Special Report: 10 Ways to Make Your Web Site ?Fundraising Friendly
9. Listen and participate. The fastest way to grow a following for your organization might just be a few clicks away on popular social networks. Many organizations are afraid of social media because they feel that they lose control of the conversations and content related to their organizations.
The reality is that the conversations about your organization and cause already are taking place — there never was any control to begin with! Once you accept this notion, go ahead and listen, participate and engage with your network. There's nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain. Consider streaming real-time data via RSS feeds from your social-networking applications into your Web site, and invite people back to your ?site where you offer engaging ?content along with targeted calls to action.
10. Integration leads to ?personalization. Integrate your Web site with a system of record or CRM system to maximize control over marketing to your target audience, while allowing constituents to have personalized experiences on your site. A CRM system allows you to deliver targeted content based on your constituents' interests and previous giving histories. Additional benefits include powerful self-service tools for your constituents on your site that allow them to manage their accounts, pay pledges, update memberships, print receipts and more.
11. (Bonus tip!) Make it ?interactive. Develop interactive applications around your cause or campaign that allow your constituents to interact with and learn ?more about your organization. Exciting, out-of-the-box applications such as the Ave Maria Memorial Locator or Brad Pitt's Make It Right campaign for Hurricane Katrina victims have huge viral potential where your constituents do your marketing ?for you by sharing links to your Web site. FS
Raheel Gauba is creative director at the Internet Solutions Division at Blackbaud and keeper of the Sans Profit Design blog. Reach him at raheel.gauba@blackbaud.com
