Your 2020 Digital Communications Makeover

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Hi there, my name is Emily Rose pats, I am a brand marketer at DonorPerfect. And I’m Laura Buker, the customer storyteller DonorPerfect. And today, we’re excited to talk to you about your 2020 Read More

0:06  

Hi there, my name is Emily Rose pats, I am a brand marketer at DonorPerfect. And I’m Laura Buker, the customer storyteller DonorPerfect. And today, we’re excited to talk to you about your 2020 Digital Communications makeover.

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So when it comes to your nonprofits, digital communications, it’s time for a new you. It’s been a long year. And in spirit of this year’s DonorPerfect conference, this session is designed to inspire you to refresh your communication strategy, as well as the tools that you’re leaning on. So you can grow your organization by engaging donors better in our increasingly digital world.

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So today’s agenda, again, in the spirit of a makeover, we’re going to start with the closet clean out. So it’s going to be talking about performing an audit to understand what is sparking joy in your donors. Next, we’re going to move on to the statement piece. And the statement piece of any nonprofit is those impact stories that really connect your donors to the work that you’re doing and the impact that they too can create by supporting you.

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Next, we’re going to move on to closet staples. So those are those strong digital engagement tools that you rely on every day to ensure that your message is heard. Following that, we’re going to have first impression favorites. So that’s how you’re introducing new donors to the community around your cause.

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And then we’re gonna go to staying on trend, how to keep those donors engaged by embracing new things that are coming up in the way that you can communicate. And we are going to close out by you know, we want to hear from you what refreshing moves have you made that have helped you better communicate. And finally, we will have q&a. So we are going to get started with the closet clean out. So what sparks joy in your donors. So before you can begin any makeover, and I’m sure you remember this with the classic Stacy Clinton, trash can scenes where they would go through somebody’s closet and check out the ill fitting jeans, and then also make room for that stunning dress that was shoved behind a mess in someone’s closet. In that same way, you’re going to delve into your donor engagement collateral and identify, you know, what needs to be tossed, and what you should be doing more of what’s working.

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So first, we’re going to perform an audit. Think of it this way, if you’re cringing at that idea that you have to go through all the emails that you’re sending to donors, how do you think they feel receiving all of those emails, that means it’s a perfect time for an audit. So who has time for this right? Just know, it doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated. You don’t have to do all of this at once. A quick example of how you can start small and still make an impact. Think about what email engagement do you send most frequently, let’s say it’s your new donor welcome series, then what you’re going to do is you’re going to set up a simple spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets with columns for each of the key metrics that your email marketing tool provides. So you’re gonna want a column for the email name, and then you can link it to the original email for quick reference, then you’re gonna have your subject line, your open rate, your click to open rate and a Notes column.

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So you’re gonna document whether or not after reviewing the email, you’re going to toss or keep it and then document those Joy Givers document what sparks joy, that’s going to be where the real magic of your audit is going to come in.

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Because you’re going to want to maximize and replicate the moments in messaging that resonate most with your donors. So as you’re writing down, hey, this email is really working this message really work this campaign was a hit. You’re not just going to just shove that in a document and keep it to yourself. What you’re going to want to do is turn that into a presentation that you’re going to hold with your entire team so you can brainstorm how you can turn what you learned into best practices for the future. And finally, those takeaways and that brainstorm is going to serve as building blocks for you to create a fresh donor journey. One thing you can do is actually donate to your organization and then see what happens next. You know, how soon are you thanked? When are you getting an impact update? Are the emails personal or

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back a little too much too often. So when you try to trace each of these touch points from day one forward, you can strategically build a donor journey that keeps your supporters engaged. And again, make sure that you are weaving in those takeaways, and really creating the foundation of your new donor journey on what you know resonates with your donors.

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Speaking about what resonates with your donors, we are going to move on to the statement piece. So just like every great look has a strong statement piece, every memorable story has a hero. And in your case, it’s the donor and the incredible change that they’ve made possible, or they could make possible if they choose to give or volunteer. So impact stories are at the heart of everything you do. And a key the turning a moment into a movement is actually really simple. It’s all about how you present it.

