Why Your Social Media Ads Could Be Underperforming: Tips from a Nonprofit Marketing Agency Serving Phoenix

Has your nonprofit ever run ads on social media that got a good number of clicks, but then got very little response after that? You probably wondered what went wrong.

But let’s start with what you did right. Your nonprofit was able to create a compelling ad that caused people on social media to stop scrolling for a minute and click on it. This likely happened because you targeted the right segment of people, designed an ad that was visually appealing, and crafted copy that hit the mark. Doing all of this is no small feat, so you should give the person or team that was able to accomplish this some serious encouragement!

So, what happened that prevented people from taking further action after they clicked on your ad? The likely culprit could be a poorly thought-out landing page. Once someone clicked on the ad, where did it take them? To your nonprofit’s home page? To a generic donation page? To a page that was hastily thrown together by the same person who designed the ad?

If you’re going to take the time and spend the money on social media ads, it’s crucial that you consider the entire process because getting someone to click on your ad is only the first step. After that first click, you still need to get them to take the action that you ultimately want them to take (sign up for your email list, register for an event, donate, etc.). For this to happen, you need a great landing page in addition to a compelling ad.

We recently spoke to fellow nonprofit marketing expert Caroline Griffin about this topic. See what she had to say about considering the whole “flow” when it comes to social media advertising:

Here are some questions to ask yourself about the landing pages that your social media ads click through to:

Is the Landing Page Well Designed?

A landing page provides your nonprofit with an opportunity to make an impression on someone who is likely a first-time visitor to your website. It needs to be well designed and just as polished as the rest of the pages on your site.

When your website was designed, you likely spent a lot of time considering the design of the home page, knowing that this was the page most visitors would see first. Think of each landing page as a home page. As you design it, consider what a first-time visitor would want to see and how you want to portray your organization to them.

Does the Landing Page Clearly Connect to the Ad?

When someone clicks on an ad, they are indicating that they want to know more about what is presented in the ad. If the ad is asking them to donate to a specific initiative, give them more information about it and tell them why it’s important that they donate to it now. If the ad is offering a resource, describe the resource in greater detail before asking them to provide their email address to receive it. If you want them to register for an event, list all of the reasons why they should.

With the ad, you were able to capture someone’s attention. With the landing page, you need to close the deal. Stay on topic. Build your case. Don’t skimp on details.

Is the Landing Page Optimized for Mobile Devices?

Since the majority of people scroll social media on their phones, you need to make sure that the landing page you design performs well on a phone. If it’s hard to read, visually unappealing, or if some information is cut off, it’s almost a guarantee that no further action will be taken.

Before you launch a landing page, be sure to test it on a smartphone. If you don’t know how to optimize a web page for a smartphone, it is worth it to work with someone who does. A nonprofit marketing agency like Beeline can help.

Is There a Clear Call to Action?

It’s important that your landing page makes it very clear what you want the visitor to do. Not only should the wording on the page be explicit (“donate now,” “sign up for our email list,” “become a volunteer”), but the design of the page should also make it obvious. The call to action should be visually prominent so the visitor doesn’t have to search to find it.

Are You Asking for Too Much Personal Information?

Does your ad offer a free resource, but then when the person goes to collect it, they discover that they have to provide their email address, home address, and phone number?

Asking for too much personal information can be a major turnoff to some people. They are probably willing to provide their email address, but a phone number? Not so much.

If your landing page includes a lengthy form or one that asks for information that most people won’t want to give, this alone could be the reason that your conversion rate is low.

Working with a Nonprofit Marketing Agency in Phoenix for Landing Page Design

There’s a lot that goes into effective landing page design! If you don’t have a marketing team in house that is skilled or knowledgeable in this area, Beeline can help. We have landing page experts on our team who know how to create high-converting pages that bring in the type of results our clients are looking for. Schedule a free consultation with us to learn more about our nonprofit marketing agency and how we can work together to grow your organization.