The short answer
Use both, and give each one a job. Facebook brings reach: almost every adult in the UK who goes online uses it, and charities’ audiences there are still the largest. Instagram brings depth: stories, partners and the people who share them. Judge each by its own job, not by the other’s numbers.
Facebook still has the reach
Facebook and Messenger are used by 93% of UK adults online, according to Ofcom’s Online Nation report for 20251. Among the US nonprofits in the M+R Benchmarks, the average Facebook audience in 2025 was 53,000 followers, nearly three times the 18,000 on Instagram2.
But Facebook audiences grew by just 3% in a year2. The reach is there, but it is not growing on its own: paid media does most of the work of putting an appeal in front of new people.
Instagram is where partners and stories travel
In 2025, 58% of the nonprofits in the M+R Benchmarks worked with influencers, and every one of them included Instagram2. In 61% of those partnerships, the content carried a direct fundraising ask2. Instagram is where a charity’s story is told by other people, to audiences the charity could not reach on its own.
Video is no longer optional
YouTube is used by 94% of UK adults online, for an average of 51 minutes a day, not counting the TV set1. Among charities, TikTok audiences grew fastest in 2025, by more than a third, while 74% of the nonprofits in the M+R Benchmarks were on YouTube and 43% on TikTok2. A short film made once can run on all of them.
Who you reach, and who you miss
UK adults spend four and a half hours a day online, and women spend 26 minutes a day longer than men1. Look at who your ads actually reach: if the audience leans towards men, the people spending the most time online may be the ones you are missing. Creative led by women, and stories about women, is the simplest test.
What this means for your appeal
Give each platform a job. Use Facebook to reach, and judge it by cost per gift. Use Instagram to deepen, with partners who can carry your story, and judge it by engagement and new supporters. Make short video once and run it everywhere. Then put the most effort into the moments when supporters are most ready to give. For Ramadan, those are mapped night by night in our Ramadan Digital Fundraising Report 2027.
Sources
- Ofcom (10 December 2025). From apps to AI search: how the UK goes online in 2025. ofcom.org.uk
- M+R Benchmarks 2026, covering 2025: social media and influencers. US nonprofits. mrbenchmarks.com
Checklist
- A job set for each platform
- Facebook judged on reach and cost per gift
- Instagram judged on engagement and new supporters
- Partners or influencers lined up for the big moments
- Short video made once and run everywhere
- A check on who your ads reach, and who they miss
Need a hand?
Post systems, seasonal sets and paid social that make a charity look like one organisation, every day of the year.
Social media content