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So there are three essential qualities of a compelling impact story. It needs to be emotional, it needs to be shareable, and it needs to be actionable. Let’s delve into that for a second. I’m so emotional. When it comes to your impact stories, you want to aim for ugly cry. So think about the stories that make you so proud to be part of your organization of stories that just fill you up.

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And the moments that make your donors and staff feel like everything they’ve given to see your mission through was more than well worth it.

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shareable. Good stories are meant to be shared. You know, social media typically offers a Share function. But as for your emails, and blog posts, you should always consider adding a foreword to a friend call to action that’s going to really encourage your donors to help your impact stories get all the attention that they deserve. And finally, actionable. You know, you’re putting this out there for a reason. So what do you want someone to do when they hear or read your impact story? Do you want them to give a donation support a specific campaign crowdfund for you become a monthly donor, you know, there are lots of different ways that someone can support you. So you always want to include a call to action and a link to your donation form or wherever they can go to learn more about what you’re looking for them to do.

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So you’re probably thinking, you know,

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I have I have the story, you probably have one in mind right now, how can you present it so I just want to take a moment to share with you an impact story that really got me. So this is an example from new leash on life USA. They’re an organization that gives second chances to people and pups through their dog training, prison program and post release support efforts that actually include placing returning citizens with paid jobs at animal shelters and animal control facilities. So I’m gonna play this video for you and just note all three of those elements that we just talked about.

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Okay, okay. Remember when I said ugly cry?

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That’s what that’s what I am talking about. So. So now as you’re just saying, you’re probably thinking about impact stories of your own.

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So where do they live? Some of them right now they’re in your memory, or the stories that you tell people when they ask, what do you do, they’re the ones that you know these stories, you should be amplifying all of your channels, let people see how you make a difference and who specifically you’re making a difference for

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another place is in your digital KonMari. Document, those documented joys, your closet clean out is totally going to reveal some impact stories that really, really touched your donors. If you’ve put certain ones on repeat for a while, instead of getting rid of them, what you could do is you could incorporate them into your new donor welcome series for people who just discovered you because that’s going to be new to them. And then you can seek out similar stories that can give a fresh straight face or perspective on how much your mission matters to people who have seen that before. And finally, the people who work directly with you

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in the field, they are going to be gold mines, when it comes to these stories is so make sure that they’re equipped to ask for and document impact stories as they happen.

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So as for styling, your impact stories, you’re going to want to vary your format. So just as you would mix and match your wardrobe, you are going to mix up the way that you share stories through various forms of content that your donors consume, because they’re going to prefer, you know, not every donor is going to necessarily want to watch a video, some of them might want to read a blog post or see a testimonial and email,

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you’re going to want to deliver them in different ways. So again, if somebody misses your email, or they’re not following you on social media, you’re going to want to make sure that they’re getting to your stories somehow. So we’re going to talk a little bit about building a multi channel approach to donor engagement.

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And finally, did you know that 85% of viewers watch videos with the sound off so you’re going to want to add subtitles to your videos just so people have an option of whether they want to listen in or simply read along

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talk about closet staples.

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So just like your classic closet pieces, you know, white sneakers denim jacket, the aspects of your communication plan, that you can always count on our investments and should be treated as such. Let’s talk about some ways you can invest in the best for your organization.

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First, give your online forms a little lift. Start by branding your form. ever get to a generic looking payment form online and feel a little unsure about whether or not it’s legit. Your donors feel the same way about your donation page. It only takes seconds to brand your form and gain Donors Trust. And that quick move is worth it because on average branded donation forms raised six times more than those without a logo.

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Also try adding donors cover costs. Did you know that 75% of donors will cover processing fees just because your form asks them to. When you use DonorPerfect online forms, you can empower donors to ensure that 100% of their gifts go directly to your mission with donors cover costs. This aptly named feature enables donors to pay for the processing fees associated with their gift.

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You can also set recurring gifts as your default,

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why not inspire a monthly gift without even having to mention it? As a matter of fact, the latest m&r benchmarks that’s report that monthly giving is up 22% From 2018 to 2019. And not to mention DonorPerfect users see a 90% retention rate with their monthly givers or editors pick DonorPerfect online forms. One of the best benefits of these forms is that they handle data entry for you. For tips on

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How to Make the most of these forms. We’ve included the online form success hub as a resource at the end of this slide deck.

