Submitted by Ghazal — Sept. 9, 2011
This summer while attending the Bridge Conference (a conference focused on integrated marketing) I was trying to connect the lessons and trends back to our technology. While attending sessions in both the online and integrated marketing communications tracks, I couldn’t help but keep thinking to myself that really everything at the end of the day boils down to one thing: DATA. Perhaps part of it has to do with the fact that I am bit of a data geek, and as a former fundraiser, I was always trying to segment my list better so that I could graduate my donors from one level to the next. At the Bridge Conference when the speakers would talk about multi-channel fundraising or social networks or the importance of online etiquette, really the underlying message for me was two-fold: 1) understanding and segmenting your current list; and 2) how to track and segment new supporters given the evolving trends in multi-channel marketing.
So keeping data in mind, here are the top Five messages I heard at Bridge that I hope can help you with your online strategy:
1) Profiling is key to targeting and hence the *channel*: creating supporter profiles will help you target different audiences in different channels more effectively. For example, your fundraising email list versus your Facebook page versus your direct mail—three different channels translates to three different communication tactics.
2) Social Networks require their own list growth strategy: email open rates are on the decline, according to Pew, 61% of adult users are social network users, an increase of 9X since 2005. This means organizations have to think about not only growing their presence in relevant social networks, but they also have to think about growing their “lists” in these environments—much like you think about growing your email list. Roz Lemieux argued that where we are with social networks today is where we were with email in 1999.
3) Email appeals are not dead: although according to M&R Strategies, email open rates declined by over 48% between 2005 and 2009, it does not mean the email channel should be ignored. What it does mean is that you have to get more creative with your emails and that begins with understanding your audience. What no longer works is the same email blast with the same ask to your entire list. Email thoughtfully (check out BuzzMaven’s e-mail marketing check-list on how to write effective emails). Start with segmenting your database, and then create conditional copy to match your supporters profiles, and always test your different segments with different content (such as subject lines or even the content and ask within the email itself) and measure the response.
4) Tracking is key to understanding how your channels are working for you: social media experts say “you must measure, listen, and adapt”. If you are not measuring what is working via unique tracking links for your petitions and fundraising pages or using Google analytics, you are not listening to what is working for you and what is working against you. It is only when you track and measure that you can adapt your appeals to your different audiences in different channels. Remember its important to connect and communicate with your supporters based on what you know about them.
5) And last but not least, build your donor community by adapting “customer service” manners that a) effectively illustrate to your donors where their money is going (most donors have no idea where their money goes most of the time); b) make your donor feel appreciated (check out donorschoose.org for some great examples of making donors feel special); and c)remember most donors stop giving because of how they are treated by a charity. Customer service for non-profits is the extension of your organization to donors. How your supporters experience you is at the heart of this interaction and key to building a strong and loyal donor community.
For help on how you can use the Engaging Networks platform to help you achieve you online goals, feel free to contact us.
