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The best approach to fundraising is a multichannel one. You want donors to hear from you both online and offline, and to be able to donate in any way they wish. After all, donors who give through more than one channel are three times more valuable than those who only give through one, and multichannel donors are 56% more likely to be retained.
Yet while multichannel fundraising is widely accepted as best practice, the reality is it can be tricky to implement. Many times, online and offline fundraising is handled by separate departments with little integration. This makes it especially difficult to plan and coordinate efforts.
The best approach to fundraising is to put together a strategy that encompasses both on- and offline efforts. Then, consider how these messages can be timed and coordinated to be most effective. For example, you may want to send a follow-up email the day after you expect your fundraising letter to arrive in donors’ mailboxes.
Alternating between mail and online is often the most impactful strategy, as each channel has its own strengths and weaknesses. An effective multichannel fundraising strategy leverages the strengths of each to combat the weaknesses of the other tactics. It’s a win-win!
However, it’s important that your messaging should be consistent across any channels you use. That doesn’t mean it needs to be identical, as what works in direct mail may not work online, and vice versa. But you should speak with a single, unified voice across several communication channels and maintain consistent branding as well.
Overall, you should avoid thinking of donors as “online donors” or “offline donors.” Donors are donors, and they should receive communication across multiple channels, regardless of which method they use to donate.
Create Video Case Studies
There is a reason why YouTube is the second biggest search engine in the world. People love digesting video content. In fact, a study by Cisco suggests that by 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic, which is 15 times higher than it was in 2017. Furthermore, 87% of marketers said video had increased traffic to their website.
It is important to show potential donors the work you are doing and how their donations are helping make a difference in the world. By creating video case studies of the work your charity does, you can engage and educate your audience in the way that they want to digest content.
Publish Podcast Interviews
Although not a new concept, podcasting has grown massively in popularity in the last few years. Some surveys show that a huge 37% of the population listen to at least one podcast each month.
The passive listening nature of podcasts is an excellent way to reach donors in a non-evasive way. Recording interviews with various members of the charity, those you have helped and even inviting donors to tell their story will help you build personal connections with listeners.
One final, huge benefit of creating a podcast for your charity is the ability to do this whilst working remotely. This allows you to create highly engaging marketing materials whilst working from home.
Set SMART Goals
It’s impossible to measure your progress if you aren’t clear on what you are working towards. Although the vision for your charity may be inspirational in nature, it is important to put in place achievable and measurable goals to ensure you keep moving towards achieving that vision.
The SMART goal setting system is a great way to ensure your goals are written in a way that they can be checked off. SMART stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
If any of these aspects are missing from your nonprofit’s marketing goals, they are unlikely to ever be achieved. For example, you may set a specific goal which includes a measurable metric, but if you do not also include a deadline for achieving that metric, how will you know what you are aiming for?
Setting SMART goals is an excellent way to help motivate your team, drive effort and allocate resources in the areas which matter most to your charity.
Follow a Tight SEO Strategy
The benefits of appearing high up on relevant search engine results should need a little explaining. In fact, this study showed that the search result in the #1 position received a huge 31.7% of all clicks and was 10 times more likely to be clicked than the result in the #10 spot.
With more people online during the pandemic, it is now more important than ever to rank highly on search results.
Although there is a vast number of techniques, tactics and technically confusing ways which can be used to boost your rankings, there are a small number of simple, established best practices which can really improve your search engine positions. Some of these include:
- Publishing consistent, relevant content
- Understanding which keywords matter to your charity and targeting them in your content
- Improving your website speed and usability
- Earning backlinks from other quality, relevant websites
Work With Influencers
Admittedly, influencers don’t always carry the best reputation, which may make them seem a little risky when it comes to promoting your charity. But finding the right influencers can be a great way to reach new potential donors and engage them through content that is already proven to work.
When looking for influencers, consider more than just the size of their following. Ask yourself if their content matches or complements your own branding and whether their values are closely aligned with yours.
Develop Donor Profiles
Before you start planning and implementing the tactics we have highlighted in this guide, you must first seek to fully understand those you are trying to reach. Creating customer or buyer personas is already a widely established practice for many businesses. Once created, these profiles help businesses to quickly cross-reference any decision making, including marketing decisions, to ensure they are best suited towards serving their ideal customers. The same theory can be applied to your donors. When creating donor profiles, go as detailed as possible, including information such as their age, gender, location, job role, family and social position, personality types and their motivation behind donating. For a more accurate profile use data you have previously collected on donors and try to find common themes. By creating 2-5 donor profiles you will better understand your donors and how you may serve them.
Nonprofit Marketing Tactics
Regardless of what 2021 brings, developing a strong marketing strategy made up of some, or all, of the marketing tactics we have highlighted in this article will help you reach donors and potential donors in a way which resonates with them and compels them to take action.
