A good marketing automation solution can be a life-saver for a nonprofit organization. Most nonprofits do not have unlimited human resources or budget, and the addition of automated marketing can save countless hours of work. Here, we provide some tips about how to make the most of your automated marketing efforts, and how to use automated marketing to connect with more supporters and gather more donations.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
The most common way that younger supporters connect with nonprofit organizations is through social media, so it is essential to keep your Twitter and Facebook pages active and up to date. Marketing automation is ideal for social media management. You can create hundreds of tweets and posts in advance and schedule them to post throughout your nonprofit marketing campaign. Your pages will be updated with new posts everyday, but you don't have to take the time to do it manually.
Encourage Social Sharing
Social media is based on interaction and sharing information with a wider audience. Include social sharing buttons on your email newsletters, blog posts, donation pages and other online resources. With one click, your supporters can easily share your content with their friends and followers so you can reach new supporters.
Use Hashtags to Widen Your Audience
You can use hashtags on Twitter and Facebook, and they show that you are involved in social media conversations and trends. Using hashtags makes your content searchable, so supporters can find it more easily. Many nonprofit organizations use relevant hashtags to call attention to their donation campaigns, such as the popular #GivingTuesday. As 61% of online nonprofit donations are made through nonprofit organizations' online donation pages, it is very important to promote your online page, and hashtags are a great way to draw attention to it.
Include Call to Action Buttons
Make it quick and easy for supporters to donate. Create enticing call to action buttons and place them in a prominent location on your online donation page, your email newsletters and your social media pages. Use contrasting colors so your call to action doesn't blend in with the background, and use simple, direct language on the button. Read all about creating effective calls to action.
Provide Reasons to Donate
Everyone knows that donating to nonprofit causes is important, yet often we are more likely to act when we are reminded why donation is essential right now. Create a list of simple, immediate reasons to give and promote them on your website and your social media pages. "Warm and fuzzy" messages are very likely to be shared on social media, so focus on how each donation can directly benefit someone in need. A good donation message might go like this: "Jody is not always able to afford turkey and pie. Thanks to your donations, last year he was able to cook a Christmas meal for his family. Help us share Christmas meals with every family this year. #SetTheTable #GivingTuesday"
The message tells supporters exactly how their donations will be used, and shows the dramatic impact a donation can have for a family. It also uses hashtags to create a buzz and make the content easily socially sharable.
Create a Personal Connection
A marketing automation solution keeps track of each supporter who has interacted with your organization. You can have a list automatically created of each supporter who donated last year, and you can send them a message saying thank you for their continued support and reminding them to donate this year. For supporters who have not previously contributed, send them an email encouraging them to make a first-time donation this year. With marketing automation, it is simple to find this information and have different personalized emails sent to each of your supporters based on their history.
Make Donation Simple with Short Codes
Try using short codes as part of your nonprofit marketing campaign. A short code is a short number (such as 404040) that supporters can text a keyword (like DONATE10) to in order to donate a small amount of money. Texting to a short code is a quick, easy way to donate, and you can promote the keyword easily on your social media pages.
We have an all-in-one nonprofit automated marketing solution and awesome nonprofit pricing. Sign up for a free SimplyCast account or contact our team today to discuss your own nonprofit solution at 866.323.6572, ext. 1.
