Following a successful trial in the USA, Instagram has rolled out a new charity donation sticker which UK users of the social media platform can add to their Instagram Stories.

The electronic sticker acts like a ‘donate’ button, directing people to donate to a charity or non-profit of the Instagram user’s choice. UK charities can register to be added to the list of organisations that Instagram donors choose from. 100% of the donation goes to the organisation.

This new sticker has been available to Instagram users in the USA since April 2019, and has proved popular with VCSE organisations of all sizes as a way to enhance their own Instagram Stories, harness celebrity ambassadors, and encourage their followers to fundraise.

A new Instagram campaign, launched to promote the donation stickers, features The Brain Tumour Charity, CoppaFeel and Mind. 24 million British people have an Instagram account, so there is plenty of potential for local, regional and national charities to get involved in this kind of marketing strategy.

When creating their Instagram Story (a cluster of photos and videos that will disappear in 24 hours), users can customise the ‘call to action’ text asking people to donate – for example, ‘Help support Voscur’, ‘Donate to Voscur’ or ‘Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday’. Subtext beneath the message explains which organisation receives the money. Users can also choose the colour of the button, helping it fit into their story.

They can then monitor which users have donated and clicked, by swiping right on the story when it’s live. Click here for a more in-depth guide to adding the donation sticker.

Embedding donation functions in social media accounts isn’t a new approach; Facebook, which owns Instagram, has been particularly successful with its Charitable Giving tool, launched in the UK in September 2017.

To register as a charity for Instagram, you must:

• Have an Instagram business profile (if you have set up a personal profile instead, you can convert it).
• Link your organisation’s Instagram business profile to your organisation’s Facebook page.
• Sign up for Facebook Charitable Giving Tools and Facebook Payments.

If you’re keen to learn more about marketing, and how to create a marketing campaign, register now for Voscur’s half-day Marketing and Campaigns training course, held on Thursday 12 September 2019.