From time to time, I like to share a different voice, perspective, and expertise on my blog. Having a strong digital presence is such an critical part of modern fundraising, so I turned to my colleague, Lou Kotsinis, Co-founder and CEO of BCS Interactive, for some words of wisdom. Lou is a digital marketing expert for causes and brands.
What’s the Best Digital Strategy for Nonprofits?
AE: What is a digital strategy and why do nonprofits need one?
LK: It comes down to the world we now live in. For better or worse, much of our interaction these days is done online, and the pandemic has put that into overdrive.
Facebook has almost 3 billion global active users. Ecommerce sales, in 2020 alone, increased 44% and — as far as nonprofit organizations are concerned — there’s been more fundraising conducted solely online than ever before. Lastly, Gen Z represents the first generation to be raised as “digital natives” — meaning they’re entering a world where digital devices, the web and social media are by default part of their communications ecosystem.
So, starting with this premise that we’re living in a digital world, it’s only logical that a nonprofit organization would want to devise a digital strategy. And that simply means developing a plan for how they’ll achieve their goals and tell their story through digital means.
Developing and Improving Your Digital Strategy
AE: What are the most important things nonprofit leaders should consider when developing a digital strategy?
LK: The two most important factors in developing a digital strategy are:
- Clearly establishing goals, and
- Knowing your audience as extensively as possible
Defining goals goes deeper than simply stating that you want to raise more funds; it relates to the “why?” behind everything. Understanding the long-term motives behind your goals will not only help establish tactics but will provide a rallying point for all your initiatives, which in turn will help you deliver stronger campaigns.
Knowing your audience on a granular level will help on so many fronts, from determining what voice/tone you’ll use in your communications to what digital platforms you’ll be selecting for your outreach.
In both goal-setting and audience intelligence, we recommend a deep discovery exercise that precedes a thorough strategy development period. Nonprofits can turn to an agency like ours to do this, or they can do it internally. If you choose to do it internally, you must remain disciplined and be sure not to allow internal biases to dilute the process.
Biggest Social Media and Website Missteps
AE: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see nonprofits make when it comes to their website and social media?
LK: Although they work symbiotically, an organization’s website and social media presence are two distinct platforms, so let’s look at each individually:
Social Media Mistakes
Regarding social media, we see two mistakes being made: first, a tendency to not thoroughly and consistently nurture their online communities, and secondly, a lack of investment in paid advertising.
A social media community is important for any brand, but it’s especially important for a nonprofit. It’s so important to cultivate and pay close attention to the community’s needs. This means spending time on your platforms on a daily basis, providing useful, relevant content that the audience is interested in (not simply promoting internal dates and happenings), and responding quickly and appropriately to community members’ needs.
Remember, social media isn’t just about connecting with your “organic” community (i.e. the community that’s been created simply from posting content and inviting people), it’s about expanding your reach through paid advertising.
Given how much personal information we all provide these networks, they become a gold mine for reaching targeted segments of the population — that means donors and influencers. It’s definitely worth it to study and invest in paid forms of content on social platforms.
Website Mistakes
With respect to websites, the mistakes we see fall into one of two categories: poor user experience and/or inadequate storytelling.
User experience or “U/X” is simply that — the quality of experience that a user has on your website. Can they find what they’re looking for intuitively? Is the site optimized to provide a quick and clean experience across devices? Does the message directly and concisely explain what the organization does – and then does it guide the user to an intended action?
Regarding “storytelling,” a website’s primary goal is to establish an emotional connection with the visitor through a narrative, and the narrative can be delivered through text, video, graphics, or any combination therein. All these elements should be working together in a compelling fashion to attract the visitor to the organization’s mission, and then ideally, have them participate further — either through a donation or some purposeful action.
The single greatest mistake we see nonprofits make across the board (and this relates to digital marketing and infrastructure in general) is not allocating adequate funds to build their digital tools and programs properly.
Most nonprofit boards are laser-focused on program delivery, which is a good thing, but that same focus directs attention away from the need to invest in this critical infrastructure.
When it’s Time for a New Website for Your Nonprofit
AE: How would a nonprofit know it’s time for a new website?
LK: There are several clear signs that it’s time to upgrade:
- It’s apparent to both visitors and internal staff that people can’t find what they’re looking for on the site, or are having some technical issue that prevents them from participating fully in the site experience.
- The site is no longer doing a good job of connecting with users via story and design, so it’s time to consider a redesign/redevelopment. You’ll know this in part by looking at your website analytics and seeing people come to the site and then “bounce off” after only visiting one page or not spending much time on the site overall. But you’ll also feel it yourself, as there will be a drop-off in overall enthusiasm, engagement, and outreach from the audience to the organization.
- There’s the idea of brand. If things just look and feel “stale” to the internal team and to users of the site, then it’s time for an upgrade. After a while, this happens to every organization, for-profit and -non. Times change and nonprofits need to change with them.
On Hiring Digital Vendors
AE: What questions should nonprofit leaders ask when hiring someone to help them create a digital strategy, website, etc.?
LK: The first step is to have a good and thorough conversation with the individual or team you’re hiring to see if there’s chemistry. Are they paying attention to detail? Do they truly care about the project and the mission of the organization — and perhaps more importantly, are they truly passionate and knowledgeable about digital?
Once you’ve passed that first initial “rapport” hurdle, then I would delve deeper to see what specific experience the individual(s) have in:
- Working with nonprofits specifically, and
- What technical, branding/design, and storytelling experience do they bring to the table
We’re big believers in the idea that “you get what you pay for,” and nonprofits (like any other business) should invest in what it takes to build their tools and messaging properly. By the same token though, they need to see the value, both in terms of the quality of the product and specific outcomes based on the work.
AE: I would add, when searching for any type of vendor, get recommendations from other nonprofits of similar scope and size. Then, check references. It’s a big decision and a big investment, so do your due diligence.
My thanks to Lou Kotsinis for his time and advice. For more information, feel free to reach out to Lou on Twitter @bcsinteractive or at his website.
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