Nonprofits and Social Media -- to Dive or Not to Dive?

I was cruising through Nancy Schwartz's Getting Attention! site, when I stumbled across this thoughtful and thought-provoking article about social media and nonprofits.

I've noticed quite a few of my nonprofit clients -- and really, the rest of us ordinary folks, too -- wondering how to use social media for marketing purposes, how much time to spend on social media, and how to measure its impacts on our marketing or fundraising efforts.

As Nancy reports, there are a lot of social media fundraising success stories floating around, seducing nonprofits into jumping whole-hog into social media. But are those organizations getting back what they're putting in? And, even more important, are they sacrificing the tried and true for what's hot right now?

Nancy's emphasis is on the "marketing cornerstones -- from planning to getting to know your audiences, crafting relevant messages, defining the best channels to engage those folks in productive conversation and action, and measuring the impact of your work."

I agree.

Look, social media is a fascinating frontier! I enjoy Facebook. Twitter keeps me in the loop on what's going on with my industry and in the worlds of my clients. I'd love to spend more time getting acquainted with all the features on LinkedIn. And I am certain there are other social media tools I haven't even heard of that could revolutionize the way I work.

But I owe it to my clients to devote my energies where I know they'll make a difference, with the proven techniques that got us to this place.

Don't get me wrong. When I'm working on a direct mail letter, I take a minute to think about how to incorporate the theme or campaign into social media. A few months ago, a client was working on a "Top Ten" campaign, and I suggested Tweeting one item from the top ten every day for ten days as a way to inform their followers (and their followers' followers through re-Tweets) of the campaign, drive traffic to their website, and, hopefully, boost awareness of and response to the direct mail campaign. It was one of their most successful fundraising efforts of the year so far.

But would that campaign have been so successful without the more traditional cornerstones of marketing? If their "Top Ten" hadn't been so honed specifically for their audience? If they'd ignored direct mail -- for them, a proven fundraising tool -- in favor of a web-only ask?

The Twitter portion of this client's campaign almost certainly enhanced what they were doing, if nothing else, by raising awareness among a slightly different population using a new medium. But it couldn't have replaced the other legs of the campaign.

It's important for everyone to start thinking about how to incorporate social media into their marketing/fundraising plans. But social media shouldn't take the place of a solid, multi-faceted marketing/fundraising plan. Or in other words, go ahead and dive in, but make sure the water is deep enough.

Ask Richelle

Last week, a reader posted a couple of questions in the comment section of one of my posts on Acquisition, and I wanted to pull it out and answer it in the blog.

Amy asked: Any advice on we can transfer these (or other!) strategies translate to e-mail?

This is probably the number one question I get asked these days. Everyone wants to know how they can make more money from their e-mail and web efforts. And why not? It’s cheaper and faster than traditional mail, and it’s a better way to reach the younger donors that will become the future of your organization.

The good news is that a lot of what you do in direct mail can be translated to e-mail and online. You still want to convey your passion, highlight the emotions and urgency of the problem you’re trying to solve, and ask, ask ask.

But the way you do these things in e-mail and online is a bit different.

• You’ve got to get to the point quickly – no build-up, no big explanation. Just hit them with the problem, the urgency and the solution (give!).
• Include several links to your donation page.
• Make sure it’s absolutely clear what their donation will do.
• Include a photo or two, but make sure they are directly related to your content, or they’ll only serve to distract.

Check out this e-mail appeal from EDF as posted on The Agitator for a few more ideas. (Although I agree with the many people who commented that the EDF copywriting was not emotional enough!)

Also – and here’s the bad news – don’t forget that e-mail and online appeals haven’t yet eclipsed direct mail for most organizations. It’s far too easy to delete an e-mail, or navigate off a web page. So don’t think that you can replace your mail with online efforts quite yet.

But they can supplement what you’re doing in the mail, as long as you do it right.

Acquisition Week -- Urgency and Passion…and an Involvement Device Doesn’t Hurt

Thanks for coming back for the final installment in the Acquisition Series. So far, I've covered how to approach potential donors, how to craft your package, choosing your lead, and establishing your credibility.

Today, I want to talk about a few of the other techniques you can use to get people to give to your cause for the first time. As with special appeals to your donors, urgency and passion are key. It’s hard enough to get people to support a new cause. Throw in the multitude of distractions between your potential donor and his wallet, and you’ve got to provide strong motivation to get him to sit down right this second and make that initial gift.

Besides killer prose, there are a couple of ways you can provide that extra bit of motivation. Lots of organizations love freebies. Magnets, address labels, stickers you can use to guilt a donor into giving. Or you can entice them with promises of a free gift – a DVD produced by your organization, for example – after they join. They’re both great ways to raise your response.

One caveat: the gift you’re offering should relate to your mission. I hate it when environmental organizations offer calendars or notecards – even with beautiful pictures of nature on them – because of the wasted paper. Make it matter to your mission.

For activist organization, almost nothing beats a petition or a survey. People who are passionate about your cause – and if you’ve picked your lists right, they should be – love to make their voices heard. So give them that chance. Sure, you might get back a bunch of signed petitions or completed surveys with no money…but guess who your best prospects are next time around?

And maybe the single most important way to craft a winning Acquisition Package: TESTING.

