If you have been on the Internet at all in the past few months, chances are you have seen a video posted or a discussion about the ice bucket challenge to raise awareness and money for ALS.
That, of course, was an example of a successful philanthropic campaign that generated millions in increased donations and garnered unprecedented attention. The secret to its success was the compelling social-media driven content created and shared by participants, which spread like wildfire.
Kentico Software, an integrated marketing solutions provider, recently reported findings from a survey of online donors, part of an ongoing digital experience series. The results confirm that compelling website content may encourage donors to give more.
According to the survey, 35% of those who donate online say they are sometimes moved to give more than planned when presented with compelling website content, responding specifically more to personal stories (35%) and statistics (32%).
What’s more, 67% report mostly giving to the same charities, with 44% preferring to give via a charity’s website and 47% claiming to visit the same nonprofit sites regularly. This presents the opportunity to upgrade repeat donors by creating compelling and inspiring content on the organization’s website.
Competing for dollars in a sophisticated customer-centric online world is often a challenge for even the best-equipped organizations, according to Kentico VP of Marketing Robert Pinkas.
“Nonprofits have the same needs as other firms, but don’t always have the IT departments or additional manpower, infrastructure and technology,” Pinkas told Loyalty360. “Kentico enables these organizations to use its award winning, all-in-one integrated marketing solution on a budget that makes sense for nonprofits.”
According to Pinkas, nonprofit organizations in many instances must go beyond the optimization public companies are used to with their IT systems so that they can be easily used by a variety of new people who cycle in and out as volunteers.
“Many of the nonprofits have a lot of volunteers who work for them for events, or any way they can,” Pinkas said. “Systems must be user-
friendly and simple so that it is easy for those volunteers to use, all while being able to deliver the kind of customer experience you’d expect from a major commercial site, in a system that is as easy to navigate as it is to adopt organization-wide. These are often deciding factors when many of these organizations choose to work with us.”
Kentico finds the majority of its customers through its partners. It’s these partners that turn Kentico’s clients’ visions into reality by analyzing the needs of the client, then implementing Kentico’s integrated marketing solution. This allows for optimization of the client’s website for search engines, as well as enables its clients to take over marketing from Kentico’s partners due to ease of use without technically savvy staff. This helps organizations save on budget, all while enabling the easy creation of compelling content by the client.
The study also found that 75% of Internet users claim to give throughout the year, with only 12% questioning the impact their donations will have on the given cause.
This trust, along with a willingness to donate among Internet users, shows that nonprofits must have a strong online presence to capitalize on this opportunity, create awareness, and connect with new and existing donors.