It’s common knowledge that nonprofits can’t compete with for-profits when it comes to marketing expenses. After all, that’s what the market demands!
As a graduate student, I am well-versed in making do with few resources; fortunately, Facebook provides an ideal environment in which to do so. While certain Facebook advertising campaigns may be more affordable than others, there are several ways to limit your spending. If you use Facebook ads wisely, you may get a lot of attention as well.
What’s the Point of Facebook Ads?
You may be hesitant to put your limited advertising funds toward Facebook. Is it really worthwhile? Why not simply make a few posts on your charity’s Facebook page and see if it generates any interest on its own? How do Facebook’s charitable donations work, exactly? Is there a way for charities to get free Facebook ads?
There is no way to advertise your charitable organization on Facebook for “free” since Facebook does not have a program similar to Google’s Grants. However, in order to generate income, it is necessary to first incur expenses. Spending money on Facebook may result in a fantastic return on investment. While not quite free, advertising might potentially turn a profit if done correctly.
What if your financial resources are limited? Facebook is a very noisy place, so even if your advertising budget is little, you’ll need to spend some of it if you want to be heard and noticed. It’s not only me that feels this way…
According to Huffington Post contributor Tulani Elisa, “unless you have a really large following, thousands of advocates sharing your content, and maybe a couple of other organizations pitching in to spread the word,” you likely won’t make a difference in the social sphere.
Advertising on Facebook need not drain your bank account. These eight ideas can help you achieve your objectives without draining your financial account, whether you’re trying to spread the word about an event, solicit contributions, or bring attention to a worthy cause.
One, Write Intriguing Ad Titles
The title of your Facebook ad is just as important as the picture you choose when promoting your nonprofit organization on the platform. There is a little window of opportunity to get someone interested in your charity and involved. That’s why you need an outrageously compelling call to action in your headline.
Use concise, impactful language that ends with a clear call to action that is tailored to the purpose of your advertisement. Try a call to action (CTA) that encourages readers to find out more about your nonprofit if that’s your primary goal. Donation-related fundraising may make use of the phrases “give” and “donate.”
Be careful to inject some of your own character into the headline. Make use of your organization’s unique tone of voice, whether it’s focused on kindness or dedication. More advice on how to make headlines people want to click on follows.
Second, make sure you have very specific target groups in mind.
Advertisers on Facebook may choose to target certain demographics rather than everyone who visits their page.
You probably have a good idea of who you want to reach with your limited resources since you already know who your target audience is. The good news is that you can accomplish exactly that using Facebook advertisements.
Targeting may be quite nuanced, allowing you to zero in on an audience based on a wide variety of factors such as age, region, gender, language, demographics, hobbies, habits, etc. Say you want to reach “green moms” with an annual income of $75,000 to $99,000 who are also interested in cancer research and like jogging.
Using Facebook Ads to Reach Your Ideal Donors
Spending money wisely on the most relevant people is possible with these detailed targeting choices. Make sure you don’t bury your adverts under too many layers, however.
Thirdly, Target Specific Groups and Related People
Did you know that you may target a certain group of people by uploading their email addresses into Facebook? Use Facebook’s Custom Audiences function to reach out to people who have signed up for your newsletter or shown interest in your business in some other way, or to a group of former supporters you’d want to reconnect with.
Show Facebook advertisements to the connections you currently have, but make them even more tailored (see suggestion #2) in addition to concentrating on incredibly focused audiences. Let’s use a list of persons who signed up for a charity event as an example. You may import the contact information of those who were affected by a certain occurrence and send them a tailored advertisement with clear instructions.
We’ve covered several methods for building targeted audiences; if you have enough information, you can replicate your most successful Facebook group. Using Facebook’s Lookalike Audience tool, you can locate new supporters who share characteristics with your existing audience. You can effectively replicate your most devoted followers. That’s how easy it is!
