How Do The Costs of Traditional Marketing For Blood Donor Recruitment Compare to Social Media?

Is your blood center still mostly relying on flyers, TV commercials, radio segments, or printed ads to drive blood donor recruitment? You may be overspending without getting the results you need for a sustainable donor base.

At Incept Health, digital marketing is our specialty. And while traditional advertising channels still have their place, incorporating digital marketing into your multi-channel approach often offers better outcomes – particularly for organizations with a limited marketing budget. So, how do the costs (and results) of traditional recruitment stack up with a digital-focused approach? Let’s find out together. 

Digital Marketing Demolishes Traditional Marketing in Costs Per Impression (CPM)

CPM is short for Costs Per Impression, which measures how many dollars you must spend to get your ads in front of 1000 people. When it comes to CPM and overall cost-effectiveness, digital media blows traditional media out of the water. Here’s a quick overview of how much it costs to reach 1000 people using a variety of different methods, based on this study:

• Direct mail – $57

• TV – $28

• Magazines and newspaper ads – $16

• Radio – $10

• Billboards – $5

• Social media – $2.50

This is a pretty dramatic difference. Let’s put things into perspective. Let’s say you pay $570 to run a direct mail campaign that reaches a total of 10,000 potential donors. If you chose to run a social media campaign with the same budget of $570, you could reach 228,000 potential donors. That’s a 2280% increase in overall marketing reach compared to direct mail. 

Obviously, the actual costs of traditional media vs. a digital approach will vary based on your location and a variety of other factors. But no matter the specifics, it’s generally true that a digital-first approach is a much more affordable way to reach more potential donors.

Costs Aren’t Just Lower – Engagement and Conversions Are Higher, Too

As we’ve outlined above, it typically costs less to pursue a social media and digital-first approach. But that’s not the only benefit of choosing digital media over more traditional marketing channels. Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing also drives much higher conversion rates and more user engagement.

In other words, potential donors who see your digital ads are more likely to “convert” and join your mailing list, follow you on social media, or even set up a blood donation appointment. According to one study, social media posts have a conversion rate of 2.4%, while direct mail has a conversion rate of less than 0.1%, and outdoor advertising (billboards) has a conversion rate of 0.4%. So by investing in a digital-first approach, you won’t just save big on actual advertising costs – you’ll bring in more potential donors, too.

Digital Marketing Also Makes It Easier to Collect Data, Refine Your Approach

This is related to the above point. When it comes to traditional marketing channels like radio, TV, and billboards, it can be really difficult to measure the success of your marketing materials. How do you know if your ads are actually working? Sure, you can ask donors to fill out surveys and tell you how they found out about your organization – but that’s about it.

This is not the case for digital media. Whether it’s email newsletters, social media, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads, or anything else, modern digital tools offer lots of ways to track the success of your ads, including total impressions, conversion rate, open rate, and so much more.

By tracking and analyzing this data, you can develop a better understanding of which ads, platforms, and campaigns are bringing in the most donors – and which ones may need to be refined for better results. In turn, this allows you to refine your approach further and develop more effective ads and marketing campaigns in the future.

WE DO DIGITAL – WORK WITH INCEPT HEALTH TO BUILD YOUR DONOR BASE WITHOUT OVERSPENDING

At Incept Health, we focus on a multi-channel approach to ensure your blood donation marketing is effective. If you want to get more donors while keeping your marketing budget in check, our team is here to help. 

Our data-driven, donor-centric approach will help you promote your brand, bring in more donors, and provide sustainable growth for your blood center. Want to learn more? Get in touch with us today to schedule a consultation and see how we can help your organization.