|
"You've got to have a Web site that's functional, that is really optimized so an individual can easily donate online, easily sign up to hear from you online," Rardin said, “because the whole point of all this other online outreach and promotion and connecting on Facebook and what not, the goal of all that is get people to come back to your Web site to do whatever it is you want them to do — whether it's take action, sign a petition or make a donation."
Define your online strategy with the following steps:
1. Define your goals.
A possible goal could be to get, say, 2 percent of funds from online sources by the end of next year. "That's a nice, concrete, very measurable goal," Rardin said. Other goals could be to raise awareness of the organization and an understanding of what it does, to drive traffic to a specific advocacy page, or list growth — all of which should be done in an effort to grow donations down the road.
2. Identify tactics.
Rardin suggested organizations invest in a branded donation page that is user friendly and doesn't treat donors like shopping carts. Key elements of a donation page are branding and customization; support for recurring and anonymous donations; automatic tax receipts; tell-a-friend and e-mail sign up; tributes and program designations; and thank-you gifts and premiums.
Other tactics he suggested are:
- search engine marketing, which can be used to drive traffic to a Web site donation page or for branding;
- e-mail list growth services, which can help an organization identify donor leads, are great for engaging an audience and help with branding;
- e-mail marketing (list purchase/rental), which can be used to drive traffic to your site where contact information can be captured and for further branding;
- display advertising, which is often eye-catching and good for branding; and
- social-network outreach, which is mostly about branding and building community.
Have a plan for measuring and evaluating each of the tactics you implement before starting, and count staff time when calculating costs. Below is an example of an online strategy with a goal and tactics that can be measured and tracked:
Goal: Raise money.
Tactic 1: Grow e-mail list externally, then ask for donations
Measurement: Cost of list growth/donations received. Look back over last six months and then again in 12 months.
Tactic 2: Outreach on Facebook using Causes, then ask for donations
Measurement: Staff time invested growing and engaging community/donations received on via Facebook or through Web site
Tactic 3: Twitter campaign to get traffic to donation page on site
Measurement: Staff time growing and engaging followers/donations received on Web site
4. Assess tactics.
Assess those tactics showing the greatest return, including less tangible values like engagement, branding, etc., and refine how you use them while testing new tactics.
Some ways to measure success include looking at:
- number of donor leads
- number of actions
- number of new e-mail subscribers
- clicks to site (but at what cost?)
- cost per donor; action; subscriber; click
"Finding donors and raising money online is more important than ever," Rardin said. "A thoughtful strategy will vastly help improve your chances of success in online outreach.
“You don't have to be everywhere,” he said. “Just start where your current donors are, and that may mean your e-mail list and that may mean coming to your Web site. You don't have to be on HighFive and Bebo and Twitter and Facebook and Friendster and Flickr and everything else. Just find out where your people are and how to connect to them from where they are to being on your e-mail list and donating on your Web site."
Learn more about upcoming Network for Good webinars.
Page 1 | 2
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
Hitting the Email Inbox
Hitting the Email Inbox