Increase Facebook Ad Revenue by Including a “Donate Now” Button
Most charities rely on financial support from the public to function and further their mission. After all, money is what keeps the world turning. This is, however, when the challenges of marketing a nonprofit organization really begin to show. There are a lot of worthy organizations and causes competing for donations. One of the most important tasks for any non-profit marketer is to persuade prospective donors to contribute.
Making it as simple as possible for someone to donate is one certain strategy to boost the chance of generating contributions via non profit advertising on Facebook. Using Facebook to make a donation is as simple as clicking a “Donate Now” button. You may, in fact, add this miraculous button to your Facebook profile and advertisements.
Please note that the Donate Now option is not accessible for the following goals: clicks to a website, likes on social media, app downloads, email signups, purchases from a product catalog, views of a video ad, or visits to a physical location. Obviously, you have a lot of flexibility. Learn how to include this contribution button into your advertisements by visiting this website.
Five: Make Use Of Ad Scheduling
As we’ve covered before, resources are limited in the nonprofit sector, so it may not be wise to broadcast advertising nonstop. Why? Well, your prospective donors or target audience is probably more active on Facebook at certain times of the day or week.
It’s possible you’ve seen a resurgence in contributions during Friday afternoons and evenings. Perhaps there is a seasonal shift in fashion. During the winter months, when people are more likely to stay indoors and use their phones or computers, you may see a rise in activity on the weekends. It’s possible that this trend may reverse entirely by summer.
Facebook analytics may help you determine this, and then you can use ad scheduling to ensure that your advertisements only appear when your target demographic is most likely to convert.
Ad scheduling is a fantastic tool for keeping costs down and maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Don’t squander your limited resources; make use of this function.
6. Make an emotional appeal
While this is sound advice for any sector, it is particularly pertinent to those working in the nonprofit sector. After all, these groups are often established and maintained on the basis of emotion. Making a donation to a good cause is typically an impulsive act.
Marketers for charitable organizations should take advantage of every chance to leverage content to convey a compelling narrative. By far, this is the most effective strategy for getting people interested in your company.
An effective narrative is the key to connecting with users’ emotions. Others will be more likely to empathize and feel engaged if you use descriptive adjectives in ad content, include images and video of the actual people or animals in these tales, and allow your own emotional ties to show. Consider the following St. Baldrick’s Foundation example. This Facebook commercial features a little child who, with the aid of their donors, was able to overcome cancer. What could be more powerful than such a message?
Nonprofit Facebook Ad Example
This Facebook A/B testing tutorial will show you how to save money by putting your ad wording to the test.
Seventh, try out different kinds of interactive ads
Storytelling and emotional appeals should not be limited to the written word. To make your argument more persuasive, you should include photos and videos to back up your claims. You could already have some of these items on hand, or you might want to consider purchasing some high-quality movies to share your tale. You may select from a number of aesthetically appealing ad types on Facebook.
For example, the carousel ad is a great choice for visually appealing businesses. Charity organizations are a good example of this kind. With Facebook’s carousel ad format, businesses may showcase many photos in a catalog-style layout, allowing customers to easily browse a variety of products. The individuals and communities you want to aid may be included in an advertisement you develop for a fundraising race.
Constantly monitor and assess the efficacy of your campaign
Last but not least, it is crucial for non-profits to monitor and assess the results of their Facebook advertising activities. When funds are few, it is essential to know whether or not your investments are paying off.
No money should be wasted, so take action by learning which metrics to analyze, how often you track them, and what makes a well-spent budget.
Conversion monitoring dashboard for Facebook ads
This may seem like a lot simpler to say than to accomplish. What KPIs should be kept an eye on? What’s the frequency, exactly? To what extent can you trust these measurements? If you want to get off to a good start on Facebook, check out our Ultimate Guide to Tracking, Targeting, and Driving Conversions.
The question then becomes, “Why wait?” Use these money-saving strategies to get your nonprofit on pace to achieve its objectives.
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