Strategies to combat the epidemic of hopelessness

Post by Eric Anderson

We all know the sinking feeling of having a long to-do list of big items. Often, we wind up overwhelmed, not knowing where to begin, so we don’t begin at all. For many of us, simply shutting down when faced with many challenges is a coping mechanism. We feel better when we don’t look at the long list of things we need to tackle, even though averting our eyes just adds to our long-term stress.

Many of us feel a similar pang of hopelessness when we look at the myriad crises happening every day in the world around us. There are so many, and they are so momentous and complicated, that we feel unable to effect change. Climate change, political gridlock, the pandemic, homelessness, war, wealth gaps, and racism are all around us, and they’re only getting worse as the days go by.

It’s true that, as individuals, each of us has only limited ability to impact an issue as big as climate change, for just one example. That may even leave us feeling powerless, especially as we see the harm these crises cause to the world and the people around us. Like wildfires, the impact of global catastrophes can spread quickly. Yet it is action, not avoidance, that will inspire others to do the same and, ultimately, create a culture of effective activism for change.

Taking tangible steps toward hope

For nonprofit organizations and communicators in particular, we have a responsibility to find ways to inspire constituents to act on important issues that affect us all. We can do that not just by rehashing the nature of present problems but by outlining specific tangible steps we can take toward change and by highlighting the inspirational stories of people already making a difference.

Here are three suggested things to try to inspire grassroots activism:

1. Go where your audiences are most comfortable

It is especially important to meet our audiences where they already are. That is, if your users are on digital platforms, that is where you should spread your message.

For some, these digital messages for change may come across as ineffective. Slacktivism gets a bad rap — if an action is relatively easy to take, it must be pointless, the reasoning goes. But that view is built on an outdated bias against activities in the virtual world. There’s nothing morally superior about attending a march in person or distributing flyers in your neighborhood if you can accomplish the same goals more efficiently on social platforms.

Whether your medium is digital or physical, it is imperative that you choose to broadcast your voice in a way that works best for you and your audience. Even small actions such as taking the first step or rallying support on social media can inspire more action. This is what will breed more momentum; you just have to decide to begin.

2. Keep moving forward

This philosophy is similar to climbing a mountain. If you stand at the bottom and look up, you may lose the energy you need to climb to the peak. But if you start walking and stay focused on putting one foot after the other — and keeping your eyes just a few feet ahead of you — you’ll soon be able to look back and see how far you’ve traveled. Similarly, by taking small steps for actionable change, we can ultimately reach the summit and look back on all we’ve accomplished in our endeavors.

The same rule applies for organizations as well as individuals. Be realistic in the fundraising or cause campaigns you plan to launch to make sure you have the required resources. Then roll it out one step at a time.

3. Use actions to inspire more activism

When working to inspire grassroots activism, it’s important to make tangible but manageable requests. Your audience is your most valuable asset. As advocates for your cause, they will be ready and willing to commit their time and energy, though it is your job to ensure your requests are effective. Take specific steps that won’t burn out your supporters. Instead, asking participants to take on small, achieveable tasks ignites them to get even more involved. This is especially effective if you provide a rewarding experience and offer positive reinforcement that highlights the substantial differences their actions are making.

Final thoughts

If you are ready to see change, now is the time to begin. Be sure to give your audiences a clear roadmap. Show them that it leads to a better world, but stress that they can make progress one step at a time. Tell compelling and relatable stories of people who have engaged constructively and how they found it rewarding and impactful. Finally, strike a hopeful tone by highlighting tangible solutions that can make a positive difference right now.

Fortunately, as you would when climbing a mountain, you can manage a big challenge with clear directions, inspiration and encouragement. All you have to do is take the first step.

The post How to inspire grassroots activism appeared first on Socialbrite.

Post by Torrey Tayenaka

It’s no secret that we live in a digital world. So it’s no surprise that video marketing has become an efficient way to reach your target audience, whether you run campaigns for a nonprofit, cause organization or social enterprise.

As with any form of marketing, though, it’s important to know that you’re getting a favorable ROI for your efforts and that you can identify what’s working and what’s not. This is especially critical when working with donor funds and limited resources.

So, how do you measure your video marketing efforts? We’re going to show you exactly how to do that in just a few easy steps. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to gauge the effectiveness of your video strategy and plan for future campaigns.

First, let’s look at some numbers to show you why you should constantly improve your video marketing strategy. According to a report from Wyzowl, 78% of marketers agree that video marketing has produced a good ROI for their organizations. Also, marketers who used video marketing say they grew their revenue 49% faster than those that didn’t. 

Measuring your video marketing

To know how to measure the effectiveness of your video marketing, you must first decide what the goal of the marketing is so you know what you’re looking for. Your measurements should be based on three goals: engagement & conversion, awareness, and ROI. All of these goals can contribute to your nonprofit’s success, so understanding how to measure them is vital when it comes to optimizing your marketing budget. 

Measuring the engagement of your videos

When you’re producing video marketing in the hopes of increasing the engagement or conversion of your target audience, you’ll want to look at how your viewers are interacting or connecting with your content. Check to see how often they watch your video, if they follow your links, and if they comment on and share your video. 

Depending on the service you’re using to promote your video, you may be able to easily see these numbers, or you may have to do your own calculations. 

