Integrated New Media
New media and traditional fundraising: They can work together to your advantage.
We hear it all the time: “I don’t think my online marketing is performing as it should.” But with more and more donors seeking to interact with their favorite nonprofits via the Web or eMail, you can’t afford to have a weak eMarketing program. This case study shows how Masterworks developed an integrated New Media marketing plan to help a client dramatically improve online results.
Problem/Opportunity:
A large rescue mission had in recent years experienced an average annual growth in Internet income of about 27%. That’s right up there compared with industry standards. But following a major site redesign by the organization’s internal Web team, income growth slowed to 6% year over year. The client was alarmed, and rightly so. The mission knew it had to find out what happened . . . and do something about it.
Successful Strategy:
After the mission consulted Masterworks about the dramatic drop-off in Web income, we recommended a full assessment of their website and New Media strategies. Masterworks focused on five areas:
- Site design, layout and creative elements
- Navigation and ease of use
- Content and information
- Donor-friendliness
- Traffic analysis
Our assessment identified two key issues:
- Visitors were confused by needlessly complicated design that lacked logical visual structure.
- Visitors were not being engaged because of the lack of compelling content.
Masterworks developed a fully integrated New Media marketing plan that concentrated on two core areas:
- A complete website redesign, beginning with the home page and incorporating all learning from our comprehensive assessment.
- A new content strategy that would engage users with fresh and relevant information, stories and regular ministry updates.
We recommended and then implemented the following changes:
- Merged New Media with traditional marketing strategies.
- Developed a rapid PR response strategy — including micro-websites, blogs, eMail blasts, newspaper advertising, eAppeals and telemarketing — all designed to encourage community partnership with the mission when local disasters hit.
- Created special holiday season fundraising campaigns that include Web appeals, eAppeals, home page and banner advertising, landing pages and donation forms — all featuring offers and creative that coordinate with direct mail cultivation.
- Integrated an acquisition strategy that uses special landing pages for new donors who are prospected through direct mail but give their first gift online.
- Produced compelling success stories using the power and emotion of well-crafted videos so that donors can see online how their support results in changed lives.
- Introduced a president’s blog to provide regular donor interaction opportunities for the mission’s visionary leader.
- Employed seasonal event donor report-back communications that include eMail, home page ads and custom landing pages.
- Initiated a specific strategy to acquire e-mail addresses through offline response devices that offer report-backs to donors via eMail.
- Employed holiday season search engine keyword campaigns.
- Revamped all donation forms to ensure that they purposefully drive online gifts and streamline/simplify the contribution process.
- Placed online ads and special landing pages that tie in with television spots being aired.
Results:
As a result of this well-thought-out strategy and careful execution, in the first month alone Internet income grew more than 168%. What’s more, since its initial success, the mission has more than doubled the previous year’s monthly income. This demonstrates that a fully integrated New Media marketing plan — including fresh and compelling content, ease of navigation, coordinated on- and offline offers and a simplified contribution process that all work together — will give people a reason to visit your site on a regular basis and support your organization.