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Next, we’re gonna brighten up your site. Just as Coco Chanel tells us to take off at least one thing before leaving the house, you should take a less is more approach to design. Website clutter can seriously detract from the goals you wanted to achieve by having a website in the first place. When you go to your website, is it easy to understand what your mission is all about? Is it easy for someone to navigate your website? How about your website real estate? Is it easy to find your donation page, we’ve got tips for ideal places to spotlight it on and off your website in 25 places to share your online donation form a resource that will be available to you again in the slide deck.

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Refresh last year’s content with this year’s incredible stories, updates and opportunities. Because old news is just that old news. By investing in a website builder that enables your team to quickly and easily swap out content, you can be sure that the latest and greatest moments and tell your mission story are always on display. Pro tip add video to your website’s landing page. It can increase your conversions by 80%.

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Our editors pick give cloud give cloud is a website builder for nonprofits specifically, you don’t have to know how to build a website. And as templates you can easily customize and make your own. You can even build a blog and sound March 1 of all it’s donation forms sync very well with DonorPerfect, so it’s a one stop shop. As soon as you receive a donation the data collected will flow into your DonorPerfect system.

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Then you’re going to want to take a look at your email engagements.

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get personal with email communications. Instead of sending the same message to all your donors. segment your mailing list, so messaging can refer to how a donor specifically interacted with your organization. Additionally, set up your email tool to personalize each email so it addresses them by name.

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Keep tabs on your engagement dashboard. Choose an email tool that clearly displays email engagement, to know what’s working and what’s not at a glance. Remember to keep your email engagements fresh. Effortlessly grow your email list. Give website visitors the opportunity to hear from you regularly by placing an email opt in form on your website or an endorsement pay constant contact with DonorPerfect Constant Contact integration. You can segment mailing lists based on your DonorPerfect filters. Insert DonorPerfect fields into your emails for personalization, and report on campaign and constituent data that can help you see who you’re reaching now and give you insights into how you can better connect with those who haven’t been responsive.

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Social media channels

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create original eye catching graphics. You don’t need to be a professional photographer or designer to create awesome social media posts that standout with the resources you have. plus the free or close to free tools listed in the resources will provide for you. You can create beautiful imagery and videos and snap the image you see to the side here made in minutes with Canva an easy to use totally free tool we’ll cover in a moment.

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Harness the power of video. A Google study found that a whopping 57% of people who watch fundraising videos will go on to donate to that cause. You don’t need to be a producer to create quality content that will resonate with your supporters and their social networks.

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Ask questions to engage your community implement. Tell us Tuesday. If your donors a moment to reflect on something positive by asking them to share about all kinds of things like their favorite recipes, social distancing home hacks, time passing projects for kids go to work from home looks or of course about their four legged coworkers. editor’s pick all the cool tools listed in our resource, you’ll be able to check them out, along with tutorials after the presentation. Recruit supporters to be your ambassadors as supporters to choose your organization as their birthday or everyday fundraiser on Facebook or to create a crowdfunding campaign to fundraise on your behalf.

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A good place to recruit crowdfunders is local businesses and schools where there can be some friendly competition.

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Added editor’s pick, DonorPerfect crowdfunding. Crowdfunding gives fundraisers a platform to promote your cause in a way that’s personal to them. In addition to setting their

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own fundraising goal fundraisers can share their own story and photo. Plus, the names of the loved ones supporting them will scroll along their page. To help mobilize the supporters provide them with templates they can use to get the message out right away. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they’ll participate. I’ve added our templates, as well as a recording of some advice from other Fundraising Professionals you can use at the gedit edit slide at the end of the flight deck. And

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of course, virtual events are the go to for the foreseeable future. And while it’s a bummer to fundraise apart, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have an event

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that that can’t be fun.

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I’ve interviewed a few clients through the pandemic and heard some really creative ideas. One of our clients had success moving their gala online back in March, within weeks of having to cancel their live event. They instead hosted a virtual auction with goods and services they were able to source within their community. This is especially helpful for businesses like restaurants, for example, that are struggling and could use a good name drop by putting their gift card and your

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editor’s pick is ReadySet auction. What’s nice about it is that you can customize a website dedicated only to your event, so it’s branded, which makes it more trustworthy to your supporters.