Metrics to measure for this interaction are based on several factors, including the following: 

• Viewing time is the estimated time in minutes that a viewer spends watching your video. If viewers aren’t watching your video until the end, you’ll know that you’re losing their attention. A low watch rate may mean that your content isn’t relevant or engaging enough, so you may need to reevaluate the video and content if you’re seeing this. This is an important metric to keep an eye on, especially if your video is spreading the word about your nonprofit’s mission, cause or fundraising campaign and your audience is missing key elements of your message.
• Shares are also a good indicator of engagement. If a viewer not only watches your video but also shares it, you know you’re on the right track. Look at this metric as your word-of-mouth referrals. By sharing your video, viewers are not only agreeing with or enjoying your content, they’re wanting other people to see it as well. 
• Comments and likes are some of the more visible interactions that your video will have. You should make a habit of reading through your comments to see how your audience is reacting. Comments often alert you to issues that you need to address and they improve your SEO ranking. It’s also a good idea to interact with your audience in the comments, when appropriate. This engagement helps build brand and customer loyalty. 
• Click-through rate is a metric that shows how often a viewer is attracted to a video and actually clicks on it. The CTR is calculated using the total number of video clicks and dividing it by the total number of views. This number will show you if your call to action is working or if it could use some tweaking. 
• Live video metrics are another thing to measure if you’re broadcasting your video live. If so, you should pay attention to when your peak live views occur in order to know if people are enjoying your video and if it’s too long. 

Measuring brand awareness

If the goal of your video marketing is to create a buzz about your nonprofit or a fundraising campaign and to increase the public’s general awareness of it, there are several key metrics you need to keep a close eye on. These metrics are focused on the groups of people that are watching your video and where they’re located. By critiquing these items, you’ll be able to determine if the people you’re reaching are actually in your target audience or if you need to adjust your efforts. 

Metrics to measure brand awareness include the following:

• Play rate measures the number of times that a viewer clicks the “play” button on your video. This number is found by dividing the total number of people who play your video by the number of visitors to your page. If your play rate is 70%, that means that 70% of the people who see your video press that button to play it. If this number is low, it may mean your video promotion needs to improve or that the audience isn’t finding it interesting enough to actually spend time watching it. 
• Viewer demographics will show you if the people who are playing your video are actually the people you’re trying to reach. These metrics will show you the people who are engaging with your content and will allow you to see their location, age and gender. If your demographics don’t show you the target audience you’re trying to reach, you may need to change your marketing strategy. 
• Impressions show you the number of times your video is actually being seen by the public, even if they’re not engaging with it. This is important to measure because it will show you if your ads or promotions are performing properly. If this level isn’t favorable, you can adjust your ad settings or raise your budget. Your ad settings may need to be widened to a broader area or age range to increase the number of people who see it on a daily basis.  

Measuring your return on investment

As with any marketing strategy, it’s important to know if you’re spending your budget wisely. This measurement may show you that you need to increase your budget or it may show you that the money you’re spending is simply not worth it. To know which way to go, you have to know how to measure your ROI first. 

ROI is calculated by dividing the sales from your video conversions by the money spent to produce them. In other words, did you make more money off of the video than you did making it?

Before you can accurately answer that question, you need to make sure that you’re adding up every expense you incurred to make and promote the video. This includes your equipment, time, advertising budget, etc. Next, you need to track how many leads and/or sales you got as a direct result of the video. This can be a more difficult number to arrive at and it may mean that you need to ask customers how they heard about you. 

If your ROI isn’t where you want it to be, here are some things to consider:

• Does your budget need to be adjusted? You may need to increase your daily dollars in order to reach more customers and increase your conversions. You can adjust your overall budget or your daily budget depending on the platform that your video is promoted on. 
• Is your video aggravating in any way? If the customer is clicking off of it because of distracting music or annoying visuals, you may need to adjust your video to be more pleasing to the eyes and ears. If the viewer isn’t watching your video long enough to get to your call to action, they may never convert. 
• Do you have a call to action? If your video isn’t clearly directing your customer to the next step, that may be the key to getting more people to convert. Don’t leave them guessing what to do next. Make it clear and obvious. Have a URL that they can click to follow or put your CTA in the video with text and/or voice. Depending on the length of your video, it may be smart to have more than one CTA. 

Measure your way to success

As with any goal that you set, to know if it’s a success or not you must be able to measure it. Measurements are only accurate when they’re quantifiable, which is why it’s important to know the metrics to look for with video marketing. 

Before you start gauging your success, set benchmarks throughout your year so you’re reminded to look back and track the metrics. Keep in mind that the metrics you should be measuring are based on the goal of your video marketing. 

Photo at top by Bill Rice (CC BY)

Whether the goal of your video marketing is increasing awareness of your nonprofit, building engagement and conversion, or having a favorable ROI, you now know the ways to measure the effectiveness of your efforts. With a little bit of dedication, a few dollars, and some time, your campaigns will be on their way to success. 

The post Ultimate guide to measuring your video marketing efforts appeared first on Socialbrite.

Post by Alma Causey

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, nonprofits and social enterprises have had to rethink their marketing strategies. Nonprofits have been scrambling to develop appropriate communication strategies to approach their stakeholders during these trying times.

With contributors sticking close to home and social distancing in force, it’s harder than ever to conduct outreach for even the most worthy cause.

In this post, we will share some principles that you can incorporate into your social media marketing strategy to keep your user base intact.

Social media marketing during COVID-19

When times are tough, staying connected becomes all the more important. Underscoring the importance of social media, people are turning to these platforms to keep themselves connected, informed and engaged.

