Native advertising is a powerful, mid-funnel tactic for reaching people who are already familiar with a nonprofit’s brand but not quite ready to donate. Native ads guide potential donors to learn more about the nonprofit’s mission. When layered with other channels, native ads can increase donor intent and engagement, making these ads an essential part of a cohesive strategy that moves audiences toward action.
Native ads blend naturally into their surroundings, offering a nonintrusive experience. They can also appear as related content on news sites, video ads in articles, or interactive placements alongside relevant content. Their goal is to guide potential donors to a page where they can learn more about your mission through infographics, articles, or other insights that build trust and connection.
Native ads may not drive huge results on their own, but when layered with other channels, they can increase donor intent and engagement by 18% or more. It’s all about combining the right tactics to create a cohesive, effective strategy.
Native ads offer many benefits to nonprofits, from increased click-through rates (CTRs) and donations to improved brand awareness and trust. Because native ads present your nonprofit in a more natural and authentic way, they’re less distracting for potential donors than other forms of advertising.
TrueSense Marketing worked with a regional food bank on a mission to end hunger. With a grant from a national food bank program, we developed a campaign that used native ads and CTV to educate potential donors about hunger and rally support.
The native ads blended seamlessly into news aggregator websites. When clicked, users were taken to a landing page filled with key statistics on food insecurity and stories about the regional food bank’s work, ending with a soft ask to donate to end hunger in their area. The end results? An impressive 4.53 return on ad spend (ROAS). With the right tools and strategy, even the most challenging missions — such as ending hunger — can see remarkable results.
Display ads — with an obvious appearance and a call to action — are the most common form of digital advertisement. Native ads may perform better, but your overall marketing plan should incorporate both display ads and native ads. Having a varied approach means that there are more ways to get your message to more potential donors, and you’re able to benefit significantly from the strengths of each individual format.
Once your nonprofit has strong data on how each campaign, both display and native, performs, you’ll be able to make informed choices about how to best use your advertising budget based on data analytics. You could double down on the most effective strategy while working to improve others.
Many websites, social media platforms, and other channels offer native advertising options. This includes Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and X. When selecting a platform on which to run native advertising, consider the demographics of the user base, the type of content you want to feature, and the cost of native ad options. In particular, Facebook offers numerous native ad formats that nonprofits can use to fundraise.
There are so many new opportunities for innovative and forward-thinking nonprofits to step up their advertising campaigns. Learn more about new media channels for nonprofits in our Quick Byte webinar How Forward-Thinking Nonprofits Maximize Today’s Newest Media Channels with Taryn Myers, Vice President of Digital Media for TrueSense Marketing; and Melqui Pires, our SEM Manager.