Effective ways non-profits & charities can drive donations through content

As we all know, donations are at the heart of non-profit organisations. They rely on donations to fund their charitable work, which means marketing is at the top of any non-profits priority list. Whilst traditional marketing can be effective and rewarding, utilising digital marketing tactics to boost donations is an invaluable tool which cannot be overlooked in a modern day, highly digital world.

Social Media

A social media presence is imperative for any non-profit organisation looking to drive donations through their content with the use of digital marketing tactics. Social media engagement enables non-profit organisations to reach a much bigger audience than they may have through traditional means, with a much smaller cost. Spreading awareness of the non-profit organisation through social media is a key way to drive up donations.Here are some tips for a successful social media charity campaign:

• Tell a story. Any good marketing campaign is able to connect with its audience through the use of storytelling, and the better the marketing campaign the more donations you’re likely to generate. Whether it’s making a video, creating an eye-catching infographic or sharing statistics with your target audience, try to weave a story through your campaign that highlights the realities of your charitable cause.
• Remember your charity’s mission and values, and ensure that they come across within all of your social media posts. Your charity is your brand and any well-established brand needs a reputation in order to generate sales or donations. The goal should be for your charity’s brand and reputation to mirror the message your charity is seeking to send.
• Ensure the links to donation pages, charity names and logos are easily found on all social media posts. Your viewers, old or new, should never be in doubt of who you are or how to find you.
• Identify your target audience. Once you identify who the main supporters of your cause are likely to be or are, focus your attentions of the types of social media and areas of the internet that your target audience are most likely to be found.

Brand website

Your non-profit organisations brand website is where the majority of your content will be housed and where potential donators will be directed, with both traditional and digital marketing techniques. In short, it’s the most important aspect of your campaign. So you’ve made the social media posts, handed out the flyers and now you’re getting traffic to your website. What now? Your website is the last step in the process. It’s the last thing a potential donator see’s before making the decision whether to donate or not. Layout, information and navigation are all key to converting traffic into donations. Below are some key tips on how to increase your chances of traffic conversion.

• Keep it simple – by this we mean don’t make donating a difficult or complicated process. As soon as your homepage loads, the donate button should be right there on the front page. Don’t be afraid to be honest about how important donating is to your charity. Make the donate button colourful and fun. Include set amounts to donate, such as £10, £50, etc., as research has shown this typically leads to higher donations. Consider offering recurring monthly donations that donators can opt into.
• Drive the point home – people don’t just see a donate button and donate, sometimes they need prompting or a reminder. Make use of strong imagery on your homepage to demonstrate further the reasons for your charity existing and what the point of donating is, or even the impact that the donation could have.
• Strong brand presence – there are a lot of scammers out there, especially online. Put your target audience at ease by ensuring that your brand logo is prominent on your homepage. This creates a sense of trust, security and confidence in your brand and with where their money is going. It’s worth having a signature format for your website, for example how the RSPCA uses white text on a royal blue background as their signature format. Having a signature format will not only make your website look more uniform and official but also makes your brand easily recognisable to your target audience.
• Destination and impact – it’s a fact that if people know where exactly their money is going and what impact it will have, that they’re more likely to donate. Make sure that this information is easily accessible on your website, ideally close to the ‘donate’ button. For example, 100% of your donation will go towards caring for animals in our care. A simple sentence demonstrating the destination and impact of the donators money can make all the difference when it comes to converting traffic into donations.

Social Proof

Social proof is an often overlooked, but is a highly effective way of driving donations through the use of content, especially on social media platforms. Social proof is the use of proving to an audience that others have gone before them and donated, which has made an impact on your charity’s cause. For example, pictures and testaments from those who have ran marathons for Cancer Research or another type of charity is often the driving force for others to sign up to the cause.Physically being able to see that others have gone before them and successfully donated and helped a cause encourages further donations. On websites or fundraising pages these can come in the forms of an Honour Roll or list of donations given where it lists the name, amount and comment of the donator for the cause. Many such engines also show the amount raised so far and how far from the goal the campaign currently is. This can have a positive effect on donations as the donator can see directly how their donation has impacted the progress of the campaign.So, you’ve got a great website, your brand is active on social media and you’ve provided your audience with a suitable amount of social proof? Then there’s no reason why your donations shouldn’t be driving upwards! The main goal for any charity when canvassing for ideas for campaigns should be to gain the maximum amount of reach – the easiest way of which in today’s terms is through social media. The ALS Ice Bucket challenge of 2014 was majorly successful, netting the ALS Association $115 million in one summer.Get creative and make the most of the opportunities that having such an easily accessible global audience gives you!

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