
What kinds of things are you posting?
When was the last time you evaluated your social media strategy?
When was the last time you showed your social media accounts to some members of Gen Z in your life to ask for their honest opinion?

If you answered honestly, this should give you some insight. More likely than not, it’s time to re-evaluate what you’re posting on social media, when, how, and why.

What Gen Z Wants to See

Here are the types of posts you should be sharing if you want to appeal to Gen Z (aka your target demographic)! Please note: Planned Parenthood does this really well. They understand the marketing tactics that speak to their target demographic and they hone in on those strategies and tactics to make sure they are front of mind if a woman gets pregnant and is scared.

Throughout this guide, we provide examples of the kinds of posts we’re talking about. We included some from Planned Parenthood, not as an endorsement, but as an example of why pro-life organizations must pivot their marketing and oscial media strategies to reach women first.

Posts with Negative Space

This content should be eye-catching so it grabs Gen Z’s attention. Your image posts should be clear, simple, and clean, utilizing lots of negative space. What is negative space? It’s the area around the subject of the photo or image. This appeals to Gen Z because it arrests their attention as they’re scrolling through their feed. Here are some examples of great posts with negative space:

More Graphics, Please

Gen Z values authenticity and honesty, which can translate into being easily turned off by lots of stock photos. Instead, they’re drawn to graphics and memes. So. Many. Memes.

Remember, before you can reach an abortion-minded woman, you have to get her attention. One way to do that is by posting relevant, engaging content like she regularly consumes. Here are some examples of content that is more graphic or meme style and appeals to Gen Z:

Short Video Content

Gen Z’s favorite platforms are Snapchat and Instagram (and now TikTok). They love Snapchat because of the time-sensitivity of disappearing content, and both platforms because of the Stories feature. Yes, they still see posts from top brands or other accounts they follow, but more and more accounts are switching to posting short video content in their Instagram feeds.

Videos pique curiosity, and anything you can post to make a person in Gen Z pause their scrolling is a win! Videos posted to the Instagram feed can last up to 60 seconds, which is actually a long amount of time for communicating a message. You can post Boomerangs and graphic-based videos as well.

Microblogging

A common misconception about Gen Z and Millennials is that they don’t read. While they may not sit down and consume entire books as frequently as other generations, they do read. The key is to make your content readable and relatable. Microblogging on platforms like Facebook and Instagram is a good way to engage Gen Z with valuable information. The platforms love content like this because it keeps people on the platform instead of directing them to an external site and away from social media.

This type of post will feel like long-form content for the platform, but you should aim for 3-5 paragraphs broken up by single lines of text throughout. Remember, most people will consume this content on their phones, so the paragraphs will look longer than they actually are. Keep your information engaging, succinct, and keep it moving to retain readers’ attention.

What Should I Post About?

Now that we’ve talked about the types of content Gen Z likes to consume, let’s discuss how you can use this to create a winning social media strategy for your pregnancy center. Here are some things you can post about on your social media to add value to women who are vulnerable to choosing abortion.

Free Services

Your free services are the most important thing for you to post. Women who come across your social media are coming because they did a Google search and want to learn more before scheduling an appointment, or because they saw an ad and are curious about what you do. Let them know about the services you offer as solutions to their perceived and real problems.

You can also pin a post to the top of your Facebook page and change it out weekly or monthly to catch people’s attention right away with assurances that you are there for them with the services they need.

Self Care & Mental Health

This is a huge topic right now, especially with a global pandemic exacerbating their current situation and making their needs bigger than ever. Mental and emotional health will always be a factor in a woman’s decision about her unplanned pregnancy. Posting about it will open the door to conversations online and at your pregnancy center, letting her know you’re aware and able to help.