Facebook Advertising Tips for Nonprofits

Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites, not only for people to connect with each other but also for business to connect with their customers and potential customers. Owing to its popularity, advertising on Facebook is a big marketing strategy. There are a variety of ways that this can be done. For example, not only can businesses have ads on Facebook, they can also take part in Facebook’s Promoted Posts, where they can pay to have a particular post promoted like an ad on Facebook. But what about nonprofit organizations? Is advertising on Facebook a good move for a nonprofit? And what are some ways for them to get in on the trend?

Nonprofits need exposure for many different reasons, with securing funding being a major reason. Conventional online marketing is a good first step, but social media marketing will take you farther in gaining coverage and volunteers – and donations – and at a lower cost than traditional marketing. Facebook marketing is one way to get your ambassadors to share your organizations and vision with their friends and followers, showcase your efforts, and build a supportive community. You can also expand your reach by taking part in Facebook Ads.

1. Before deciding on purchasing a Facebook Ad, ask yourself if you have a goal. Without a goal, you’ll just be throwing money away. Have a reasonable goal for your ad, like e-mail newsletter signups, subscribing to your blog, or making a donation. Make sure the goal is measurable so you will be able to tell if the ad is a success. Also, determine if you can afford the ad. Keep in mind it’s not like a traditional newspaper ad or billboard. Instead, there is no set price for a Facebook Ad. You can set a daily or “lifetime” budget, and choose a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or CPC (cost per click bid). You only pay for the impressions or clicks your ad receives, and if your ad is targeted well, it can be very effective. If you can’t understand it well, you may need some outside help for your ad campaign.

2. Some best practices to keep in mind: Your Facebook ad should be eye-catching and well-written. Don’t just post your logo and say “Hey! Come check out our site!”.  Your ad must have a photo, preferably 1200X627 pixels and contain less than 20% text. If it redirects to an outside website, it should go to a specific landing page and not just a main homepage.

3. Know who your target audience is. Don’t try to reach everyone on Facebook. Just focus on people who would be most receptive to your organization and cause, and who you most want to be involved in your work. Use the “Custom Audience” tool to target your ad to a specific group of Facebook users, such as bloggers and journalists who might report about your cause. Location Outreach will help you target a specific geographic area.

4. Promote only the best content that you know people will be willing to engage with and that will lead to the intended outcome of your goal. You can also test your posts before paying for them. Create several posts and send them out over time, some that people will be more likely to engage with and some they won’t. Watch them over time, and see how well they do, then you can start spending money on the types of ads your audience will want to engage with.

5. Since no two audiences are the same, what will be engaging to one may not be so interesting to others. So you may want to experiment and run a few tests to see what works best before you spend your whole budget. Spend a small amount on a couple of ads with different graphics and similar content to see which works best, then run the better-performing one. Facebook has a few different advertising cost models, so pick the one that best fits your goal to get the most for your money.