Instagram and Facebook saw a 40 percent increase in usage during the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak. But the rise in social media traffic and online activity does not indicate that online outreach is business as usual. You’ll need to adjust your messaging to adjust to the new realities.

Foster relationships

1If you’re concerned about the durability of your nonprofit during these challenging times, you’re not alone. With people retrenching and the economy contracting at a historic 33 percent annual rate in the previous quarter, it may be the right time to focus on relationship building rather than fundraising and revenue generation.

This is a good time to experiment, to host conversations about a variety of subjects of interest to your target audiences, and to create valuable evergreen content on your blog to enhance your organization’s SEO.

Engage with the audience and forge relationships to develop goodwill for your brand and strengthen your position for the long run. Engagement can be driven simply by offering information about your ongoing causes, sharing your plans through visuals or multimedia, and even humor.

Be empathetic

2The ongoing pandemic is affecting everyone in one way or another. People are experiencing lifestyle transitions; some are working from home; others have been laid off because of the economic slowdown.

People are also experiencing a wide variety of emotions during these times. So make sure you double your efforts to be empathetic toward your followers and take care in what you post. Show your human side and share a few experiences about how the pandemic is affecting the people you serve or work with. That builds a bond and gives readers a sense that you understand what they’re going through and that you care about them.

There’s no need to mention the crisis explicitly every time in your content, but take into consideration how your content could be interpreted by a person facing a different reality than yours.

Consider influencer marketing

3One form of marketing that might prove more productive than paid ads during and after the pandemic is influencer marketing. Influencers are people with a large following on social media and who carry considerable sway over consumers’ spending decisions. Influencer marketing has a human element that can promote organic growth and provide a higher ROI compared to ad spend.

However, do’nt get caught up in numbers when pursuing an influencer marketing strategy. Look for people who share your vision and are ready to give their 100% to help you achieve your goals. You can recruit them to become ambassadors for your cause. You can enlist them to attend virtual events.

Conduct research and use hashtags to find influencers in your niche. You can also use micro-influencer platforms like Fohr and Apexdrop to connect to influencers and bloggers and drive traffic to your social media channels.

Go global

4Although the coronavirus is a global pandemic, it’s affecting some regions worse than the others. For example, Taiwan, South Korea and New Zealand have done a better job in containing the virus.

The spread or slowdown of the virus in different regions will affect your social media traffic. So this may be a good time to diversify the regions you’re targeting to increase traffic from abroad.

Platforms like Facebook allow you to run targeted ads and put your product or services in front of new supporters. By targeting consumers in different geographic locations and markets, you can mitigate the risk and improve the returns.

Focus on the audience

5The pandemic has forced nonprofits, brands and businesses to reorient their priorities. Revenue generation has taken a back seat while consumer sentiment is now driving the marketing strategies.

Adding value to the lives of users through your content is now more important than ever as a marketing strategy. Any content that can inform, educate and motivate people is bound to gain traction during the pandemic. Look at what your nonprofit peers are doing — or not doing. Can you do it better or differently?

If you can offer solutions to some of the life problems faced by users, it will go a long way toward fostering goodwill and generating more engagement on your social media posts.

Conduct live streams

6Video content, especially live streams, is an effective tactic to connect with your supporters on social media. This is why it’s not surprising to see Facebook and Instagram Live views doubled in a single week during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Therefore, nonprofits should leverage this medium and allocate resources to YouTube, Facebook and Instagram Live, as well as webinars. Can you organize an online gathering of stakeholders or thought leaders in your sector? Perhaps host a weekly Zoom call or check-in. It can help you create content in a way that users are coming to expect.

Final thoughts

While the current crisis has impacted nonprofits on an unprecedented scale, we believe that organizations can weather this storm through smart social media marketing. Engage your users across a number of online and offline channels and use this time to build a community that will help you achieve long-term success for your cause.

The post How to do social media marketing during the pandemic appeared first on Socialbrite.

Editor’s note: Wiza is offering its Pro account for free (with 100 email credits) to any nonprofit. Head over to Wiza.co and let the team know that Socialbrite sent you.

Post by Stephen Hakami
Founder & CEO, Wiza

You may have heard about about the tactic of sending cold emails, but you’ve written it off as a marketing strategy for your organization.

It sounds a bit questionable, maybe even a little spammy. But might it actually generate more donations?

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: yes, and there’s a great way to go about it that doesn’t violate the recipients’ trust. 

Why try the cold email approach?

People like to support causes they care about, especially if they have money set aside for charitable giving. But if they don’t know about your nonprofit’s needs or cause, how will they support you?

Your communication or marketing team knows it’s essential to get the word out. So we’re here to suggest that sending personalized cold emails can be much more effective than sending mass emails. Let me explain. 

Cold emails are very effective at generating donations because you can personalize them. 

They also provide a helpful means of learning more about potential supporters. By emailing, you can easily track open rates and responses to your cold emails. You can see what content and information resonates with potential supporters — and what needs work. 

So how do you actually reach out to your potential stakeholders with cold email? 

How to send cold emails for your nonprofit

Below are some cold emailing techniques specifically tailored for nonprofits. Whether you’re just getting started or you already have a strategy in place, these tips can help you get the most out of your email performance.

Personalize it

The key factor to a successful cold email campaign is personalization. 

With mass emails, it’s not really specific to the recipient. But when you send cold emails to individual leads, you can use their name, reference their professional career and even mention causes they’ve listed on their LinkedIn profile.

