Insta-Advocacy: The Top 10 Nonprofit Instagram Accounts and Their Statistics
Nonprofit organisations like WHO, UNICEF, and TED are leveraging Instagram to amplify their messages, engage followers, and garner support.
Our research from May 16 to June 13, 2024, focuses on the follower counts, funding, content strategies, and engagement metrics of the 10 most popular nonprofit Instagram accounts.
WHO's Leading the Pack? Unveiling the Top 10 Nonprofits on Instagram
Leading the pack is the World Health Organization (WHO), with a staggering 12 million followers.
They are closely followed by UNICEF and the United Nations, boasting 11.6 and 8 million followers respectively. TED, known for its thought-provoking talks, stands strong with 7.5 million followers.
Here are the rest of the top nonprofit Instagram accounts:
National Public Radio (NPR): 6.7 million
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): 5.8 million
World Economic Forum (WEF): 4.8 million
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met): 4.4 million
Greenpeace: 3.9 million
World Wildlife Fund (WWF): 2.6 million
In a recent Instagram video, the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborated with the K-Pop idol group Big Ocean to address the top five questions for people with hearing loss.
This engaging nonprofit video features Big Ocean members (Chanyeon, Hyunjin, and Jiseok), all of whom have hearing loss, sharing their experiences and answering important questions.
One comment captures the inspirational impact of the video:
"Big Ocean are an inspiration to everyone out there to keep chasing your dreams no matter what!"
Content Anatomy: Exploring Nonprofits' Preferred Post Types on Instagram
The overall trend leans heavily towards video posts, averaging around 56%, with photos and carousel posts contributing 22%.
Interestingly, this is a significant shift from the last time we did this blog, when picture posts dominated at 95%, with video posts making up only 5%. Nonprofits on Instagram appear to have switched in unison from pictures and carousels to nonprofit video content over the last 12 months.
The WEF and WWF lead this trend with an overwhelming focus on videos, both having over 92% of their content composed of videos.
One example would be from the WWF's recent Instagram video, which has garnered over 10,000 likes, highlighting the escalating climate crisis through the lens of marine heatwaves. The nonprofit explainer illustrates the record-breaking rise in sea temperatures, emphasising the severe impact of hotter water on marine life.
Another example is from The WEF’s Instagram post showcasing a fashion show in Chile created entirely from a massive clothing dump. The post, which garnered nearly 30,000 likes, emphasises the urgent need for a systemic rethink of production and consumption patterns to address the fashion industry's environmental impact.
By the Numbers: Averages of Posts, Likes, and Comments for Top Nonprofits
At the bottom of the list is Greenpeace, with an average of 0.4 posts per day, while NPR is the most active, with 6 posts per day.
NPR's high posting activity is reflective of its role as a national broadcaster. Just as it continuously produces content for the radio, NPR also maintains a high level of content output on Instagram.
Interestingly, the Museum of Modern Art and The Met, both cultural institutions, share a similar posting frequency of 1 post per day.
One example from The Met is a recently posted video on Instagram, which has received over 32,000 likes. The video offers a behind-the-scenes look at the dramatic repair of an important Renaissance sculpture that fell and shattered into dozens of pieces.
Titled "What happens when the unbreakable shatters?", the video is part of The Met's Immaterial podcast series.
The average number of likes per post among these organisations is approximately 22,000. However, this average is surpassed by several organisations.
NPR: Leading with an impressive 98,000 likes per post
UNICEF: Follows with an average of 55,000 likes per post
WHO: Among the lowest with 2,900 likes per post
WWF: Also among the lowest with 1,600 likes per post
A recent Instagram post by NPR News, in collaboration with MPR (Minnesota Public Radio), has garnered significant attention with 73,000 likes.
The post highlights a newspaper run by inmates in a Minnesota prison, which has been publishing since 1887. The newspaper covers prison life and provides a sense of purpose and empowerment for its writers, making it one of about two dozen similar publications nationwide.
The average comments per post across these organisations stands around 657. NPR shows significantly higher engagement with an average of 3970 comments per post, indicating a strong connection with their audience.
The UN and UNICEF also see higher-than-average comments, with around 1,000 and 880 comments per post respectively.
WWF has the lowest number of comments per post at just 9. It’s surprising that the WWF gets so little engagement, despite the broad appeal of its environmental posts.
NPR recently posted a nonprofit infographic on Instagram, which has garnered over 800 comments. The infographic explains that post-COVID-19, home prices have soared, reaching a new all-time high this year. The median home price is now about five times the median household income, a significant increase from the historical ratio of three times.
One user shared their insights on this issue:
“Thanks to venture capitalists buying up all the homes they can!”
Now, let's look at the nonprofit's followers-to-following ratio on IG...
On average, these organisations follow one account for every 25,000 that follow them.
For instance, the WHO has a ratio exceeding 97,000, indicating a vast number of followers compared to those they follow.
On the flip side, Greenpeace follows a significant number of accounts, with a ratio around 4,000. This raises an interesting question: Is this a deliberate tactic to gain more followers in return?
Followers & Funding: Is There a Connection?
While WHO has the lead on followers, UNICEF leads in funding with over $10 billion.
This suggests that a higher number of followers doesn't always correlate exactly with more funding.
Other organisations like WWF, Greenpeace, The Met, WEF, MoMA, and NPR have similar funding levels, regardless of their social media reach.
For many of these nonprofits, funding generally precedes social media growth, with more budgets supporting stronger online presence.
A possible exception is TED, where increased social media visibility may directly contribute to its financial growth.
Both TED and NPR are unique on this list as they are major media production nonprofits, unlike the other organisations where media production is secondary to their main mission.
The Met and MoMA also share this focus on media, though to a lesser degree, being primarily arts organisations.
Key Insights from The Best Nonprofits on Instagram
In summary, several key questions arise from our exploration: How does follower count impact real-world advocacy? What content strategies drive the most engagement? Is there a connection between online engagement and funding levels?
While more followers often correlate with higher funding, the relationship is complex.
The metrics show how these organisations engage with their audiences, highlighting variations in likes and comments.
Those inspired by their work should follow these organisations to stay updated.
We’d love to hear from you, especially if you work in nonprofit marketing or communications. What comparisons or trends would you like us to explore next? Share your thoughts and ideas with us!
