Nonprofit advertising tends to share qualities of both b2b and b2c marketing strategies, with fundraising, event promotion, sponsorships, and a range of other objectives in competition for the same audience segment. It’s often crucial, then, to find a way to diversify digital ad tactics for nonprofits in order to find creative ways to meet all of these differing annual goals.
We are big fans of the Google Ad Grants program for nonprofits here at Screechy Cat Media (what’s not to love about free money?), but as we’ve explained before, there are limitations. Google Grants ad spend can only be used for search advertising, not display or YouTube; it also runs on a separate auction from paid advertising, and therefore typically cannot earn advertisers nearly the same amount of click volume.
Fortunately, there are many proven digital ad tactics for nonprofits outside of the free advertising offered by Google. Regardless if you are looking to boost donations, promote your next event, seek out sponsors, or convert more new members, here are three digital ad tactics for nonprofits that we recommend.
Event + Donation Ads on Meta
Meta is a platform we discuss often with clients, both because of the cost efficiency and scale but also because of the breadth of advertising options offered on the company’s social networks. It’s often included just below a Google Ad Grants campaign on our media plans for nonprofits because of the “bang for the buck”, so to speak, of its ad products.
Event ads on Facebook and Instagram allow nonprofit organizations the opportunity to garner interest and promote social FOMO for fundraising events. For these ad types, an event is first created on the nonprofit’s Facebook page, and what is essentially a boosted post can be promoted to the target audience. Event ads can be run from the “Engagement” optimization goal in Meta; we also recommend pairing this with a Sales-focused campaign for ticket sales/event registration, should your event require it.
For nonprofits interested in fundraising through social media, Meta offers ads with a “Donate Now” call-to-action and a corresponding pixel goal to optimize against. These donation ads are essentially conversion-focused campaigns with a custom CTA centered around fundraising.
Lead Ads on LinkedIn
Lead generation ads on the social networks—including LinkedIn—are an excellent means for nonprofit organizations to collect contact information from potential donors and sponsors because of the accuracy of the targeting data. Unlike Meta, where job title and industry targeting is limited (and often, suspect), LinkedIn users regularly keep their career information current, providing nonprofits with confidence they are reaching the right audience with outreach efforts.
LinkedIn isn’t often included on media plans we develop for small businesses given its relatively higher costs; however, combining the platform’s lead gen product offering with their extensive b2b data makes LinkedIn a compelling digital ad tactic for nonprofits.
Reddit Advertising
Reddit had 73M users in Q4 of 2023, which reportedly grew by nearly 60% this past summer. The sub-forum site, propelled by prominent placement in Google search results, is similar to Meta in terms of cost efficiency, but more akin to a contextual media tactic in terms of targeting: advertisers can select from interest, keyword, or Subreddits (aka forum) targeting, or a mixture of the three.
Nonprofits can utilize Reddit ads for awareness building and event marketing as they would on any other social network. Subreddits tend to have passionate followings; targeting forums dedicated to interests aligned with your organization mate deliver greater engagement than ads on other social networks.
Getting Started
One thing for nonprofits to remember with any of these advertising tactics is that there is cost associated with them, both for the ads and management of campaigns. Google is the only one of the large advertising platforms to offer free ad spend continuously; platforms like Reddit will sometimes offer ad credits, but these usually come after a certain spend threshold is met.
For nonprofits interested in Google Grants and social media advertising, Screechy Cat Media offers inclusive media spend + management packages starting at $500/month. Contact us today to learn how to get started!