Use this knowledge to your advantage. Seeking to make each email personal not only gives you more promising leads to begin with, but it also increases your chance of getting a response. 

Optimize your subject title and opening line

If your subject line piques the recipient’s interest, you’ve got them hooked. Then you just need to reel them in with the opening line of your email. 

But how do you improve your subject line and first sentence?

Tips to increase your open rate

Here are some suggestions:

• The subject line shouldn’t focus on you, it should focus on them. Try these as titles:

• • “I have a question for you”
  • “How do you ___?”
  • “What causes will you support this year?”

• Don’t start your email with your position title or even your nonprofit name. Instead, try these:

• • “I noticed you were interested in ___”
  • “It looks like you might care about [this cause] …”
  • “Are you looking to get involved with [a movement]?”

Tell a story

Storytelling is a powerful tool. If your nonprofit helps people in need, share those stories in your cold emails. This will help people connect with your mission and get on board with what you’re doing.

It will also show them how important their support is to your organization.

So instead of just saying, “Your donation will help feed one person for six months,” share how an individual was helped by people’s donations. Show them rather than just tell them. 

You’d be surprised at how many people are happy to share their stories about how your nonprofit helped them. Share those stories with potential supporters so you can get more donations and, in turn, help even more people.

Alert leads of your events

Do you have an event coming up? Reach out to your leads and let them know. With this method, there’s a clear call to action: Come to our event. This especially works if it’s a free event that encourages donations.

This could be anything from a holiday event to a food drive to an auction. Whatever it is, make it clear in your email what they can expect if they come. Also, tell them what they’ll get out of it.

Then, as the event date approaches, send them a reminder email to elicit a higher response rate. 

Send a thank-you email

When someone donates to your organization, make sure you thank them personally. Even if you got the chance to thank them in person, still send a personalized follow-up email. 

Here’s what to include in your thank-you email:

• Say thank you at the very beginning of the email
• Tell them how their donation is helping, reinforcing their decision
• Ask them to share on social media what your nonprofit is doing

So, yes, you should be cold emailing leads as a nonprofit. And, yes, they can generate more donations, if you do it well. Using these methods, you’ll be able to improve your cold emailing strategy.

Image at top: Victoria Nevland / Creative Commons BY NC

The post Why nonprofits should send cold emails appeared first on Socialbrite.

Five tips on how to up your email marketing game in the year ahead

Post by Evaldas Mockus, Omnisend

Whether you’re a nonprofit, a social enterprise or a small business, beginning an email campaign can be a daunting affair. This is especially true for organizations new to email marketing. Before you do anything else, you should get a handle on email deliverability best practices to bone up on how to reach new subscribers as well as how to pump up those email open rates.

Once you’re ready to go, here are some key points to remember in planning and executing an email campaign, whether it’s a fundraising blast, an update for your stakeholders or a branding exercise to introduce your nonprofit to new audiences.

Consider your audience

1Before you even think about hitting send, you need to do some homework. Start by conducting some research into your target audience’s demographics and preferences to see which messages might resonate with different constituents, whether they’re your members, donors, volunteers or partners.

As you consider your constituents and their needs, ask yourself these questions.

• Who is my target audience?
• What would my constituents want from an email newsletter?
• How can I give my constituents what they want?

You need to consider your audience’s desires if you want to create an effective newsletter. Brainstorm ideas about how you can provide value, information and messaging about what they’d want.

Cross-promote

2You can cross-promote your email newsletter through other channels. You can start your email campaign growth by targeting people who’ve already donated or expressed loyalty toward your organization. They already have an interest in your cause or mission, so they may want to receive emails from you. From there, they can share your nonprofit’s mission with their friends and expand your reach.

You can cross-promote in lots of ways online. If you have a social media following, make a post on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account about the new email campaign. For effective cross-promotion, you should consider a social media scheduling tool. This will encourage your current followers to sign up for your newsletter when they’re most likely to be online. You can also make your email newsletter sign-up a noticeable part of your website, drawing in more of your customers.

Provide incentives

3People like to have a reason to join an email newsletter. After all, they are giving and trusting their personal email accounts to your organization, so you need to give them a good reason to join.

There are different ways you can provide incentives for your members, so here are a few ideas.

• Provide exclusive information that they can’t get anywhere else.
• Offer something exclusive through the newsletter — perhaps a chance to meet your executive director or contribute their ideas for a cause.
• Enter each email subscriber for a chance to participate in a real-world event.

You can try a lot of creative approaches to providing incentives for your members. Find the ones that work best for your organization.

Provide a call to action

4Whatever else you do in your newsletter, each email you send should include a call to action. A CTA drives your subscribers to take specific real-world actions on behalf of your nonprofit or your cause. CTAs can vary depending on what you want to achieve and what you want your subscribers to do.

A CTA can be as simple as encouraging people to click on a link to following your social media accounts to contributing to your cause. Make sure the call to action is clear and simple for it to be effective.

Improve your campaign & open rates

5After you prepare the emails and send them out, you need to see how your subscribers react to your emails. What is your open rate? Your click-through rate? Your ROI? These metrics will help you identify ways you can improve your campaign going forward. You can adjust the length of the email, experiment with the subject line, change the CTA and make other necessary changes.

Don’t forget to ask your constituents’ opinions. Surveys work wonders at collecting data for you. See what they think about the contents of your email newsletter or your organizaion’s plans and priorities. Keep in mind that you may need to provide an incentive for some people to participate in surveys.

