NGOs: What will be your best Digital Marketing Investment ?
Even if you are probably feeling purpose-driven at your job, you may feel stuck in your NGO digital marketing efforts.
Digital marketing simply offers tools to help your NGO grow faster online in a cost-effective and very targeted way.
Your marketing should not be a bunch of darts thrown in hope of hitting the right strategy.
We will break it down for you, from the cheapest to the most expensive strategy. As you may discern, cheap is not synonymous with best. 10 min read
Table of Contents
Why you need digital marketing, not conventional marketing.
The key benefits of digital marketing for NGOs
In the tech world, everyone is up-to-date with digital marketing, often also referred to as growth marketing.
At the era of capitalism, it may seem daunting to talk about “growth” for the non-profit sector.
But digital marketing will bring you miles ahead to see great change in how your mission is perceived, possibly more than traditional marketing.
Here are all the notable differences:
Keep a bidirectional relationship with donors: be closer to them, while also instilling a sense of community
Targeting with data: By knowing your donor better, you can elevate your offering as an NGO. Of course, always with an ethical use of data.
Your NGO is everywhere 24/7.
Measuring everything: from the number of people supporting you to how profitable each donors and/or volunteers are.
Yeahhhh
I know I sounds like a sleazy salesmen battling for your attention. But, hear me out:
that perspective is far from irrelevant.
To really make a difference you need to treat your non-profit like a for-profit.
It may seem counter-intuitive for your NGO to invest money early on in marketing.
Yet, digital marketing means more donors, more volunteers and more fundraising. it’s a never ending machine but a purposeful one.
But what’s the fuel that powers this machine?
It’s your the strategic investment choices.
Quick Experiment: What the best strategy for which price ?
Useful indicators from 1-5:
Cost efficiency: Self-explanatory, which one is the cheapest.
Impact on awareness: to increase donations, you have to increase the visibility of NGOs online. Some strategies are more or less useful.
Scalability: Simple. How much a marketing strategy can be replicated on a bigger scale.
Time to result: Self-explanatory
If it was that simple, it’s tempting to simply rank options:
- SEO: 15
- UX/UI/CRO: 13
- Email Marketing: 16
- Paid Advertising: 15
- Social Media: 17
At first glance, you have a clear-cut answer: Social Media
In growth marketing, simplified answer are often twisted. Simply posting regularly on Instagram won’t guarantee success, much like how world hunger can’t be solved with a simple solution.
Let’s go through each strategy, ordered from least to most expensive.
Assumptions:
- Digital marketing is done in-house.
- Results are measured over 1 business year.
- Budget allows for trying one or two strategies.
- Total NGO budget aligns with the median American NGO budget: $175,000.
- 15% of the general budget is allocated to digital marketing (the higher end of the typical 5-15% range)
- This leaves $26,000 for annual digital marketing expenses
- This budget excludes other overhead marketing costs, such as salaries.
Email Marketing : the highest ROI for engagement ($954 per year)
Why is Email Marketing a must have for Non-profits?
Email marketing is often the most cost-effective digital marketing strategy for NGOs, offering high donor engagement at a relatively low cost.
For our benchmark revenue of $175,000, the average cost of a mid-tier email marketing plan is around $954 per year. This is based on plans ranging from $360 to $1,548 annually.
As of 2024, 68% of NGOs use email marketing. Among these, 69% met or surpassed their fundraising goals. It sounds almost too good to be true, but the numbers don’t lie.
According to recent statistics, 48% of American donors consider emails the most effective way to stay engaged and continue giving:
It keeps them updated about new physical events and fundraising initiatives.
It builds trust through personalized and authentic storytelling about how their donations are used.
It allows them to discover and engage with new NGOs over time.
Pollinis: how they used email marketing to keep donors informed on the long run
This NGO was key for the interdiction of harmful pesticides across Europe. I followed them for approximately 3 years and never lost sight of their combat thanks to an effective bimonthly email strategy.
With urgent calls to action and an engaging tone, Pollinis ensured that engaged donors, like myself, always read their emails attentively.
Their website leads intuitively to their newsletter:
Social media as the best short-term ROI for awareness (2350$)
What is the cost of social media for Non-profit ?
- Platform Costs: $0
- Organic social media content is free (because you are the data)
- Content Management Tools: $10 – $100+ per month
- These tools help schedule posts and analyze performance.
- Influencer Collaborations: $1,000 – $3,000 per year
- Approximately 50% of NGOs engage with influencers.
- Ad Creation and Design: $100 – $500 per campaign
- Costs for design software or professional services may be necessary to really differentiate.
