There’s no denying the power of social media, and you’re likely already harnessing its incredible influence in order to spread the word about your crowdfunding campaign. But, did you know that now you can give your Facebook page some added oomph? Facebook recently rolled out a new feature that makes garnering donations even easier!
Nonprofits can now install a “Donate Now” button at the top of their Facebook page. Instead of forcing users to wade through the clutter and hunt for donation information, this well-placed call to action cuts out the confusion and leads them directly where you want them.
Granted, this functionality isn’t completely new to Facebook. Late in 2013, they partnered with a few different businesses to roll out the feature on select nonprofit pages. These chosen organizations, such as the American Cancer Society and American Red Cross, still boast the feature today—with the added benefit of allowing users to enter their credit card information and donate directly from Facebook.
While the social media giant is now introducing this handy button to all non-profits, the integration isn’t quite as seamless. Instead, when users click “Donate Now” on a non-partner’s page, they’ll be taken to the organization’s external website—rather than donating directly through Facebook.
I can only assume that the platform is attempting to remove itself from the equation and prevent involvement in any legal tangles that could arise from controversial or non-legitimate uses of the feature. So, they’ve also added an alert notifying users that Facebook is not affiliated with or endorsing the particular organization.
Once accepting that statement, the non-profit’s external website opens in a new browser tab, where users can donate directly on the site. Sure, the process is a little more cumbersome. But, this built-in call to action is a great feature nonetheless!
Using the Feature with CauseVox
Your Facebook audience is already engaged with your mission, so pushing them over to your donations page is a no-brainer!
Want to use the button to drive traffic to your CauseVox campaign page? The two go together like peanut butter and jelly, and getting started is easy! Follow these four simple steps to get the button up and running now.
1. Log into your Facebook page.
Note: In order to utilize the “Donate Now” button, your page must be categorized as a “Non-Profit Organization”. Visit your “About” page to edit this category if necessary.
2. View your page, and click the button that says “Create Call to Action”.
3. From the dropdown menu within the Call to Action menu, select “Donate Now”.
4. Enter your CauseVox page URL into the website field and click “Create”.
Simple, right? When your page visitors click the “Donate Now” button, they’ll be brought directly to your CauseVox page.
Say goodbye to the days of crossing your fingers and hoping that users manage to find and click the website link in your description box. This effective and user-friendly call to action is sure increase awareness and—even better—up your donations!
Photograph by Marco Paköeningrat