While you may reach a point where you’re happy with your email marketing, you should always seek to improve it. While it’s near impossible to be perfect, you can always strive to provide the best newsletter possible. Keep improving and developing your email marketing to maximize your profits and bring success to your organization.

How about you? What steps have you take to up your nonprofit’s game when it comes to email marketing?

The post The ultimate email guide for 2020 appeared first on Socialbrite.

Post by Jennifer Marr

Most nonprofits have a long history of relying on traditional media when they want to get the word out about a new initiative. While television, print publications and mailers remain a big part of the marketing game plan, nonprofits are realizing that their social media accounts are becoming increasingly important.

But it’s not all about just Facebook and Twitter.

Do you know what the second largest search engine after Google is? It’s not Bing or Duckduckgo or even Yahoo. It’s Google-owned YouTube. Nonprofits need to be on YouTube to reach your target audiences and move them to take action. In this article, you’ll find out how to get ahead of the pack.

Google and YouTube partner programs

As a nonprofit, you’re  in some luck when it comes to creating a YouTube channel. Alphabet, the parent company to both YouTube and Google, offers special nonprofit programs to help you achieve your goals.

These programs include Google for Nonprofits and the YouTube Nonprofit Program. They’ll help guide you through the process with the goal of building a long-term, stable subscriber base. Be warned, though, some of these programs are available based on region, so if you’re outside the U.S. they might not be available.

On channel and on video optimization

When putting together videos and your channel, you need to remember some basic optimization techniques. These are pretty simple, so let’s run down a quick list:

1. 1. Have titles that people will search for; especially questions
   2. Use appropriate tags and add a lot of tags
   3. Mention the main question or questions and  keywords as part of your video — the algorithm can convert audio to text
   4. Have a simple-to-understand and appropriate thumbnail image
   5. Write a good, detailed description, including these terms

   
   charity: water, part of the YouTube for Nonprofits program, created this video as part of its campaign around World Water Day in 2018.

   Quick tips to getting more subscribers

   The golden rules for building a following on YouTube are time, quality and most importantly consistency. Gaining subscribers and increasing engagement is not a given, but if you remember these three things plus the tips below, you can be successful. Here are some great tips on how you can gain subscribers:

   • Make your videos more personal. You’re a nonprofit, which means you’re part of a movement or cause. This can sometimes seem distant and unemotional to the user. Don’t let it be so. Engage on a personal level with your viewers. Make them feel valued. You’re not posting infomercials or television ads.
   • Host it yourself. Rather than using a professional voiceover artist, have someone from within the organization, preferably your executive director, president or marketing chief, hosting the videos themselves. This allows viewers to connect on a personal level with your brand and your cause.
   • Capitalize on trends and current events. As a nonprofit, you have to stay on topic and on brand, and you can’t get sidetracked by insignificant trends of the day or celebrity-driven news. But take a look at things like the trending topics on Twitter and stay on top of current events to see where you can hook into a topic that is top of mind for people.
   • Get feedback and improve. Creating YouTube videos is an ongoing, evolving process. Engage with your subscribers and commenters (the polite ones) and take constructive criticism to heart. Nobody is perfect out of the gate.
   • Post consistently. Grassroots activist Tim Pool, best known for livestreaming the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011, posts three to five videos daily across three channels. As a result, he consistently gets a lot of views and high visibility in YouTube’s recommendation algorithm. Now, you probably don’t have the ability to go that far, but where possible post in a consistent manner, including at least once a week. The ideal would be every other day, or three times a week. Post at the same time as well so people know when to expect your content.
   • Consider live-streaming. Live-streaming is becoming increasingly popular, especially among younger people, so if you’re doing a live event that would generate interest by the public, it wouldn’t hurt to announce it on your channels in advance and to set up a YouTube Live account.
   • Let your viewers know they can subscribe. The YouTube community is actually divided on this one. Some will tell you to “like, comment and subscribe,” all of which help boost a video and a channel. Others grown on the practice. At the very least, it’s a good idea to have a visual reminder of a call to action at the end of the video or midway through.

   Connecting viewers to your site and cause

   The above list focuses on things you can do on your YouTube channel and in your videos to get more subscribers. However, you also have to think about your channel as part of a wider effort to increase engagement and participation. Think of it as part of a network. This can be divided into three areas: on channel, on site and in social media.

   On channel: Include links to your website and other social media in the description but also do so again in the comments, especially if you have a fundraising campaign you want people to contribute to.

   On site: Write quality blogs of more than 600 words, preferably double or triple that (yes, longer is better). A good post answers a question related to the topic of your video. Then embed the video into the blog post. You can easily embed YouTube videos in a blog, just hit the “share” symbol and you’ll find an embed option, copy the code and paste it into the html area (called “Text” in WordPress) of your blog service.

   In social media: Focus on the new video immediately upon its release by sharing it across your social media. Some social media platforms, like Instagram, will require you to re-format your videos, but it’s well worth the work to reach a wider audience. Re-share the video over the next few days. If it’s an evergreen topic, then you can re-share regularly in the future.

   Share the love to build a wider community

   YouTube is much like other parts of social media in that pure self-promotion does not go down well. Creators are part of a community, so be aware of YouTube viewers’ expectations. It’s good to get personal (see above) and to be part of the community and not turn your channel into a beg-athon. Champion other nonprofits, tag them on social media, give shoutouts, comment on their videos as your channel, and build the love.

