How small charities can use size to their advantage

Your charity can likely feel like a small fish in a big pond. To put it into perspective, there are over 180,000 registered charities in the UK alone, with the majority relying on donations. Small charities have a lot of competition – particularly against big charities that have resources, large teams, and a marketing budget.

But small charities can use size to their advantage when it comes to digital marketing. Unlike certain obstacles – such as budget and connections – small charities can create digital marketing ideas and tactics to rival big charities.

1. Research

In response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook was made to become more transparent. Small charities can utilise this to discover what advertisements bigger charities use – because the information is now public – to determine a potential target audience. The demographic a large charity wants to appeal to will be the same as a smaller one.

2. Facebook fundraiser

Big charities have big campaigns that require meticulous planning, a creative team, and a budget. However, Facebook Fundraisers can be just as successful to raise funds. Small charities can use this feature quickly and cost-effectively.

3. Online presence

Does your charity come up in a Google search?

Your charity’s online presence is crucial for success because most people will want to research a cause before donating to it. To drive traffic to your website, create content that is useful and collaborate with others. For example, charities or companies you work with are likely to share the content on their platforms with their followers. This will create backlinks and exposure to your website.

5. Transparency

Building trust and relationships is an area where small charities can excel over larger ones. Small charities should share with followers and donators exactly where the money goes and the difference it makes. Unlike bigger charities, small charities will have less direct messages and comments to respond to, so every online interaction should be answered.