- Overall Budget Range:
- Small to medium charities: $300 – $2,000+ per month
- Larger organizations: Potentially $1 million – $10 million annually (based on 2018–2019 data)
This purely indicative from experience, but it can definitely start at $0 if you are smart with it.
why should NGOs use Social media to really differentiate ?
With 87% of NGOs already in the social media game, you might wonder, “Why bother?”
But here’s the thing: it’s not about being present, it’s about being unforgettable.
Social media is the opportunity to really differentiate yourself and test things out.
On Social Media, people will perceive you in this way:
- as an account to find content on important subjects such as poverty, climate change in action.
- an area to engage and discuss in the comment or messages in a democratic way on that issue.
- An area to feel a sense of community strong enough to contribute to the fundraising.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting.
Work closely knit with the specific demographic of donor. It‘s like having a focus group at your fingertips, 24/7. But, don’t forget to use virality wisely.
Virality often means posting controversial content that reach people outside your NGO bubble.
The Name of the game for non-profit marketing is Facebook. We all heard it once:
“Let’s start a Facebook page” to promote a social project.
This is great but a rule lies constant whatsoever :
Go Where No one Goes
The best conventional wisdom I have learned is going where others don’t and be bold.
Social media is our dopamine kingdom where Attention is king.
Compete for that Attention as much as traditional businesses. If you have to shock, make laugh or even make cry. Just do it.
Social media showdown: best new platforms
We all know Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Let’s compare the most interesting newer social medias such as LinkedIn, TikTok and WhatsApp where cards are not all played in 2024.
LinkedIn for its educated high income base , touching the big donors
Within a professional setting, possible donors also consult educational content :
Outside obvious networking benefits, posting in the right way can help you touch an audience with deeper pockets and a strong need for curated, high level information.
Wild Aid used an effective strategy that led to their highest engagement post:
Whatsapp, the new kid on the block
On an amazing new level of personalization, WhatsApp groups are getting more popular, with very high engagement:
- Different segments of WhatsApp group can receive different types of personalization
- Sending mass announcements and fundraise in a much quicker way than emails through broadcasts
- Share and interact with donors like they were your friends, which seems so stupid easy but might be what you need. e.g. by showing behind the scenes of an NGO
The World Health Organization used WhatsApp to inform and automate quick answers during the pandemic:
Tiktok : still a work in progress but the pinnacle to touch Gen Z
Only 6% of NGOs use TikTok, but the ones that do are more than satisfied. (non-profit tech report, 2023)
From the young audience, you will touch a Gen Z that deeply cares about social impact:
- Authentic content: whether it’s behind the scenes, funny jokes, people are on there to distract themselves from the seriousness of the world.
- Creativity is the most important skill to gain new donors or volunteers. It’s an amazing sandbox to experiment all sorts of truly authentic content.
if it works on TikTok, it will likely work elsewhere
Honestly, users spend on average 1.5 hours on this app, leading to exceptional engagement. However, I would be ethically concerned to use TikTok as it stems from a deep-rooted addiction, but you need to compete on all platforms.
The mantra is clear: you need to work as a for-profit with the same codes but the message spread does more good.
SEO: High Initial Investment, Long-Term
Rewards with donors made for you ($5000)
What are benefits of SEO for NGOs ?
If you’re still here. It means you need more than emails and social media. The very fact that you are here is because of SEO.
Although it is not the first thing charities think of, but they need a website to expose themselves.
And you get the gist. A website without visibility is useless.
SEO is still cost-effective, but likely less than social media and emails for a precise reason:
You are targeting anyone that looks for you but can’t find you.
The difference is huge.
It exhibits similar benefits of awareness once people search and engagement when people are already aware of your company.
It’s also budget you save up from ads every month:
Over time, SEO becomes cheaper as you get better organic traffic. Different from paid traffic, which is stays expensive over time and dependent on the ad platform. (If tomorrow, Google raises their ad cost, your hands are tied in a more pricey digital marketing budget). The choice of paid ads will be addressed in the next paragraph.
SEO will give you the best donors/volunteers because people really want you.
SEO is also a big credibility plus, so important for donors, even more for corporate donors. Think of how your key potential partners will find if they want to support a specific cause: Google search will be their go to.
How much is SEO for NGOs ?
SEO costs typically range from $500 to $5,000 per month, depending on the size of the NGO. Prices tend to decrease significantly within 6 months to a year.
For example, with a $26,000 budget, SEO costs can range between $650 and $2,000 per month, though this is highly influenced by the competitiveness of the industry (leading to approximately $5000 over a year).
