Getting Started on Social Media for Adoption Matching

Are you navigating adoption and looking for ways to private match? Social media is a useful tool that more and more hopeful adoptive parents are having success with. It’s how my husband and I matched for our adoption in 2022 and now it’s how I help other hopeful adoptive parents find their match as well. 

There are a few different ways to match for adoption via social media. The most common and the method that worked for us is by creating a Facebook page specific to your adoption journey and using that to spread the word. We also tried this with Instagram and did get in front of thousands of eyes, but Facebook is where we ultimately matched.

Facebook groups and other social platforms are the additional ways to match on social media. I know of a few couples personally that have matched via Facebook groups that are dedicated to connecting hopeful adoptive parents and expectant moms looking to make an adoption plan. Other social platforms that I know hopeful adoptive parents use include TikTok, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The best way to get started with social media for adoption matching is to research which method you’d like to use. Private matching is a lot of work and it can be tempting to start out thinking that you can try every method out there. While putting a little bit of effort into several methods could be a great way to figure out what is most feasible for you, I strongly recommend focusing on one or two. It is better to do one thing well than to spread yourself too thin and do many things poorly.

If I had to choose one method for matching for adoption on social media, it would be creating a Facebook page. This is what worked for our adoption, and it’s also what the people I work with have had the most success with. We are actually setting out to adopt a second time and are using both Facebook and Instagram pages to spread the word. It’s a little easier to get started this time around because we already have engaged audiences built. My goal now is to grow these audiences and to post content that will re-engage them and encourage them to share.

I am finding it a little bit more difficult to plan and create content this time around because we have our son to care for now, but I’ve balanced this by focusing on Facebook and just duplicating that content on Instagram. This is not the best practice for growing and engaging on Instagram, but it is at least getting content out there. When I have extra time to devote to our second adoption matching journey, I spend it posting in Facebook matching groups and creating reels and other Instagram-specific content.

Are you ready to get started on social media for private matching in your adoption journey? I have a guide that breaks down the steps you should take for your first week on social media. There is a Facebook version and an Instagram version, or you can purchase them as a bundle here. As always, if you have questions about matching for adoption on social media or our experience with private adoption, reach out to me through this site or on Instagram @thehelpfulHAP. Happy matching!