   Do the same with individual creators as well, even those you might disagree with. It builds goodwill and engagement, plus in the future the influencer may be more willing to help you out pro bono.

   Now you have some tips on how to use YouTube as a nonprofit. It’s a great resource and should be part of your promotional arsenal and communications strategy.

   One last piece of advice: Just get started, get on with it, learn as you go and keep making content. Let us know how you’re doing in the comments below. Good luck!

   Jennifer Marr, a freelance writer with many years of experience in the marketing sector, is looking to expand her experience with the nonprofit sector and to help them grow.

The post How nonprofits can make the best use of YouTube appeared first on Socialbrite.

If you’re working on behalf of a nonprofit, foundation, NGO, university or cause organization, you know that you don’t move the needle unless you have a marketing plan in place that propels people to take action on your organization’s behalf. And today a big part of your marketing toolset involves social media.

Because most people participate in at least one social media platform, nonprofits now have an easier and less expensive way to target and reach your stakeholders and constituents.

But before you jump in, make sure you have a concrete plan on how to get the message across to your target audience. If you’re planning to jump-start your social media presence for your organization, here are 15 tips you might find useful.

Set goals

1Before you start tweeting or Facebooking away, you need to identify your goals. What are you trying to achieve, and how do you measure success? If you’re trying to increase your organization’s engagement rate on Instagram, say, you should first set out a goal that’s specific (50 IG interactions), realistic (is it really possible?) and timely (in a month?). Once you establish a goal, you should track how you’re doing and adjust your processes to improve your results.  

Know your audience

2One of the most important steps in boosting your social media presence is knowing your audience. If you know who they are, you would know what their interests are and what type of content you need to share to reel them into your social media pages and your website. You’ll be better positioned to effectively engage them if you know what their proclivities are.

Know the platforms

3Knowing the audience gives you an idea what social media networks they spend time on. If, for example, your audience members are the “visual” types, you’re going to be more effective in engaging them through Pinterest or Instagram.

Photo courtesy of rawpixels.com via Pexels

Be consistent with your content

4Post content regularly to build your social media presence. You don’t need to devote a full-time staffer to this, but your updates should be regular and not sporadic. Also, make sure your content is consistent with the services you offer so that your audience won’t get confused with what your organization is offering. Your social media team members need to be on message with your nonprofit’s mission and goals.

Create targeted content

5By “targeted content,” we mean posts that your target audience would find interesting. As the saying goes: content reigns supreme. That holds true with social media marketing as well. Make sure you’re not regurgitating boilerplate mission statements — you need to find human stories that represent what your organization is trying to achieve!

Repurpose top content

6Yes, recycling or repurposing content is not a bad idea — especially if the content garners a lot of attention the first time you posted it. If a blog or a video gets a lot of attention from one social media platform, you can use it to get more mileage in another platform that is not doing as well.

Make sure it’s not all about you

7As long as you stay consistent with your updates, you can increase your social media engagement if you share external posts that your audience might find useful or interesting. In other words, it shouldn’t be all about you. Post about your sector or interesting things happening in your world, not just about official organization business.

Influencing via influencers

8“Influencers” are experts or public figures who have large social media followings. Wooing them to promote your services would help in making your cause, fundraising appeal or big event known to a wider audience. Does anyone on your team know any figures with large followings? Ask them!

Photo courtesy of picjumbo.com via Pexels

Engage your audience regularly

9Take time to reply to queries or solicit suggestions posted by the public to your Facebook page or other social media comment sections. Your followers should know that you spend time there and care about what they have to say.

Create a social media calendar

10There are lots of tools on the Internet that will help you manage your social media accounts more easily. (See Socialbrite’s Tools section.) This will also help in making sure you post updates on a regular basis.

Connect with other marketers

11Building relationships with other social media marketers can help foster a virtuous circle. This also makes it easier for you to get more ideas on how you can boost your social media presence.

Put more effort on visuals

12People are visual animals, which means that more people will likely check out your content if it looks great. So make sure to put more effort on the images you’re posting to attract your target audience.

Use hashtags

13Hashtags are a useful tool to make your content easier to find. This will also help with your branding. Did you now that Socialbrite has a free downloadable flyer on the subject?: 45 hashtags for social change (PDF).

Join communities

14Joining communities that are in the same niche as yours will make it easier for people to find your content, as communities usually allow their members to share posts on community walls. Also, you’ll be able to get the latest trends and news in communities.

Measure the results

15Last but crucially: Constantly check to see if you’re on track to achieving your goals. Are your efforts paying off or are they falling short? Only by measuring can you adjust course to be more in sync with what your audience wants and needs. The number of followers, likes, shares, comments, clicks and/or leads should be able to tell you if you’re achieving your goals or not.

There’s no denying social media is now a part of the modern landscape. Whether you work at or with a nonprofit, foundation, university, NGO or social enterprise, you should take advantage of this fact and use the free tools available to you. Over time, if used properly, social media can help advance your organization’s mission, and that’s the bottom line, isn’t it?

The post 15 social media habits to boost your nonprofit’s marketing appeared first on Socialbrite.

Post by Aby League

Are you a small nonprofit, or perhaps you’re a marketer with a nonprofit client? Do you find it hard to hit the KPIs? We can’t blame you. Coming up with a proper marketing strategy for a nonprofit organization can be tricky because you’re not just selling a product, you’re also selling a cause.