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You can also allow guests to bid on their phones This way they can opt to receive alerts when they’ve been outbid driving up competition.

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A must have clauses staple is a monthly giving program. Did you know that monthly donors give seven times more than one time donors, although they give more the appeal to them is that they’re giving less at one time, which is how many people prefer to pay for anything these days. Think about all your subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify. Providing an option to give monthly makes these donors feel good knowing they’re supporting a cause that matters to them in a sustainable way for both of you. administers PPIC DonorPerfect online forms with automatic monthly giving. Donors can easily sign up for monthly giving for your monthly giving program with DonorPerfect online forms. Once they submit the form it set it and forget it for essentially both of you, your form can automatically download this data and will automatically process at the frequency the donor set. Nonprofit clients in fact, again, hold the 90% retention rate for their monthly donors.

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The digital assets that support your organization’s growth don’t exist in a vacuum, they rely on one another. So they should relate to one another as you set out to grow a donor base that has all different kinds of preferences, and evolutions in the ways that they prefer to engage. As a matter of fact, multi channel donors contribute even more than monthly donors. They contribute two times more than monthly donors online on online only donors and offline only donors. So giving your closet staples a little love and trying them together. And to engage in campaigns is worth the time and effort to learn more about how to make multi channel donor strategies work for you in more strategies to build multi channel donor relationships a guide will give to you at the end of the presentation

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so now about some of those new donors that you are going to attract by creating compelling campaigns that are woven through multiple channels. And that’s going to be your first impression impression favorites, your new donor welcome series. So you know you always have a go to when you want to make an awesome first impression in fundraising world. That is your new donor welcome series. So now is your chance to establish a new relationship based on solid communication. But how much is too much GuideStar actually says that you can engage your donors 36 times a year and it won’t have an adverse effect on your relationship with them.

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That being said the first email a new donor received should always be your thank you.

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So what you’re going to want to do with your thank you email, which again that is your first impression is tailor it to fit perfectly.

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As far as the timing of this email, it should be received within 48 hours GuideStar again, they say that a donor who is thanked within 48 hours of giving is four times

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more likely to give again,

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your thank you should address the donor by name. And additionally, you want to include language about what your donor contributed to, for example, the way that you’re going to think a new monthly donor should be different than the way that you would thank a donor who gave for the first time at your virtual auction.

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So here’s a timeline that you can follow. So your thank you, again, 48 hours or less after their first gift, and be sure that it’s tailored to the font that they gave to or the event that they attended. Or even if they you know, created a crowdfunding campaign for you, you’re gonna want to acknowledge that in a special way,

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two to three weeks out, you’re going to want to, oh, you know what, I’m going to redo this slide again, Okay?

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Sounds good.

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So you have a new donor, and you want to set up a timeline of how you’re going to follow up with them. And when, as we just discussed, the Thank You should be 48 hours or less after their first gift, and you want to be personal about it, you want to address, you know, let’s say they started a crowdfunding campaign for you, you’re gonna want to mention that. Or if they attended your virtual event, make sure that you say, Hey, thanks for coming, I know that this is different than we usually do it, but we really appreciated that, um, then in the next, you know, one or two weeks after that first gift, you’re gonna want to let them know, Hey, easy way to keep tabs on all that we’re up to, is to follow us on social media. So you’re not asking again, right away, but you’re just inviting them to canal, get a little bit more involved, be your friend.

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Next, what you’re going to want to do is let them know other ways that they can get involved by you know, either attending upcoming events or volunteering with your organization, this could be more of like a newsletter style email that gives them multiple ways to engage.

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Now, three to four weeks after their first gift, you may actually have an update on what they’re gifted, this is so crucial to let them know, Hey, your gift made a difference. And it’s also an opportunity to ask for another gift, if you’d like

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I’m moving forward, maybe four to five weeks after their first gift around that time. You know, send them a survey, it’s going to show that their stakeholder in what your organization is doing, you’re gonna want to keep it short. And you can ask questions like, hey, vote on our next project, what what should we do next? You could ask them, which event would you be most likely to attend and that could advise you know, what you’re going to invest in and maybe even steer you away from an event that you were thinking would be a hit, you might learn that, hey, they prefer to do something else. And you can also ask them, you know, what did they want to hear from you.