Cost Breakdown:
- SEO Software: Keyword rank tracking tools cost between $100 and $200 per month.
- SEO Consultant Fees: Consultants often start with an SEO audit, which can cost between $500 and $1,500. Monthly retainers typically fall between $500 and $2,000.(with a decrease overtime)
A consultant’s work usually involves tasks like article optimization, technical website improvements, and finding the best links for you.
Example of SEO for a women empowerment non-profit
For SEO, focus on giving the best value to your target persona. Donors need more than just a feel-good reason to contribute. They should be profoundly impacted by how your articles are structured.
For example, several NGOs have successfully used SEO in this approach:
Paid Advertising: Maximizing Impact very quickly for non-profits. (12 000)
What are the annual costs of digital ads for non-profit ?
Ad campaigns operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) bidding system. For NGOs, bids tend to remain on the lower end but can still be relatively expensive given the budget constraints.
For a benchmark budget of $26,000, monthly ad spend typically ranges from $300 to $2,000 for small to medium-sized NGOs, averaging $12,000 annually.
Cost Breakdown:
- Reach and Frequency: Typically $300–$1,000 per month.
- Facebook Ads CPC: Approximately $1.35 per click.
- Instagram Ads CPC: Ranges from $0.20 to $2 per click.
- LinkedIn Ads CPC: Generally higher, with a median of $5.26 per click.
Agencies often charge $600–$1,000 per month for managing PPC campaigns. This fee typically includes complex graphic design and copywriting tailored for ads.
Benefits of paid advertising for non-profit
In 2023, nonprofits have seen reduced organic reach on social media as big tech deprioritized their content. As a result, 53% of nonprofits now invest heavily in social media ads.
With paid ads, nonprofits can target specific demographics and interests, reaching audiences that resonate with their mission. This approach quickly raises awareness, allows for testing different offers, and provides performance tracking.
While organic strategies like SEO, social media, or email marketing take time to build but are more cost-effective in the long run, paid advertising offers immediate access to the right audience.
Which platform is the best for NGO digital advertising ?
Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram): the quickest and most efficient way to put yourself in front of the right donors
Most donors are on Facebook and Instagram. Beyond Facebook’s nonprofit-friendly features, you can pay to target the right audience directly.
It’s crucial to put your organization in front of people ready to give. Even if it means paying for ads.
Facebook ads are ideal for reaching volunteers and older donors, and are more affordable than Google Ads. They also offer detailed analytics, helping you identify which words and designs perform best. Each positive data point can be reused across your marketing efforts or in your next top-performing ad.
Facebook ads allow for personalized objectives. Whether inviting people to a fundraising event or encouraging them to read your mission. The CTA can direct them to a specific landing page, like a donation page, without unnecessary friction from redirecting to your homepage.
Retargeting keeps existing donors engaged and in your pipeline.
Google Ads: SEO with quicker results but less credibility
Same advantages as SEO, but with PPC, you have to pay for bids.
Google Ads might be less effective for nonprofits, as potential donors could perceive them as spammy. Some particular cases can still make great use of Google Ads.
There are three types of Google Ads:
Search Ads: Appear at the top of search results.
Display Ads: Appear on websites across the web. It can be useful for NGOs closely related to another website.
Shopping Ads: Suitable for NGOs promoting ethical products.
For example, bidding on the search term “climate NGO” can cost between €1.42 and €3.87 per click, which equals $1.56 to $4.25.
CRO : The most underrated way to retain website visitors
Benefits of CRO for non-profit
Ok, you have used all the previous organic and paid strategies and donors are now on your website. Congratulations !
Example of a great CRO strategy: Oxfam
By A/B testing their CTA (Call to Action), Oxfam tested different ways to ask people to take action, and the version they chose made more people click on “Donate.”
Oxfam presents visitors with a simple choice using three clear options, placed prominently at the top of the homepage. The “Donate” button is highlighted in orange, encouraging more people to take action.
Conclusion: measure and analyze to assure digital marketing success
You get the gist. While nonprofits are managed differently, they need to measure their marketing efforts like a business.
To succeed, nonprofits must adopt an experimentation mindset, stay closely connected with their digital marketing teams, and prioritize analytics.
Use tools and metrics that suit your needs, such as TOC (Theory of Change) and LTV (Lifetime Value). Regularly analyze and optimize your campaigns to improve results.
I’m Blaise Calinaud, SEO Manager for purpose-driven businesses and NGOs. Thank you for reading.
calinaudblaise@gmail.com
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Copyright © 2024 Blaise Calinaud.
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