But the rise of smartphones and mobile-focused marketing has made it easier for marketers — especially those working for nonprofits — to reach their audience. Whether or not you have a mobile strategy or are just developing one, you should be aware of these commonplace mobile marketing mistakes to avoid so that you can reach or even surpass your KPIs (key performance indicators).

Not having a sound mobile marketing strategy

There’s an old saying that goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This applies to marketers who fail to come up with a sound mobile marketing strategy. With mobile marketing, there are tons of information at your disposal and, equally, a ton of ways to use the information you get. This can be used to gather more specific information such as the best time to send out marketing campaigns, custom content, and correctly targeting the intended audience for each nonprofit.

Sadly, a lot of nonprofit organizations take this information for granted and don’t maximize such resources, which leads to a failed campaign or strategy. It’s a notorious mobile marketing mistake that you should avoid.

For you to create a sound strategy, you need to create a solid marketing framework to build on. This can include a mobile-friendly website, creating customized content, and even go as far as using the analytics to come up with an effective schedule to send out campaigns. Or you could simply look at how Propelrr’s digital marketing works.

Failing to tailor content to your niche cause

You can post as many videos, images, quotes or as many emails you like, but if you don’t realize that not everyone can relate to the cause of your client’s nonprofit organization then you are doomed to fail.

As with any digital marketing framework, you need to segregate your audience into personas or categories that fit your client’s needs and niche. Knowing the who, what, when, and how of your audience will help you create personalized content and campaigns. This will also help your audience relate more, which then leads to a more successful call-to-action.

Not optimizing content for different kinds of mobile devices

By now, online marketers should know that the number of mobile device users has overtaken the number of desktop users. As such, Google has rolled out it’s mobile-first indexing, which sent web developers, designers, and even SEOs in a frenzy to adapt their websites and campaigns as fast as possible to get a jump on the competition.

Marketers aren’t exempted from Google’s new search algorithm. Their marketing material and email campaigns must comply with mobile-first indexing, not because it makes it easier to search. No, no. It’s actually due to the number of users who will view your campaigns through mobile devices. In this day and age, nobody wants to squint their eyes or go through the trouble of zooming in just to see the content. It’s either you will follow today’s standards or go home. Make sure your content works on various platforms.

Not all nonprofits need a mobile app

It’s no secret that gaining traffic for nonprofits is difficult even for seasoned marketers. What more if you want people to install and use a mobile app. Before you or someone suggests that your client’s nonprofit organization needs a mobile app, you might want to do a little research.

Your client might be spending money on an app that nobody will use. If that would be the case, then it would be wiser to invest in helping create a better, more optimized mobile website to increase the presence for your client on all mobile devices. But in case there are specific targets that can only be achieved through a mobile app, then invest in creating one that will increase the engagement with your nonprofit.

Failure to make use of the data

You cannot come up with a marketing framework that drives online success if you don’t use the data given to you. You can gather the information from practically every avenue your nonprofit client has such as social media analytics, website stats, and through email marketing. You can also do A-B testing with the data you get.

By digesting the information, you can easily find trends, see when your audience is most active, and figure out which marketing strategy works and doesn’t help your nonprofit client. It’s all about how much you can play with the information you gather.

Failure to include a call-to-action

A lot of marketers — even those who work for nonprofits — fail to add a call-to-action because they hope the powerful message of their campaign materials will be enough sway people into supporting their respective causes

Unfortunately, you could have the best image or video in a marketing campaign, but without a call-to-action your audience will most likely leave after taking a look at the image or watching the video.

Even if you have a call-to-action, it should be placed precisely in such a way that it’s not intrusive or disrupts the user experience. Marketers can use a whole image as a link to a landing page or use the end of a video to help generate interest to click the link. A well-executed call-to-action can help your marketing framework drive online success.

Launching a marketing strategy without user retention in mind

Think of this: you’ve launched an awesome mobile marketing strategy to capture your audience’s attention. Now what? You can have all the goodies to get the audience behind your client’s nonprofit cause, but without a user retention strategy in mind you could be losing them as soon as they close the tab or email.

Keep your audience engaged by doing follow-ups, creating value in your mobile app marketing, keep your content updated, and provide great customer service. That way, your users keep coming back to your app or rally behind your client’s cause.

Marketing a nonprofit organization is a lot different compared to a business. That’s why knowing these mistakes will help you create a solid marketing strategy for your client with a nonprofit organization. After all, you’re not just selling a product; you’re also selling a cause.

The post 10 mobile marketing mistakes nonprofits must avoid appeared first on Socialbrite.

Whether face to face, by email, or with trained carrier pigeons, how you ask for donations makes or breaks your fundraising campaign (note: carrier pigeons are a guaranteed attention-getter).

Your message, and how it makes your potential donor feel is mission-critical. If they feel nothing, they will give nothing.

But let’s face it, writing effective fundraising emails is not easy. But it can be done, if you follow a process to develop your own email messages. And if you’re patient.

8 steps to writing a good fundraising email

Here are eight steps you can follow to write or even rewrite fundraising emails for your next campaign:

STEP 1: Tell a good story

A good story is the foundation of any effective fundraising appeal.

Begin your fundraising appeal with a story that pulls at the reader’s heartstrings. Talk about a real person who benefited from your work.

Make the donor the hero, not your organization.

For example, charity:water talks about a woman who fell down into a well with her baby. And she was stuck in the well for over 2 days! See? Doesn’t that grab your attention?

STEP 2: Make it about them

Fundraising works best when it’s one to one, between to people who share a common passion.

