What to remember when building a digital fundraising strategy

24 July 2012

Digital is Constantly changing Now in close proximity Better ROI Full of opportunities.

•  Don’t be afraid Digital fundraising employs the same marketing principles that you already know

Digital is not a brave new world

Test, report, optimise, repeat

Strategy  

Iden,fy  prospects  

Messaging  Conversion  

Analysis  

Digital should integrate into your existing fundraising strategy •  Digital should support, enhance and streamline your fundraising

Support •  Consistent messaging & look and feel •  Provide a destination for your messaging •  Provide the point of sale transaction

Enhance

•  Continue to develop the story •  Engage & interact with the supporter •  Multiple touch points increase frequency & awareness

Streamline

•  Automate systems & processes for efficiency •  Increase marketing return on investment •  Reduce processing times.

Digital makes sense, because it gives you more options

•  Good fundraising gives the supporter options, right?

•  Different ways to donate •  A choice of communication channels •  Multiple ways to interact and engage.

Different ways to donate

A choice of communication channels

Multiple ways to interact & engage

Just in case you weren’t sure, Digital includes …

Email Website

Search

Social Mobile

Display

Content

Email

•  Email is the cornerstone of your digital fundraising strategy What  Email  IS   What  Email  IS  NOT  

Fast  &  simple   Unique  

Direct  response   Highly  engaging  

Personalised    Awareness  building  

Measurable  

Reten,on  (+  Acquisi,on)  

Economical  

Sta,c  or  dynamic  

High  response  &  conv.  Rates  

Compe,,ve  

Prolific emailers

Dynamic emails that personalise content based on the user behaviour will improve your results – but it requires more content.

Mobile

•  Mobile is •  the future, you cannot ignore it •  highly personal and can have an almost guaranteed open rate •  always on … even when its off •  Convenient •  practical, brief & task orientated

•  Mobile includes: •  Tablets, Phones, Bluetooth, Outdoor, NFC •  Mobile websites •  Apps •  SMS •  Local •  Advertising – still very cost effective.

Mobile is NOT: •  highly visual •  long form •  complicated

.mobi or m.domain.org WEB

MOBILE

Mobi site versus Smartphone App Smartphone App Mobile Site

Not for profit Nature Conservancy WWF International

Who is doing mobile well? Mobile Banking Automotive Social Networking

Always remember for mobile

•  Must be practical and convenient •  Some people have fat fingers – make buttons and links BIGGER •  It’s about functionality, not design – help them achieve their goal faster •  Tablets are different to phones.

HOW TO DO IT

•  Figure out what mobile solution suits your organisation best •  There are open source mobile CMS + Apps •  Get a plugin for your website that detects mobile devices •  Chunk up your content – reduce & simplify (see ABC example) •  Get a mobile specialist to plan and design your mobi site.

Content is King

•  Content marketing is about expanding the telling of the story and spreading it across every (digital) channel

•  Content is •  Video •  Images •  Games •  Infographics •  Text •  Polls & surveys •  Petitions and campaigns •  And anything else you can think of.

Content comes in many forms

WWF + Ben Lee – Song for the divine mother of the universe http://vimeo.com/11127915

Content is emotional & powerful

Content gives the back story

Greenpeace – Ken & Barbie

Content keeps you engaged http://pleasurehunt2.mymagnum.com/?lc=en_au

Websites

Websites are Brand reputation Validation Research Transaction/ eCommerce Content and information architecture Stories Customer service

Your supporters EXPECT you to have a website. If you don’t have a website, you don’t exist.

Social media Social media is

•  An organisation wide initiative •  harder than it looks – creating a

real 2 way relationship •  an excellent PR and

customer service channel, IF its not censored

•  LIVE and Public •  creates advocates.

The power of social media is in the opportunity created by leveraging the friends of your fans. For every fan, there are 34 additional friends of fans that can be reached.

For Organisation Pages: Only 16% of fans are reached *Source: The power of LIKE study Comscore and Facebook in 2011

Cool stuff – Dalai Lama G+ Hangout

Social Media is a commitment, not a campaign Dermot O’Gorman is the CEO of WWF-Australia. He has been tweeting for less than a year but he now tweets up to 10 times a day, with at least 3 posts.

Having a cause makes it even better

36,000 people have liked the Movember Australia site.

Amnesty Freedom Dictionary http://www.freedomdictionary.org/

Over 125,000 words set free

Where to start with social

1.  Listen first 2.  Create social media guidelines & response timelines for your

organisation 3.  Outline a content plan – but don’t plan and approve every tweet 4.  Create content that will keep your stories going

•  Video •  Images •  Infographics •  Survey’s •  Games •  Campaigns, promotions, competitions

5.  Be committed – there is no start and end date 6.  Put experienced, senior staff as social ambassadors. Social media is

not just for the youth 7.  Social media is always on, it’s the front lines, full time 8.  THEN go live.

