Don’t Underestimate the Staff Factor
Do you want to give your nonprofit a presence on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, or some social network combination?
Use a nerdy young intern? Absolutely not, according to nonprofit marketing consultant Michael Puican in this article from the Philanthropy Journal.
Here’s what Michael says you need, human resource-wise, if you’re serious …
- Two hours a day (10 hours a week): Post bulletins on your organization’s sites, visit other sites and respond to postings on other sites.
- Four hours a day (a half-time staff person): Establish a regular blog, become an active voice on the internet about the key issues involving your mission.
- Eight hours a day (a full-time staff person): Now you are social networking. Create thoughtful dialogues about key issues, develop opportunities for volunteers to interact and become involved, lead e-advocacy campaigns, regularly interact with bloggers, thought leaders, media and key organizations.
And those hours need to be devoted by someone who really knows your organization, its mission, voice and culture.
Michael’s numbers are pretty realistic; I know the time we spend on eJewish Philanthropy. Though if you have a medium to high profile organization (even a small one) I think his ten hour a week job is closer to fifteen.
Live Generously; Think Differently
About ten days ago, Seth Cohen, alumnus of the Atlanta ‘07 class of the Wexner Heritage Program and engaged member of the Atlanta Jewish community, shared some thoughts on the UJC’s National Young Leadership Cabinet Retreat that had just concluded. Today, an excerpt from a recent blog post, which (according to Seth) “gives me a channel to be constructive, while also being thoughtfully critical. Hence…
In reaction to our increasingly branded world, I suppose it was inevitable that we would endeavor to brand the combined philanthropic experience and (at least cosmetically) reduce the essence of our efforts to a memorable catch phrase. I realized this yesterday as I was sitting in my law firm’s United Way planning meeting when we were advised to use the United Way slogan “Live United” in our campaign. Of course it got me thinking about our national UJC/Federation branding of “Live Generously” and how that slogan represents the way donors are approached by Federations. And what I think is this –
Catchy, but not convincing.
First of all, although the slogan’s strength comes from its normative message, that message is also its inherent weakness.”
You can read Seth’s complete post, Memo to the (Federation) File: Think Differently, here.
Starting a Facebook Group Is Not a Social Media Strategy
First, a story :
Almost a year ago, I met with representatives from one of Israel’s leading television and media networks, who had the backing of a prominent philanthropist to implement a social media strategy for Israel’s 60th birthday. Someone had recommended that they meet me, and I prepared a comprehensive presentation about what I called “Israel 2.0,” where we would create and implement a strategy that would celebrating Israel’s accomplishments with a diverse, wide-reaching web presence.
Notice I call it a “web presence”; that is because the web is no longer about just creating a website. It is about using the web and all its potential to promote your business, organization, or ideas with the greatest results possible. It is no longer sufficient to depend on your website alone, particularly since
“a recent Universal McCann report stating that content consumption outside of websites has increased 153% in the last 9 months. Overall, 53% of online users are consuming content outside of a publisher’s site - through the use of widgets, RSS readers, social networks and mobile devices” (from ReadWriteWeb).
Anyway, there was one guy in the room listening to my presentation who actually knew some of the terms I was using, like RSS feeds and the like, and I guess this made him feel like a social media expert. So when I finished my presentation, he said “Why do I need all that? I’ll just create a facebook group.”
I made a facebook group; so why am I all alone here? Read more
Can They Hear You?
Can your donors hear you?
If not you might not be speaking their language.
Does your audience respond best to direct mail, do they like email newsletters, do they prefer to donate on facebook, etc., etc.?
Here is my TOP 10 fundraising tests for Jewish non profits to try:
- Test different direct mail lists that match up well with with your mission,
- Test different recency and dollar selects,
- Test different target geographic locations,
- Test methods of reaching people through social media tools,
- Test your web site design,
- Test your methods for accepting donations,
- Test a newsletter,
- Test different direct mail letters and envelopes,
- Test out a blog.
- Test out ways to make your donors know that they are appreciated.
In short, always be testing new ways to reach out to your donor base. Then, make sure you have a method in place to track your results.
After you have tested enough you will start to find out what works best for you and your donors. Only then can you can’t use your marketing budget wisely.
Even some of the biggest mailers we work with still always look for new test ideas to keep fundraising efforts fresh and open to new possibilities.
Don’t risk loosing your current donors or potential donors just because they can’t hear you.
Yoav Kaufman, is a List Manager with Negev Direct Marketing Inc.
Web Triggers Direct Mail Response
Benchmarking data show huge increases from three years ago
Across virtually every demographic — age, gender, race, income, education and household size — more people are heading for the Internet before they make a charitable donation. And if you still think seniors are channel surfing for repeats of “Murder, She Wrote” instead of surfing the Web, you’d be wrong.
According to a new The NonProfit Times study, twice as many potential donors are heading online after receiving a fundraising solicitation by mail than they did just three years ago, and among those 65 and older, the increases were even more substantial…
The survey results show a trend that “we’re seeing pretty clearly, more people are online, more people are doing research online, checking out charities they support or are thinking about supporting,” said Nick Allen, CEO of Donordigital, a San Francisco-based online fundraising firm.
Read the complete NonProfit Times article here.