E-mail is always one-to-one (no one gathers their friends around a computer to read their e-mails). View your fundraising email as a unique opportunity to develop a relationship with someone who wants to receive your emails, and is possibly open to making a donation.

Start by imagining a specific supporter that you’ve met a few times. Write your e-mail as if you’re writing a personal appeal this person.

Tell them why their support is invaluable. Connect their support to the outcome. Use their first name, And write the e-mail in second person narrative (use the word “you”instead of “we” or “I”).

STEP 3: Talk about the money

Gain the trust of potential donors by being transparent about your funding gap (the gap between funds that cover admin costs, and what is needed to pay for specific programs). NPR are masters at this with their on-air fundraisers, which I’m sure you’ve heard.

Their asks usually go something like this: ”Sponsors and grants cover administrative costs, but we need your support to make sure programs like Science Friday continues to reach people like you”.

This approach communicates transparency and responsibility – making donors feel confident about how their dollars will be spent.

STEP 4: Tell them what their money will do

$50 will not save all the chimpanzees. But it will help, and it is doable. Tell potential donors exactly how the money will be used, and what outcome will result from their $50. This approach helps donors connect the dots between their donation and the outcome they seek.

Another great example is from No Kid Hungry, In their “Build a Breakfast” campaign, they tell potential donors: “For just $40, you can connect a classroom of 20 children with a healthy school breakfast for an entire month”.

This ask is very specific, immediate, and doable! This gives the donor a sense of realistic, personal impact.

STEP 5: Keep it short

No one has time read a long fundraising email. In fact, most people will just skim it first, then either delete it or keep reading. Here are four tips:

1. 1. Limit paragraphs to 2-3 sentences.
   2. Limit the overall email to 2-3 paragraphs.
   3. Break up the text with headlines.
   4. Enter your email copy into this readability tester.

STEP 6: Ask three times

Don’t forget about the call to action! In fact, make sure you ask three times in your fundraising appeal. But don’t just repeat the same phrase over and over.

Ask different ways. For example, at the beginning of the e-mail you can say “you can make a difference”, linking to your donation page. In the second and third paragraph you can ask again: “Join others like yourself to make a difference”. Also, try asking once in between two paragraphs, in bold text.

STEP 7: Tell them they can say no

A good friend, who’s also fundraising consultant, told me her secret to success: People will often give bigger donations when they feel their personal free will is respected.

According to a recent fundraising study, giving people the choice of NOT donating almost doubles the likelihood that they will donate!

STEP 8: Don’t ask for money in the first email

No one likes to be asked to make a donation if they haven’t heard from you in a while. If that’s the case with your nonprofit, your first e-mail should encourage your potential donor to learn more about the campaign.

For example, charitywater often asks supporters to watch a video or read an article, before asking them to raise money.

Leading off with a powerful story says that you’re not all about asking for money, which helps builds trust. It also helps you connect with your potential donor on an emotional level – where fundraising happens.

The post How to write your best fundraising emails appeared first on Socialbrite.

Photo courtesy of JD Lasica/Nonprofit Technology Conference 2013

If you’re like me, you feel a little bit of dread right before you leave for a conference. All the work I’ve left behind, the accumulating emails and deadlines waiting for me when I get back, and leaving my family behind is never easy. Then there’s the dreaded conference fatigue. Also, trying to find conference session rooms in these maze-like hotels makes me feel like a lost child right before I enter a room where I’d like to feel empowered and oriented. Anyone else?

Between room disorientation, sessions, networking, processing of new information, socializing, and then getting back to your hotel late to catch up on work or emails – it’s a lot. So, it’s easy to lose sight of all the great things that are happening while you’re at a conference and the subconscious magic that can integrate into your thinking and work afterwards.

So what’s so magical about conferences? Below I’ve attempted to consolidate some of what happens at these events between the excitement, fatigue, session confusion, wonderful AHA! moments, and reunions with former colleagues and friends:

• PROMOTES A LEARNING MINDSET – There’s something powerful about taking time out of a busy schedule to learn. Ask yourself what three things you want to get out of a conference before you go, and you’ll be setting yourself up for success.

• CONNECTION – Conferences allow you to liaise, and form greater relationships with your peers. Ask yourself BEFORE you get there – who do I want to meet? Can I set up a time to connect with them before I even get there?

• ELEVATED THINKING – Sessions often create conversations and introduce ideas that elevate your work and thinking around issues that pertain to your work, i.e. – women in tech, mentoring, and diversity. Ask yourself what themes interest you the most this year. What do you want to explore further? Choose sessions that make sense for what you’re there to do, but also make room for a at least a couple of sessions that are outside your comfort zone. You may be happily surprised.

• SPACE – Conferences give you space and time away to integrate your current thinking with the introduction of new concepts. Jot down notes at sessions – less about of the actual content which you can likely retrieve from the instructor, but of the larger questions you may have about the session topic or how you can apply your learning once you leave the room.

• INSPIRATION – Conferences are places to learn so much from others. This is also the time to dig below the surface. The time to ask bigger questions about important topics, your career, where the industry is going, and your place within it? Make sure you allow yourself the space to explore some of these ‘bigger’ questions. It will make the conference feel a lot more meaningful than just a bunch of sessions you attended over the course of three or four days. My favorite part of conferencing is the inspiration I take away from the work my peers are doing. It makes me want to go home and do better, and be better at what I do.

Did I miss anything else? Let me know in the comments!

The post The Hidden Magic of Conferences appeared first on Socialbrite.