Reaching Non-Profit Donors with Digital Marketing – Part Two
In our previous post, we talked about non-profit organizations reaching donors through digital marketing strategies such as knowing your target audience, organizing your database with a versatile CRM, having a well designed and optimized website, and email marketing. Here we will discuss reaching out via social media, content and mobile marketing.
Get Social for the “Ripple Effect”
Social media has completely revolutionized both the online and the real world. It’s changed the ways people communicate, network, and share their lives with those around them. In many ways, social media is a great equalizer – allowing organizations that previously could not participate in such a large forum due to lack of influence or resources to have a voice. Because social media can provide very targeted messaging, depending on what type of audience you are trying to reach, finding donors via social media is by far the most potent tool non-profits can employ in their digital marketing plan.
Here are the social media sites where your non-profit will need to focus its efforts:
Facebook: Most people check their Facebook more often than their email. To make the most of your non-profit’s Facebook page, you must have an attractive cover page, post relevant, interesting, and timely content (pictures and videos will get you the most engagement) and actively review your Facebook analytics. Find out which pages your donor base (and people like them) like and comment on those pages, inviting others to like your page. For every action there’s a reaction, and the same rule applies to social media.
Twitter: By far the easiest social media platform to use, Twitter can instantly provide new advocates when people follow you, retweet you, and mention you in one of their tweets. Follow as many complementary organizations, charities, and individuals that represent potential donors or can help get your message out. For greatest exposure, tweet several times a day, at least, and don’t forget to look at your metrics.
YouTube: It’s no surprise that people are addicted to YouTube. More than half of all people are visual learners, and video is the best medium to educate in a dynamic way what your non-profit is all about. Plan on posting videos at least once a week, and subscribe to channels that could benefit your non-profit through their own spheres of influence. Videos should be short, well produced, and have a call to action that inspires involvement and advocacy.
Content Marketing is the Engine That Drives SEO
While social media takes the spotlight in most digital marketing efforts, content marketing is just as important. Your website should ideally have an easy to use content management system (CMS) that also includes a blog. Organizations that blog several times a week have over 50% more web traffic than sites with static content. Creating an editorial calendar will streamline your blog writing and keep ideas and themes you want to communicate front of mind for your readers. An RSS feed and share buttons allow visitors to subscribe to and forward your blog via social media and email, and comments provide the venue for conversation. If you are using WordPress, available plugins can simplify all these functions with ease. Write a personal blog, or guest blog on another non-profit’s site to provide more inbound links to your website. Press releases and articles can also create awareness as part of your overall content marketing.
Mobile Makes the World Go ‘Round
A part of your opt-in strategy, be sure to capture mobile phone numbers of your supporters as well. Text marketing has an open rate of 95%, so you can be almost assured that your message will get read. With text marketing, you can easily ask for small monetary donations of $5 or $10, which makes giving incredibly easy for the text recipient. Donors simply text a chosen word back and confirm their donation, which is added to their monthly phone bill. Texts should be short and have a specific call to action.
All these crucial elements of digital marketing will help your non-profit not only reach the donors to keep your organization running, but more importantly, provides a way to communicate the importance of the work you do as a catalyst for change.
