2 Social Media Ads For Nonprofits To Run in Q4

Reading Time: 4 minutes

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This year, I’ve spent $3,000 on paid social media ads, and reached 135,723 people, received 150 new email leads, and 47 purchases (that FB accounted for)! Was it worth it?

My answer is a clear and resounding YES.

If you’ve never run social media ads for your nonprofit before or are hesitant to spend the funds, this episode will help you change your mindset.

I’m going to break down two of my favorite social media ads for nonprofits that will help you have a successful Q4 and beyond.

And if you want to dig into this even more, join my upcoming live workshop series, Grow Your Gifts, and learn how to launch optimized ad campaigns on Instagram and Facebook, plus get personalized feedback from me. The first workshop begins October 19th or book a VIP day for 1:1 ad creation and support!

Stay top of mind with a “video view” campaign ad

You have to stay top of mind. Did you know your organic content is only reaching 1% to 3% of your followers?! And if you want to reach new people, the first time they hear about you shouldn’t be an ask. 

To create a successful video view ad, I recommend having a horizontal or square formatted video for Meta and Instagram feeds and then having a vertical version you can apply to Reels and Stories on Instagram and Facebook.

If you’re already thinking, “I don’t have a beautiful highly produced video!”, I have good news for you. Meta released a study that found a strong correlation between more raw, imperfect, and unpolished videos having a greater creative impact in return.

I recommend keeping the video to no more than 90 seconds. Consider recording it “selfie” style and giving an update on your organization. You could also be walking around so there’s movement and interest in the frame. If you record two different versions, you can play with a variety of hooks to see what grabs viewers in the first few seconds.

And you won’t believe the cost – my own experiments with this ad cost only 2-4 cents each, which is way less than a postage stamp.

How to run effective donation-based social ad campaigns

Donation-based ad campaigns can be super effective. Think about the huge pool of donors you can retarget that have already given to your organization before, or even ran a Facebook fundraising campaign for you.

BIG UPDATE: After a donor gives on Facebook, instead of the old version of having to opt in, they’re automatically opting in and given an option to opt out.  (See graphic below)

The second type of donation push you can run will drive traffic to your website. Now if you go for this approach, make sure that you have an active Facebook Pixel working so that the data can come back to Facebook. 

If you are seeing a strong CTR, aka clickthrough rate, then the ad is working! It is getting somebody from the ad to your website. Now if the conversions are low, then something is happening on your website, so you’ll need to play detective! Is your website mobile-friendly? Is it easy to make a donation on your website? Conduct a mini audit check on desktop AND mobile to see what your online donation experience is like and where you can optimize it.

Bonus tip: What to know about iOS privacy settings and how they affect your ads

Facebook isn’t tracking as much as it used to, and they might miss some data, so if you see any squirrely numbers that aren’t making sense, you can dig a little deeper.

Earlier this year, I was running ads to a webinar, and Facebook showed me that there were 96 sign-ups. However, when I went into my webinar tracking tool, it showed me I had 175 sign-ups (!) 

Big difference, right?

Facebook Ads Manager was only able to identify 96 sign-ups because the remaining conversions had actually turned off their privacy settings. So be sure to not look ONLY at Facebook Ads Manager for your results.

Notable Quotes from Dana

“Technology evolves. Social ads allow you to do what organic content can’t. You can reach a specific audience with the right content you want them to see at the right time, to take a desired action. So you’re really guiding someone through a specific customer or donors journey with ads.”

“Check where you’re sending people to. If your donation experience on your website is awful, if it’s complicated, if it’s not mobile friendly, it is going to be far more difficult to get someone to convert.”

Resources & Links

Ask me anything! Click here to send me your questions about digital marketing, virtual or hybrid events, social advertising, online fundraising, or building a business.

Join my upcoming live workshop series, Grow Your Gifts, and learn how to launch optimized ad campaigns on Instagram and Facebook, plus get personalized feedback from me. The first workshop begins October 19th. Get on the interest list now to learn more and have a successful giving season.

My mastermind is reopening in January! If you’re ready to build and launch an impactful monthly donor program in just 3 months, apply here. 

Episode 18: My Process to Plan and Reach Quarterly Goals

Episode 28: Why A/B Testing Matters with Social Ads

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