How Does Social Media Help Encourage Blood Donations?

Feb 27

According to a recent study by America’s Blood Centers and ADRP, blood donations dropped quite a bit in the period between 2019 and 2021. This was particularly true for younger donors, with donations from 16-18-year olds dropping by 61% and donations from donors under 25 dropping by 32%.

There’s no single solution to the blood supply shortage. But if you’re struggling to recruit new donors, social media may be a great solution. With the right approach, social media helps blood centers overcome many of the common roadblocks to donor recruitment. Read on, and see how the right social strategy can encourage more blood donations for your organization.

You Can Meet Potential Donors Where They Are – On Their Social Feeds

The average person spends about 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media per day. And when it comes to Gen Z and millennials, the number is even higher. People from these generations spend an average of nearly three hours per day on social media apps and sites.

What does that mean? It means that social media has huge potential when it comes to recruiting blood donors. With the right social media marketing strategy, you can target a huge population of potential donors where they already are – directly on their social media feeds.

Build An Active Community and Enjoy More Organic Engagement

The best part of social media is that it's… social! With websites like Facebook and Instagram, you can build a real community of like-minded donors and keep them engaged with your mission, even after they’ve donated blood.

Engaged donors who follow you on social media are more likely to make repeat donations, which is always a good thing! There are tons of ways that you can engage with your community on social media:

Educational videos about blood donation
Interviews with donors
Testimonials from blood recipients
Giveaways and sweepstakes
Blood drive location announcements

The more active you are on social media, the bigger your community will become. That’s why it’s so important to post frequently on websites like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. And following social media best practices will help your organic social efforts become even more effective.

Expand Your Donor Community with Paid Social Ads

Lots of blood centers use Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms to post organic content. And that’s a good thing! But don’t forget about paid ads. Paid social ads are highly effective at reaching potential blood donors. Since we spend so much time on social media, paid ads are extremely effective at reaching new donors. 78% of Gen Z and 61% of millennials report discovering new brands through social media – which means this is a highly effective way to reach new donors.

Also, most social platforms operate on a pay-per-click (PPC) model, which means you’ll only pay for an ad when someone clicks on it. Social media platforms like Facebook also have powerful tools to target specific demographics by age, income level, education, and more.

This means that paid social ads are also surprisingly budget-friendly. Since you only pay when someone clicks, you can reduce up-front advertising costs – and you can make sure you only serve your ads to your preferred target audience, which makes your advertising efforts much more efficient.

Easily Share Stories from Past Blood Donors

At its core, blood donation is always about helping people who are in need. And social media provides a great way to show real stories of the people affected by blood donations. Whether it’s someone who donated blood or a recipient, social media is a fantastic way to share their stories.

These kinds of stories can easily be turned into text posts, multimedia ads, or short video ads. Video is an especially great option in the modern world of social media. That’s because social video platforms like TikTok and YouTube have overtaken more “traditional” social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) when it comes to total average daily usage.

Utilize Influencer Partnerships to Reach Your Audience Effectively

Authenticity is important to social media users, especially younger people. According to a study by Ernst & Young, 92% of Gen Z said that being “authentic and true to oneself” was “very or extremely important.” If your blood drive marketing comes off as inauthentic, it may not be very effective, especially among the younger generation.

That’s where influencer partnerships can help. Influencer marketing shows up in social feeds more organically. And while sponsored content is still a type of ad, it’s less obtrusive, more authentic, and tends to feel more relatable compared to paid ads. In turn, this helps drive more engagement. According to one study, influencer partnerships were up to 11x more effective than banner ads alone.

Another great thing about partnering with influencers is that it helps you target specific demographics more easily. For example, if you wanted to boost your donation numbers on college campuses, you could reach out to influencers who attend specific schools – and work with them to create sponsored content and posts that will be displayed directly to your target audience.

Partner With Incept Health to Transform Your Blood Donation Marketing Strategy

At Incept Health, working with blood donation organizations is our specialty. If you’re having trouble reaching the right audience, we’re here to help. Contact us today to learn more, and see how you can transform your strategy with the right digital marketing and social media marketing solutions.

Amanda Cowgill