Search – SEM and/ or SEO. They’re already looking for you •  Search engine optimisation (SEO – natural search)

•  Yes, its about keywords and content •  But, success is determined by inbound links to your website •  Long term strategy (SEO) and sustained commitment

•  Search engine marketing (SEM – Paid search) •  Google Grant $10,000 month

•  SEO and SEM must be aligned to reap greatest rewards.

Search is the best digital channel for •  qualified leads, when further down the consideration cycle •  Strong acquisition •  Immediate results (SEM) •  Highest ROI/ lowest CPA of digital channels in corporate world but

harder space for charities.

How search can support Natural Search (SEO) Paid Search (SEM)

Search Tip: Use SEM to test your campaign messaging. Google will automatically optimise to the best performing creative. This gives you some insight into what type of language and call to actions motivate people most.

Display banner advertising

•  Low engagement (0.04% CTR) and conversion rates •  Should only be used to support large scale Brand campaigns •  Buy on CPA only – affiliate and performance networks.

Digital media channels

Digital  Channels   Acquisi9on   Reten9on   Engagement  

Email   ✔   ✔✔   ☐  

Social  Media   ☐   ✔   ✔✔  

Paid  Search   ✔✔   ✖   ✖  

Video   ☐   ✔   ✔✔  

SMS   ✔   ✔   ✖  

SEO   ✔✔   ✔   ✖  

Display  Banner  Adver,sing  

☐  ✔   ✖   ✔    

Website   ✔   ✔   ✔  

Mobile  –  sites,  apps  etc  

✔   ✔   ✔    

Website  -­‐  eCommerce  

✔   ✔   ✔    

Of course it depends how you employ these channels

Understand the similarities

Online and Offline fundraising are not so different

Understand the similarities

•  Digital fundraising should support and piggy back off of your existing traditional fundraising channels

Offline   Online  Comparison   Online  Support  

Direct  Mail   Email   SMS  

Media   Social  Media   Website  

Face  2  Face   NA   NA  

Direct  Response  TV   Video  

Telemarke9ng  -­‐  Outbound   SMS   Email  

Supporter  Rela9ons  –  Inbound   Search   Website  

Print  Adver9sing   Display  Banner  Adver,sing  

Brochure/  Insert   Website   Email  

Word  of  Mouth   Social  Media   Email  

Start with the database

Digital fundraising lives and dies by the health of your database

•  Segmentation

•  Take the donor on a planned journey

•  Fill the top of the funnel – drive traffic

•  Cultivate relationships with relevant stories & convert

•  Retain and upgrade the base •  Test & optimise the ask to increase the average gift

•  Monitor, report & re-invest.

Digital fundraising funnel

Prospects  

Visitors  

Subscribers  

Advocates  

Supporters  

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Many of your offline fundraising materials can be adapted for digital

•  Reduce the file size & the length of the copy

•  Reuse the story, imagery and design elements

•  Recycle the individual elements across each channel.

Integrated Fundraising Case Study: WWF Christmas Tiger Adoption 2010 Offline   Online   Learning’s  

DM     Email   Created  instant  demand  

Supporter  Magazine   Website   Consistent  presence  

eCommerce  Website   Offline  ac,vity  difficult  to  manage  inventory  

Social  Media   Emo,onal  bragging  

DRTV   SMS   Ability  to  easily  ac,on  

Display  Banner  Adver,sing   Increased  frequency  &  sales  

Search  Engine  Marke,ng   Spikes  aWer  DRTV  aired    

The online & offline campaign were perfectly aligned – except for stock control.

Understand the differences

But digital does require a different approach sometimes

Understand the differences

1.  Invest in developing the right systems, processes and

2.  Resources – get a digital specialist

3.  Understand the role each digital channel plays in the engagement & consideration cycle

4.  Analytics is essential. Yes, there is lots of data. But getting the tracking right takes time

5.  Usability testing and focus on the user will be a differentiator

6.  User experience is paramount 1.  Shorter copy, less formal content, chunk it up 2.  Functionality is more important than design 3.  Content is King!

1. Systems & digital infrastructure

CRM/  eDB  

CMS  +   Email  

Payment  Gateway   Analy-­‐

,cs  

3rd  Party  

Systems  

2. Skillsets and resources

•  Web Developer + Digital Producer + Content Curator/ Producer

•  Digital Fundraising Manager

•  Data Hygienist

•  Fundraising Analyst

CRM/  eDB  

CMS  +  

Email  +  

Payment  Gateway  

Anal-­‐y,cs  

3. Consideration cycle touch-points

•  Donors use search at both the beginning & end of their consideration cycle

•  Mobile is used for convenience during the day, but is more integrated with other channels & transactional at night

•  Email can also be the first &/ or last touch point for many donors

•  Social media is sometimes the first contact but is most often used during the information/ sentiment gathering stage

•  Websites are used for research, reputation and transaction.

