Advertise on Social Media
All social media platforms provide the possibility to advertise your content, allowing you not only to specify the target audience in detail, but also to gain insights into the possible reach of your campaign.
A small amount of money might significantly benefit an already well-performing campaign, but will not kick-start an under-performing campaign, so be sure to spend your money wisely – or be prepared to increase your budget.
However, more often than not there are no financial resources to be spent on digital advertising. Nonetheless, advertised content might still be possible as the various platforms offer partnership programs, discounts and Ad Credits for NGOs – you just have to apply for them.
Types of ad credits on platforms
Facebook offers Ad Credits to NGOs and activists, meaning that the company provides you with a certain amount of money in the form of Ad Credits to support your campaign. When using Ad Credits, you can further specify the objective of your campaign: Do you want people to visit your website, to like and engage with your postings or is it a call to action? However, to get Ad Credits, you have to present your campaign plan (including not only your general goal, but the individual content blocks) to Facebook. The company will then decide if and how many Ad Credits you get; the Ad Credits can then be spent either on campaigns on Facebook and/ or Instagram.
Google has a partnership program called Google for Non-Profits, and further also offers YouTube for Non-Profits. As an NGO, you can sign up for the respective program, which offer you, amongst other things, the access and use of Google Ads (Google’s online advertisement platform). Using Google Ads might benefit the ranking of your website and can further be useful for long-term campaigns. This can help you to increase the number of visitors on your website. However: The process of getting into Google’s programs for non-profits can be long and complicated, so be sure it is worth the trouble (and make use of their customer support!).
Similar to Facebook, Twitter also offers Advertiser Credits as well as coupons to “selected advertisers” that meet the company’s eligibility criteria, meaning: You have to present your NGO and planned campaign to Twitter when applying for credits or coupons. You can use your credits or coupons to promote your account in general, but also individual content such as Tweets and/ or videos. Twitter even has its very own account to provide tips and recommendations for non-profits: Twitter Nonprofits.
Article, The giving season: a Twitter Ads guide for nonprofits
Even though TikTok is comparably new in the European market, the company also launched an ads manager and a program to support NGOs and activists: TikTok for good. The company launched previous campaigns in cooperation with non-profits and pledges to support NGOs, for instance by promoting their hashtags as part of a hashtag challenge, which in turn increases the reach of the respective NGO and its content. However, information on advertisement credits provided by TikTok for NGOs per se is still scarce – but surely coming.
Ad Credits are a form of payment for your ads on Facebook and / or Instagram. They are like coupons or vouchers you can use to push your posts.