Does your website make your direct mail prospect more or less likely to give?
Content is Still King
Your organization has decided to launch a blog, and you’re the lucky blogger. You need to learn the available tools, think about how you want to position the blog so it is asthetically pleasing, and so much more.
All to often what gets lost in the shuffle is content. Two links to take a look at.
One of the cornerstones of powerful writing is the use of concrete details that can tell your story for you:
- They have to be vivid.
- They have to be compelling.
- And they have to matter to your reader.
“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most important rules of effective writing. Instead of telling readers “the car chase was exciting,” the writer finds the perfect details to put the reader right into the action, with the gear shift vibrating under her hand and muddy grit splattering the windshield.
Remember, Details about most problems (or organizations) are boring. Details about people and how they’re solving their problems are much more interesting.
Here’s a strange paradox: now that we have infinite shelf space, free or cheap media making capabilities, and free storage and distribution, it’s more important than ever that we adopt a practice of brevity. Why? Because it’s the new black, that’s why. Here’s more.
- Brevity means people can take your ideas with them, chew on them, and do something with them.
- Structuring your information into chunks means that you can reconfigure them in lots of ways. You can mix and match them to people’s needs. People will only chew off what they need.
- Brevity tells people that you’ve distilled the essence of what you’re telling them.
Make sense?
How Should I Get The Word Out?
from NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network:
Texting, Facebook, Email, Blogs, MySpace, Aaaargh!
As you probably already know, the answer is to use all of these communication channels. You may have heard the term Marketing Mix. This term means something different today than it did in the days of old media, but there are still some valuable lessons to be learned by analyzing your marketing mix.
The way I learned it, a Marketing Mix describes the various messages that a company disseminates through selected marketing channels. Traditionally, the communications were pushed (one way communication) through channels like television, radio, newspapers, and maybe direct mail. The options in the 80s and 90s were vastly different from the tools available to an organization in 2008. So how should an organization evaluate their marketing mix today?
Click here to read more.
When a Penny is More Than a Penny
I hate it when I have to do math, but all this negative chatter I have been hearing here and there about “Causes,” poo-pooing the $2.5 million it raised in its first year has forced me to whip out my calculator.
Here is how it goes: sure, “Causes” may have raised $2.5 million, but with 12 million members, that comes to just a little more than 20 cents per member. Twenty cents! Why that’s nothing! Who needs 20 cents, right?
Well, I do. And my clients do.
Read more here.
Can-Span Update
New provisions to the FTC’s CAN-SPAM law will take affect on July 7, 2008.
The long-awaited final rule should provide email marketers some relief, particularly if they use multiple advertiser mailings or forward-to-a-friend campaigns. The new rule, in contrast to the FTC’s earlier proposed rule, does provide clear guidance to marketers but allows them some greater measure of flexibility in structuring and implementing their campaigns.
For specifics on how these changes might effect your organization, click here.
Tackling the Tough Questions
Last week the DMA Nonprofit Federation held their annual Leadership Summit in Palm Beach, Florida. As you can see below, the topics were timely and varied. Melissa Busch, the associate senior editor of FundRaising Success Magazine was on the scene, and we have linked to several of her articles for a conference round-up. Topic descriptions are from the official program.
The Business of Fundraising: How Does the Influx of Corporate People and Business Models Help or Hurt Nonprofit Fundraising:
You’ve heard the debate: A more corporate model can help nonprofits run more like businesses! But wait! Won’t that suck the heart and soul right out of the charitable sector?
Melissa writes: “Behaving like a business can have some real benefits for nonprofit organizations.”
The Costs of Fundraising: How do I Keep the Lights on and the Staff Paid without Running Afoul of the Watchdogs?
Feeding the hungry … housing the homeless … curing a dreaded disease. They’re all a lot sexier reasons for donating to a charity than paying the electric bill. But the fact remains that if every donation was restricted, many nonprofits would be closing their doors.
In an article titled Rating Charities, Melissa writes: “Nonprofit professionals say charity watchdog groups like Charity Navigator, which aim to ensure nonprofits are financially responsible, don’t give donors a clear picture of an organization’s effectiveness.
Watchdog groups look at an organization’s tax records (the 990 form) and little else in determining its rating…”
And lastly,
Leading Our Leaders: How do I Get Buy-In from the Top for My Great Ideas, Innovation Strategies and Fearless Fundraising Efforts?
You know how it goes: You and your staff spend half a year brainstorming the next great fundraising strategy for your organization, and then another six months outlining it, researching it and preparing to let it fly. Only to find that your board thinks it’s a big old waste of time and money, and your executive director agrees. But you might not be as far apart as it seems.
Melissa summarizes these ten suggestions for getting the OK for new ideas:
- Make time. If you can’t, no one else will.
- Sell your idea! If you don’t believe it, no one else will.
- Build consensus with key stakeholders and senior staff.
- Utilize outsiders like consultants, colleagues and case studies.
- Arm yourself with facts and figures.
- Start small — prove you can deliver and then go for the gusto.
- Offer options … [and remember that] multiple choice doesn’t have to include “no.”
- When it really matters, choose face-to-face conversation [rather than phone or e-mail].
- Bottom line: What’s the cost? What’s the return?
- Don’t give up! Perseverance and persistence always prevail.