Donor journey’s cross over channels First touch-point Message validation Follow up

& convert

User journey’s cross over First touch-point Message validation Follow up

& convert

4. Analytics is essential

Invest in some Google Analytics training •  Custom reporting

•  Track user scenarios •  Apply a value to each goal,

especially the combination of actions that show an engaged user

•  Setting goals and conversion

•  Campaign tracking parameters http://www.wwf.org.au/?utm_source=Adconion&utm_medium=CPA-Banner&utm_campaign=Adopt-Tiger

•  Understand where your direct traffic comes from (often email) •  Apply the secondary dimension metrics to find the hidden insights.

Data, data, data

•  Use the data – but most people don’t even look at the data let alone identify the insights that can be actioned

•  Make sure your database is clean and you have taken the time to segment your database

•  Donors / Campaigners / Subscribers / Inactive •  Interests •  Donor Value

•  Invest in cross-channel tracking •  What is the first click? Not just the click that converts •  What combination of channels provides the highest RMOI? •  How many touch-points do you need to use to get a conversion? •  Which channel drives the highest average gift? •  What channels shorten the consideration cycle?

•  What content themes engage the user most? •  What content drives traffic? •  What content drives donations?

What to measure •  The days of measuring impressions and clicks are over but CTR still

shows relevance

•  Focus on conversions – but also on engagement, time spent on site(duration) and bounce/ exit rates

•  Track month on month and year on year growth & conversion rates – not raw numbers

•  Know which content engages your users most, converts them faster, compels them to share with a friend

•  Monitor how much of your supporter base is using mobile

•  Put a value on a Share or a Subscriber (non-financial supporters) as well as a donor. These are still prospects

•  Online is direct response – don’t let anyone tell you its for awareness!

5. Usability is a differentiator Usability measures the ease of use of your website by its visitors. Basically, how easy is it for your audience to achieve their intended goal? Usability looks at 3 primary areas of a website: 1.  Accessibility

1.  Page load times 2.  Colour contrast , font size 3.  Optimised for screen readers

2.  Functionality 1.  How intuitive is the process 2.  Does the website behave as expected

3.  Navigation & Content 1.  Clear & concise labels 2.  Adequate linking 3.  SEO and user friend urls 4.  Design is consistent

Usability cannot be successful if its an after though. When planning, Put the donor first.

Forrester’s are the leading usability experts globally. They carry out usability benchmarking and testing.

6. Online user expectations People behave differently online. Digital is about research, engagement & transaction. Therefore, the content must fit the medium.

•  Shorter sentences, less formal language, shorter copy in general

•  Keyword rich content for search engines – say exactly what you mean, no puns or metaphors

•  Engagement objects like games, video, infographics, polls & images help tell the story at a glance

•  Real time transactions & automated responses – users expect their receipt immediately.

The role of online

Make sure that you are using digital channels for the right reasons

Many reasons to go online

•  Its where people are spending more time •  Direct Response •  Personalisation •  Data is power •  Automation •  Fast & reactive •  Always on – never miss an opportunity •  Interactivity •  Customer service channel •  Multiple touch-points

•  Online will save you time and money.

The role of online

•  Before creating and implementing a digital fundraising strategy, your organisation must first understand the role of online within your business

•  Is it a broadcast communication channel? •  Is it a passive research tool? •  Is it to get to know your supporters better? •  Will it be a revenue stream? •  Is it a cost saving initiative? •  Is it a test? •  Do your supporters use/ want it?

But there are some drawbacks

•  Few proven models •  There are risks

•  Cluttered

•  Hard to build trust

•  It changes quickly, Innovation is a must.

Only when it works

•  Like any other medium, you should only use online when it makes sense and when it works

•  Grow and invest in the channels that are providing results

•  Hold online accountable to the same ROI models as your offline fundraising (it should be better)

•  If it doesn’t add value, don’t do it

•  Innovate to achieve a goal, not just for the sake of it.

Achieve your objectives

Digital  Channels   Acquisi9on   Reten9on   Engagement  

Email   ✔   ✔✔   ☐  

Social  Media   ☐   ✔   ✔✔  

Paid  Search   ✔✔   ✖   ✖  

Video   ☐   ✔   ✔✔  

SMS   ✔   ✔   ✖  

SEO   ✔✔   ✔   ✖  

Display  Banner  Adver,sing  

☐  ✔   ✖   ✔    

Website   ✔   ✔   ✔  

Mobile  –  sites,  apps  etc  

✔   ✔   ✔    

Website  -­‐  eCommerce  

✔   ✔   ✔    

Digital fundraising is not a brave new world. It’s about More options Richer stories Personal engagement.

If you have a digital problem, I will create a solution that will work for you. Call me for a digital health check.

Parachute Digital Digital Strategy Digital Fundraising Digital Training

Parachute Digital

Shanelle Newton Clapham shanelle@parachutedigital.com.au 0406 691 030 www.parachutedigitalmarketing.com.au