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And finally, maybe five to six weeks after their first gift, the what’s ahead preview, this is going to really serve as like a roadmap. So you’re going to want to show them you know, big projects, exciting campaigns that are coming up fun events, so they know that they’re going to want to keep opening your emails, keep checking your social media posts, and

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keep coming back.

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Now there’s a way to do these newsletter style emails without it being overwhelming. Email marketing tools, like Constant Contact allow you to actually drag and drop sections into your email as well as photos that make things pop. You don’t have to be a designer to do this. So really recommend you kind of check that out. Another thing that you can do is add a personal video message and your thank you emails. Especially you know, I knew that it could be difficult to do that for everybody but for your major donors, you’re definitely want to get I want to get pretty personal and initial email with a video has an increase in click through rate by actually 96%. So that’s pretty incredible.

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A tool that we would recommend is causes cause it actually allows you to attach video messages to your thank you emails to donors. Why

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to click the video will direct them to a page that’s designed specifically for your organization.

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Now we’re going to talk about staying on trend.

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It’s difficult to keep tabs on what’s trending if you’re not set up to do so. The world in and beyond your organization is always changing. Are you equipped to respond?

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We can talk about what’s trending without also mentioning the stats that back it up. So let’s talk about current marketing stats, as well as the latest nonprofit data from m&r benchmarks and some key takeaways. Let’s talk facts.

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Half of visits to nonprofit websites are through mobile devices. That’s why it’s important that both your website and your donation forms are easy on the eyes, and optimized for mobile. Meaning no matter what device you’re using, your website will adjust to fit the screen nicely. Speaking of websites 44% of total nonprofit website traffic was a result of organic website visitors. That means people Googled your organization or words related to your mission, and your website came up in the results.

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This gives reason to ensure that your website is search engine optimized for SEO. We won’t delve into the how tos here but we’ve included our SEO experts recommendations at the end of the presentation.

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More nonprofits are using text message marketing. from 2018 and 19. Its usage grew by 26% and the click through rate was 4.2%. Generally speaking, a good click through rate starts around four to 5%. You may want to consider calling people to act this this way. You can share out your donation forms your registration and volunteer forms, along with messages to your contacts.

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We recommend DP text. With DP text you can encourage people to donate volunteer, take a survey, fill any of your forms, or encourage them to act by texting a code to a specific phone number or responding to your mass texts.

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Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform for nonprofits increasing at a rate of 42%. Last year, there are templates on Canva that are Instagram specific that you can use along with templates for just about everything else. Use these to help amplify your impact stories, powerful images and latest news. Another way to use Instagram to gain more followers on all of your social media channels is with an Instagram scavenger hunt. Especially with things being all virtual these days, it’s worth engaging your followers with clues that direct them to visit like and follow your other, your other pages

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and that they can recruit their friends help.

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Finally, I’d also like to mention that calling to check in on your donors, and just talking will mean much more to your supporters than any other form of engagement and practice that surfaced for me after interviewing a customer at the peak of the pandemic.

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It’s something that most don’t have time for. But during these hard times, it’s important to simply stay connected with your supporters, even if some of them have temporarily lost the ability to donate to you regularly. candid and personal conversations are something neither of you will forget.

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All right. So here is the Get It edit. So these are free resources to help you and your team get started on everything that we have talked about.

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Throughout this presentation.

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We have guides, template kits, articles and how to choose and sources and additional resources for you. And one thing I want to say that I see people discover in any makeover is that, you know a good makeover really showed somebody just what they’re working with. They realize, Oh my gosh, I had this all along. I just needed to change a couple things. And now I’m just glowing. And I know that when you go through your donor engagement communications, you are going to feel the same way about your organization. You’re going to say I had these stories all

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along. These tools were available to me all along. So sometimes it’s just trying something new, trying something different talking to people, and just really looking at the things that you have done well, because you have done so much well, and you’re going to be able to see that recognize it and build upon that. And that is where you’re going to see your success. So, speaking of the success that you’ve seen, we would like to hear about it. So why don’t you share with us as well as other organizations who are attending, you know, what refreshing moves have you made that have helped your nonprofit

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