There are many differences between how private businesses and not-for-profit organizations work – but marketing isn’t one of them.
Charities and businesses alike are competing in the same marketplace, on the same platforms, for the same resources. Your potential supporters have limited time and attention; you need to capture their interest and keep them engaged in order to convert good intentions into action.
Get better results with your charity marketing! Avoid these four marketing mistakes commonly made by nonprofits.
Mistake #1: Focusing solely on donations.
Funding is important. But what else has value to your organization? What results are you trying to achieve?
Many charities make the mistake of linking their ROI solely to financial donations. It’s important to calculate non-financial goals too. For example, if a charity were to create a petition signatures drive, measuring the success of that campaign based on donations wouldn’t be accurate.
Establishing clear campaign objectives and key performance indicators can help you get a better return on your marketing investment and overall organizational success.
Mistake #2: Not properly tracking.
Tracking is essential for measuring ROI and recording the impact of your organization.
If you aren’t tracking properly, you could be missing out on amazing opportunities or wasting valuable resources on ineffective tactics.
Make sure you are harnessing powerful tools like Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Facebook Pixel to learn more about your audience and how they’re engaging with your content (or not).
By learning what your users are accessing the most, where they’re coming from, how much time they’re spending, and which pages they’re seeing first – you can optimize your site to remove obstacles and direct visitors exactly where they need to be.
Mistake #3: Not utilizing Google Ad Grants (or not using them up).
Is your organization a registered charity? Are you using your Google Ad Grants? Are you having trouble using them up to get the full value?
If your NPO has a charitable tax number and is registered with TechSoup Canada, you can apply for a Google Grant to receive the equivalent of $329 USD per day in advertising credit for Google Ads – worth more than $120,000 a year.
However, there are restrictions that can be a hassle to navigate, causing some charities to lose out on $12,000 in free Google advertising.
With good tracking, you can use Google Ads to funnel search traffic to the most appropriate places on your website and prompt visitors into immediate action.
Mistake #4: Site not secure.
The quickest way to lose a donor is for them to see the message, “Site not secure”.
This may feel like old news, but it’s become more important since Google and others updated their internet explorers to make the Not Secure label more obvious for users.
What if you aren’t seeking donations? Are you gathering any personal information from your visitors (such as name, email, phone number or address)? Do you offer a newsletter sign-up, contact form or search function on your site?
If so – you MUST make sure you are on a secure HTTPS site or else you are putting your organization, along with your donors and stakeholders, at risk.
Digital marketing for non-profits.
Bluetrain can help correct all of the mistakes listed above. We offer tailored digital services that are ideal for non-profit marketing. Take advantage of digital technology to meet your mission more easily, affordably and effectively.
Contact us to learn more or get started on your next campaign!