Dana Snyder’s three-step strategy:
1) Set up your Facebook for success
When running a lead generation campaign, your goal is to generate email leads, so the “Leads” objective and “Instant Forms” placement should be selected in Facebook Ads Manager. Instant Forms keep people on Facebook to fill out the form to download your free resource, ultimately lowering your costs per lead.
Snyder also recommends another tool called Zapier that can be connected to your Facebook account (and nonprofit tools like Constant Contact) to automate adding new leads to your email list instead of uploading them manually.
Ads getting rejected? If your ads are getting rejected by Meta, it could be because they are related to political messaging – especially if it’s an election year. You can go through a couple of extra steps to be marked as a special ad category, and then you will be able to run your ads, even if your mission has political ties.
2) Choose or create a lead magnet
Snyder specializes in helping fundraisers create simple, yet effective Facebook ads that provide free resources in exchange for their email addresses. For example, a soup kitchen might share a recipe, cookbook, or list of local shelters. These free resources are so effective in piquing the interest of potential supporters that they are often called “lead magnets.”
When creating an effective lead magnet, Snyder recommended making it timely, relevant, and high value to the target audience. Think about what new supporters should know about your mission before getting involved or what they might be surprised to find out. What solutions can you offer to their problems? How can you spread awareness together?
Lead magnet examples:
- A collection of authentic recipes
- A list of local opportunities
- Things you wish you knew sooner
If you already have this kind of content on your website – like a helpful blog article or guide – you can repurpose it into a lead magnet. And if you don’t, no worries – you have plenty of stories to tell about your mission, you just need to get them “on paper”!
3) Discover what makes a good ad
When creating your Facebook ad, you will have the option to accompany it with a graphic or video. So, think about who you want to take action, and attract them with these tips:
- Spark feelings about your shared values.
- Write a hook to get the reader to stop scrolling.
- Consider keywords that they may be looking for, specifically.
- Give your solution to the problem, with actionable steps.
- Write in “hope-based staccato” as Snyder calls it.
Ad copy
With her clients, Snyder saw that the best-performing ads are easy to read, with big text, short hooks, and limited visuals. Try to avoid long sentences, “walls of text,” and busy images that distract from your ad copy. Many of her clients saw more success with ads that were text-only (compared to text with a visual).
Ad testing
Ad testing allows nonprofits to learn what resonates best with their ideal donors, and then replicate their highest-performing ads for greater success. Snyder’s clients often run two ads concurrently to test out two different ideas (like one design vs. another, or one lead magnet vs. another), seeing which one results in more leads after 1-2 weeks. One client duplicated a top-performing ad to acquire 800 additional emails!
Ad graphics
There’s no need for a graphic design degree or expensive tools. Snyder’s research shows that detailed imagery is often scrolled past, so it’s best to stick to the basics! Many fundraisers use Canva to create their ads, a free tool that allows you to make a custom graphic in seconds. You can even import your nonprofit logo and lean on their catalog of free graphics and stock images to accompany your text.
A growing email list allows nonprofits to connect with more donors and supporters over time. By leveraging this proven framework, nonprofits can rapidly grow their email lists with targeted Facebook ads. For more help sustaining the advancement you work so hard to achieve at your nonprofit, check out our Guided Growth Plan, a compilation of free resources and strategies to help your organization reach its goals.
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