How do you plan on using Facebook for your nonprofit - marketing, volunteer appreciation, fundraising, events? This guide will help you find the best ways to leverage the power of this popular social media platform for your organization.
It’s not a secret that if a nonprofit wants to be successful in today’s fast-changing and complex world, it has to be present and active on social media networks. And the most prominent social media platform, without a doubt, is Facebook.
Facebook receives 11.2 billion visits a year, making it the third most popular website.
Although Facebook has been around for a while, that doesn’t make it any easier. Facebook’s algorithm is constantly changing and evolving. For example, in 2023 Facebook significantly changed their fundraising offerings and now only partner with the PayPal Giving Fund. Learn more about these changes in this blog.
These changes, coupled with increasingly fierce competition and crowded space in which everyone is vying for attention, can make it difficult for a nonprofit to stand out on Facebook. It can feel like shouting into the void – especially with organic reach and engagement constantly dwindling.
To help you maximize the reach and engagement of your Facebook posts, we’ve compiled a list of ways in which you can get the most out of Facebook.
In an ideal world, what would your Facebook engagement look like? What is your goal for Facebook – to spread awareness about your mission or to get more donations?
Answering these questions will help you kick off your Facebook marketing strategy
Once you’ve answered those questions – think about how your Facebook account fits in with the rest of your organization and marketing strategy, and how it fits with your other social media accounts like Instagram or YouTube.
Brainstorm with your team and note down:
Once you have a strategy in place for your Facebook activities, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding.
Your Facebook profile represents your organization. It’s vital that your profile is complete with a profile picture, cover photo, description, and contact information.
Here is what you can do:
If you want to grow in today’s social media space, it’s no longer enough to just post randomly or use Facebook as a one-way advertising space.
To get the most out of Facebook and make it an invaluable fundraising tool, post high-quality, relevant, and compelling content that interests your target audience. And post regularly to build momentum.
– Change up your post types. Not every post should be an appeal for donations. Post videos, images, and updates about your work to keep your audience engaged.
– Don’t be afraid to ask your audience what they would like to see from your nonprofit. You can gather this information in person, via an email survey, or by asking them on social media.
– Ask for engagement. Don’t be afraid to post things like “Like if…” or “Fill in the blank. I volunteer because…”. Simple additions like these can increase your reach and engagement.
– Post a couple of times per day depending on how large your following is.
– Visual content is key. This includes:
– Use the 70/20/10 rule. This is recommended by many experts in the social media engagement field.
– Optimize for mobile. With the majority of social media usage taking place on mobile devices, you need to ensure that you optimize your online content for mobile viewing.
Facebook found that people prefer to click on links that are displayed in the link format which appears when you paste a link while drafting a post (see the image below), rather than links that appear in photo captions.
These posts have received twice as many clicks compared to links embedded in the photo caption.
It is believed that this is because the link format shows some additional information associated with the link, such as the beginning of the article, which makes it easier for someone to decide if they want to click through.
This format also makes it easier for someone to click through on mobile devices, which have a smaller screen.
We love how Code for America included a compelling quote from their podcast, along with a link, to encourage clicking through.
With the rise of TikTok and Reels on Facebook and Instagram, short, casual videos have taken over social media. Videos are great at succinctly sharing information while more vividly connecting with your audience’s emotions.
Investing time and other resources in creating and sharing great content is incredibly important, as is measuring and evaluating progress and results.
What’s even more important is the social engagement with your supporters on Facebook.
This can involve:
This will also humanize your nonprofit and is an excellent opportunity to create your own voice and brand identity. It helps you build trust with your audience, create momentum, and show that you ppreciate everyone interested in your work.
It’s essential that your nonprofit, during the strategy creation process, decide what success means to your organization and how exactly you’re going to measure it.
Select a couple of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Typically, KPIs for Facebook include the following categories:
Measuring your KPIs will allow you to evaluate the progress toward your goals and decide on an appropriate course of action.
Pro tip: Download our free Rose, Bud, and Thorn worksheet to evaluate your social media progress.
Although not free, Facebook Ads can be a great way to boost your presence and increase your nonprofit’s visibility on Facebook.
You can either “boost” a post or create a Facebook ad. Boosting is a form of Facebook advertising that makes it easy to put a little bit of money behind a Facebook post and help it show up in more news feeds. This is the simplest way to advertise on Facebook.
Boosted posts don’t have all of the same customization features as Facebook ads. To create an ad campaign, you’ll usually start from scratch in Meta Business Manager, and the process is a little bit more complicated.
Before clicking a “Boost Post” button or creating a generic Facebook Ad, think about what you hope to accomplish. Running advertising campaigns without a goal or a plan is like throwing money away.
What exactly are you hoping to accomplish with the campaign – increase donations, increase blog views, get email newsletter sign-ups.? Your CTA (Call to Action) should be crystal clear and directly related to your nonprofit goals.
Set a budget and then track the performance of the boosted post or the ad.
Pro tip: Only promote your best. Choose content that evoked emotion, created a discussion or received a few shares. Choose your wording and your images very carefully. Use graphics and language that have worked in the past.
Facebook used to be one of the best places for nonprofits to fundraise. And it can still be a great source of contributed revenue, but it’s important to understand how Facebook’s fundraising tools work.
If you’re in the U.S., U.K., or Australia, all donations made to your cause on Facebook are handled by PayPal Giving Fund. This means that you need to create a PayPal business account to enroll in giving. Learn more about the requirements and how to enroll here.
Once enrolled, you can receive donations from your top supporters. Plus, your supporters can launch fundraisers on your behalf to raise even more!
While Facebook shouldn’t be your primary fundraising platform, it can help you collect extra funds through supporter-led fundraisers. You can also link to your external fundraising platform or donation page to easily collect more donations from your Facebook audience.
Especially with the changes made to the Facebook algorithm to show users more content from people and groups they care about, and less from Pages, Facebook groups can become a very helpful tool for your nonprofit.
Facebook groups are a valuable place to generate discussion and nurture a sense of community amongst volunteers, workers, donors, and members of the community who are invested in your cause.
You have three options when creating a Facebook group: open, closed, and secret. Which one you’ll choose will depend very much on your nonprofit. Keeping a group closed might be the best option for the majority of nonprofits because they can be found by anyone, but require admin approval to enter and won’t let non-members see any of the content.
Even though it can be time-consuming to manage a Facebook group, it is definitely an excellent platform for discussion and community building.
Here are our top Facebook Groups tips:
These are some of the most essential Facebook tips and best practices for your nonprofit. Don’t forget to keep up with your posting, as well as with tracking post times to discover which days and times reach most of your audience. Don’t forget to get creative with your Facebook strategy.
Take the time to look at and understand your Facebook analytics and put the work in to make your content valuable and professional. Always prioritize your supporters and your donors.
As a nonprofit professional, your goal is to help your nonprofit get closer to its mission. And social media networks, particularly Facebook, can be great tools to do that. Facebook has a massive potential to propel you forward – if done right.
Facebook campaigns can really work alongside your fundraising software as part of a holistic strategy that helps you achieve your goals. Donorbox offers comprehensive fundraising features that help you raise more both online and in person. Sign up today and start fundraising in under 15 minutes!
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Ilma Ibrisevic is a content creator and nonprofit writer. She’s passionate about meaningful work, sustainability, and social movements. If she’s not working, she’s obsessing over coffee or cooking. You can connect with her on Linkedin.
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Ilma Ibrisevic