How much of this sounds familiar? 

• “Facebook advertising is dead.” 

• “Video content is too hard to produce.” 

• “Digital ads are only for fundraising.” 

As a fundraiser or marketer, you’ve probably said or heard these digital advertising misconceptions and others plenty of times. But as we move further into a digital age, you must leverage your full potential on digital platforms. 

To that end, we’re here to debunk five common digital advertising myths. Let’s jump right in. 

Myth #1: Google Ad Grant money should be invested in fundraising ads. 

Google Ad Grants give qualifying nonprofits up to $10,000 a month in search ads. Microsoft has a similar program. There’s a big misconception that these grants can cover all your advertising and fundraising needs. 

In truth, Google Ad Grants are best used for awareness campaigns, not fundraising ones. The ad space Google provides through the program is more like remnant inventory. Because the digital advertising ecosystem functions on an auction and competitive bid basis, a paid Google ad will almost always outperform a Google Grant ad. The algorithm prioritizes paid ads. 

Instead, use Google Ad Grants to help people learn more about your organization. Your messages could tell people how to donate or volunteer, or they could point people to your services. You might also use these spaces to test the type of messaging that helps you meet a different goal, like driving traffic to new content on your website.  

Save your paid Google or Microsoft ad efforts for your most competitive fundraising terms.  

Myth #2: Facebook advertising is no longer effective 

This misconception has been around for years. While advertising on Facebook has become more challenging, the nonprofit community has it easier in many ways than other sectors. 

You can no longer target specific information or demographics, such as education, income, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or even followers of particular pages. However, there are ways to counteract these limitations — notably, by using first-party data in your customer relationship management (CRM) tool.  

You hold a wealth of data about your constituents, which you can upload to the Facebook ads platform and use to target people directly. You can also create a lookalike model of individuals whose online behaviors match those in your file.  

Third-party data can be used similarly. For instance, you can purchase data segments to target those who lean in a specific direction on social issues. Tools such as GivingDNA can help you uncover new patterns or traits in your donor file, like what types of organizations or causes a prospect supports. 

Meta also offers substantial free tools for marketers and fundraisers to optimize their Facebook and Instagram ads. Its artificial intelligence (AI) tool can help with copywriting, while other tools make it easy to edit images and videos. 

Myth #3: Last-click attribution is sufficient to track the efficacy of your ads. 

When tracking the effectiveness of your ads, last-click attribution only counts the person who saw an ad, clicked on it, and then converted. It doesn’t count someone who saw an ad on Facebook, kept scrolling, remembered the ad later, went to your website and donated. So, the second scenario wouldn’t count as a conversion for the ad. 

While last-click attribution is the most common way to track ad performance, there are many ways to look at attribution. It’s more important to look at the big picture — the whole advertising funnel — especially if your goal is to raise awareness. Last-click attribution doesn’t consider all the additional touchpoints along the donor journey that get someone to donate. 

The donor journey is complicated for both organizations and donors. Look at models that factor in all conversions that occur due to campaign exposure across many tactics.  

Myth #4: Digital advertising should only be used for fundraising. 

This might be the easiest myth to overcome. Because digital advertising can be immediate and engaging, going straight for the donation request is tempting. But if the audience doesn’t know who you are or what you do, that ask will fall flat. 

Digital ads should work hand-in-hand with your other awareness efforts, such as email, website, and direct mail. Going from zero to donate with a new prospect will seem rushed and forward. But a lower hurdle, like asking them to subscribe to your newsletter to learn more about the impact they can make through your work, is less pressure. Getting someone to complete a form or even an advocacy action is a better way for them to start a formal relationship with your organization. 

The tools in a digital ad platform make it easy to reach the entire funnel. Say you run an awareness video on Facebook. Using pixel data, you can then target people who engaged with the video with an ad to follow your page or sign up for your email. Finally, you can use those same targeting tactics to contact a more refined and qualified group of individuals and ask for a donation. 

Through this type of full-funnel approach, we’ve seen clients increase numerous key metrics, including new donors, average donation, and return ad spend. 

Myth #5: Video content is too hard or expensive to produce. 

Video is critical to communicate the emotions related to your organization’s mission. In addition, most social platforms like Facebook and Instagram prioritize video-based content.  

Use video content any time you have it. It could be a highly-produced commercial, but that isn’t necessary. Something you shoot on your phone can be just as impactful and effective.  

What matters to your audience is that the video is authentic. For instance, if you run an animal shelter, record a quick video of the dogs playing. A healthcare nonprofit might share a candid video of a patient telling their story.  

Plenty of tools are available that make it easy to edit a video into a short, ad-appropriate clip. But even if you only have still images, you can turn them into an animated GIF to satisfy video file requirements for social media algorithms. 

Reality: Digital Ads Can Make a Big Impact 

So many aspects of digital advertising can be downright overwhelming, but this channel isn’t going anywhere. Even if you’ve tried some of these tactics, capabilities have advanced. Take advantage of the tools available and be willing to try something new. 

Whether you have questions or want to chat, our Allegiance Group + Pursuant team is available. We’d love to help you develop a robust digital advertising plan that will reach a wider audience and boost your donations. Contact us today. 

This blog post is based on an episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast. Listen to the entire conversation now.