You’ve got this social media thing down. Your organization posts regularly to Facebook and Tweets at least three times a day.
Your Instagram feed is full of adorable pictures of the children whom you help. Occasionally, your CEO or Board Chair is even featured in a YouTube video.
It’s never occurred to you that your donor development program could probably see a greater ROI on the many hours you invest in creating, posting, and managing social media content — if only you were to change this one thing.
What’s the biggest mistake you’re making on social media?
Not paying for Facebook advertising.
Facebook seems to be ever-changing its algorithms, which dictate when posts are shown to your page’s followers. It’s increasingly difficult for brands — including nonprofits – to get their posts seen organically. In fact, it’s almost safer to assume that few followers, if many at all, will see your posts without the boost of advertising dollars behind them.
The Benefits of Advertising on Facebook
But there’s good news, too. Facebook advertising can be an incredible benefit to your organization. Of all paid advertising, it is among the most affordable. Even small campaigns with a low daily dollar amount will net decent numbers of new followers and exposure for your organization. The cost of donors acquired through Facebook advertising is negligible, when weighing the small amount spent versus the lifetime value of a donor.
Facebook advertising is also highly customizable and can be specifically targeted. The result? Your message reaches candidates primed to receive it. The leads acquired through Facebook advertising campaigns are highly qualified and should more easily convert into long-term supporters.
Facebook provides sophisticated, near real-time analytics. You can monitor the effectiveness of your campaigns as they are being delivered. Test several versions of the same ad and “turn off” the ones that are under-performing. Find out how your message resonates with your audience, segmented according to age, gender, geographical location and dozens of other affinities and characteristics.
What to Do With All the New Followers?
Once you’ve added to your Facebook numbers through paid advertising, you want to make sure you’re engaging new followers on social media. Don’t forget that compelling stories of your mission and work — in a variety of formats — should always be front and center, available for new audiences to consume.
Also consider devoting prime real estate on your Facebook page to links to free downloads of resources, compelling videos, and/or a call-to-action for your latest campaign. Facebook offers lots of ways to highlight information on your page so that new visitors can get to know your organization and begin interacting with you right away.
For More Information, Visit Nonprofits on Facebook
Facebook has created a super helpful website, made especially for nonprofit organizations. It’s called Nonprofits on Facebook, https://nonprofits.fb.com/. The website gives nonprofit organizations important guidelines and best practices for using the platform for success. To learn more about advertising on Facebook, specifically, see this page, “Reach New People With Ads,” https://nonprofits.fb.com/topic/reach-new-people-with-ads/.