Don't toss all of these techniques into one package and hope they work. Create different versions and mail them against each other. See what brings you the best results. Test, test, and test again.

I hope you'v found the Acquisition series helpful. Please post any questions in the comments, and I'll be sure to answer them!

Acquisition Week -- The facts to back up your claims

Yesterday, I wrote about what it takes to write a blockbuster lead for your Acquisition letter. But that’s just the first step in creating a winning package. You’ve got your potential donor on the hook…now you have to reel him in.

Unlike your loyal donors, a potential donor isn’t going to take your word for it that you have the solution. He’s not going to let you get away with just getting him riled up. He wants facts.

Consider an acquisition letter like a job interview. You need to prove that you have the experience, the know-how and the demonstrated track record to get the job done.

• Tell him about your past victories, including who you were up against and how you managed to win the day.
• Got partners? Offices abroad or friends in high places? List them. Knowing you have allies gives a potential donor the reassurance that you really can do what you say you’re going to do.
• If you have testimonials, use them. Quotes from people you’ve helped count for more than your own claims.

A potential donor also wants to see that you have a thorough and well-rounded understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve. Can you quantify your work? Do you have hard statistics to back up your claims? If you’re an organization worth your salt, you have this information at your fingertips – make sure you share it with potential donors.

The best Prospecting letter will excite and inform.

Tomorrow, I’ll give you a few other essential tools…so don’t forget to check back!

Acquisition Week -- A Blockbuster Lead

When you’re mailing a Prospecting (or Acquisition) letter, you’re going after people who aren’t your donors, who may or may not know the first thing about your organization, the work you do, your track record and your value.

Your Prospecting Package needs to tell them all of those things and convince them you are a safe bet for their donation dollars. Which means your Prospecting letter needs to grab the reader by the shirtfront right away. Drop them into the middle of the action – explain the problem in the most immediate way you can…and then tell them you have the solution.

You can do this with a big, bold headline that sums up the purpose of your current campaign, like a recent package I received from NRDC that had this screamer across the top of the letter: POLAR BEAR SOS!

I like a Johnson Box (that copy above “Dear Friend,”) that paints a picture of the problem the organization is trying to address and what they’re doing to solve it – all in vivid, let’s-storm-the-castle-NOW language.

Personal, emotional moving stories about people or animals who’ve been helped by your organization are great motivational leads – nothing beats a testimonial for moving a potential donor to take that leap into actual donor.

Activist organizations can give people a chance to get involved. Ask your potential donor to share his or her opinions on your issue, or ask them for help petitioning political leaders. Let them know – right up front – that the action they take today will make a difference.

As you’re planning your mailing, sit down and think about which of these techniques might work best for your organization…then try to write it up in a way that grabs the donor and doesn’t let go.

Tomorrow: You’ve got your blockbuster lead…what’s next?

The Acquisition Series Continues!

I had too much to say about Acquisition to confine myself to just one week, so here we go on Week #2 of my Acquisition Series. Last week, I talked about how Prospecting is different from your other mailings and how to choose between an issue-based theme and a more institutional-based package.

This week, I want to talk about the things that go into your Prospecting Letter, the tricks you can use to make people jump out of their chairs and reach for their wallets.

• A Blockbuster Lead (Or, Grab a Potential Donor's Attention and Not Let Go)
• Making Sure to Back Up Your Claims with Facts
• Selling Your Organization (Remember Your Passion and Urgency)
• Other Tricks of the Trade

I'll address a new topic each day, so keep checking back.

Acquisition Series - Issue vs. Institutional

There’s no question that the BP Oil Spill is one of the biggest environmental disasters in history, and it seems like every day, the news gets worse. And bad news for the world can be great news for nonprofit organizations.

When people see a disaster unfolding, they want to help. The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti this past year spawned hundreds of millions of dollars of charitable giving from all over the world.

So, should you go with a package that talks about your organization as a whole (the Institutional approach), or send out a package specifically addressing the bad news du jour?

The short answer is: It Depends.

First, you need to know what your goal is with your acquisition mailing. Are you looking to get a lot of new supporters fast? Or do you want to go for quality long-term supporters?

A hot issue might bring in a lot of new donors, but you run the risk that it's a one-time gift. You'll need to plan to mail a lot so you can continually replenish those people who drop out once the Bad News they came in on has been resolved or fades out of public consciousness.

But if a donor buys into your mission as a whole, she's going to stick around for the long haul, rewarding you with annual income and even special appeal gifts.

After you look at your goals, you should also take a few moments to consider these questions:

• Is your organization taking specific action in relation to the Bad News?
• What is your organization’s role in the post-Bad News landscape?
• Does solving the problem created by the Bad News fit into your organizational mission long-term?
• Is the situation generated by the Bad News a long-term problem that will require your expertise for years to come?

If you can’t shout a big ol’ “YES” to all of those questions, then it’s probably a waste of your precious resources to mail an acquisition letter devoted entirely to the Bad News. Your resources are better spent sending an Institutional package.

Does that mean you can’t address the Bad News? Absolutely not! Especially if an issue is as large-scale as the Oil Spill, you have to talk about it, if only to mention that your hearts are with those suffering.

But when you're trying to acquire new donors, you want to sell them on who you are and what you do. Stay true to your passion, and your identity, and you'll have donors who stay true to you.