2014 Nonprofit Marketing Report

The 2014 Nonprofit Marketing Report was just released by Blackbaud and The Content Marketing Institute.  Here are some of the findings:

• 92% of nonprofit professionals use content marketing.
• The social media platform used the most to distribute content is Facebook (91%).  Other platforms used are Twitter (69%), YouTube (65%), LinkedIn (53%), Google+ (27%), and Pinterest (25%).
• The top 3 goals for nonprofit content marketing are fundraising (79%), brand awareness (73%), and engagement (65%).  I was surprised to see that website traffic was at 51% and volunteer recruitment was at 43%.
• The top 3 metrics for nonprofit content marketing success are increased fundraising (66%) , website traffic (53%), and social media sharing (49%). It was interesting to see that subscriber growth was at 31%.
• The 7 content marketing challenges that nonprofit professionals face the most are lack of time (69%), lack of budget (67%), producing the kind of content that engages (48%), lack of knowledge and training (45%), inability to measure content effectiveness (36%), producing enough content (35%), and producing a variety of content (31%).

Resources About Donation Pages

There have been some great resources lately about donation pages. Listed below are links to articles and a great infographic.

8 Ways to Wake Up Your Donation Page (Red Rooster Group)

Testing Your Donation Form Part 1: Why do it? (npENGAGE)

Testing Your Donation Form Part 2: Designing Your Test (npENGAGE)

Is your nonprofit website ready for the Giving Season? (First Giving)

Is September the new December? (Sea Change Strategies)

10 Donation Pages We Love (DonationPay)


Architecture of a Donation Page Infographic from CausePopuli-

5 Articles About Nonprofit Blogs

There have been some great articles recently about nonprofit blogs. I am excited that people are still interested in this topic.

Sixteen nonprofit blog post ideas (Nonprofit MarCommunity)

31 Nonprofit Blog Post Ideas (Wired Impact)

21 Ideas For Your Nonprofit Blog (Bloomerang)

6 Offline Sources of Blog Ideas for Nonprofits (Business 2 Community)

6 Essential Components of Top Notch Nonprofit Blogs (Hubspot)

3 Nonprofit Technology Tips You Can Learn From Disney

1. "You'll never know unless you try"

Your organization will never know if social media sites, having a blog, adding new features on your website, or anything else related to technology will help your organization without trying.

2. "Always try again"

Your organization may not be successful at first with social media or online fundraising. You can always try again to make it a success.

3. "Wish I could be part of your world"

People want to be part of your organization! Make sure it is clear on your website how people can donate, volunteer, sign up for your e-newsletter, and connect with you on social media.

14 Things Nonprofits Can Learn from The Millennial Impact Report

The Millennial Impact Project published their 2013 Report.  Here are some of the findings -

• Millennials prefer to share information about the cause, not the organization itself
• Millennials use websites first to learn about the organization, and then connect with their social networks to stay updated
• 75% of Millennials like, retweet, or share content on social media
• Millennials like photos
• Millennials' biggest website pet peeve is when the information has not been recently updated  (I wrote a blog entry on Website Pet Peeves in 2005)
• Millennial Action Taken On Websites - 51% connect via social media, 46% donated to a cause, 46% read a blog post
• More than 60% of respondents liked it most when nonprofits shared stories about successful projects or the people they help
• Organizations should post regularly on Facebook with photos, infographics, and videos 
• Make sure the "About" section on your website is easy to find
• Make it clear how to get involved with your organization
• Include a way to donate on your homepage
• Show a clear call to action in e-mail messages
• Show how the money donated goes towards specific projects
• Include photos of who or what the money donated goes towards

How the National Museum of American History Uses Social Media

The National Museum of American History does a great job of using social media. Since today is the 4th of July, I wanted to share examples of how they use social media.

Blog 

The museum's blog, O Say Can You See?, has been around since 2008.  The blog has lots of content about their collections with photos in each post.

Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/amhistorymuseum/

Their account currently has 1546 pins, which is the most of any Smithsonian account on Pinterest.  Boards include American Flag, Flags at the Smithsonian (group board for Smithsonian), and Today in History.

The Smithsonian Twitter account shared their group board in a tweet on Flag Day (June 14). Their tweet was "Check out our pinterest board showcasing U.S. flag use http://s.si.edu/11nEJhX".  This is such a great way to spread the word about a Pinterest board.

Twitter
@amhistorymuseum

They share daily "Today in..." tweets with links to their website.

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/americanhistory

They post "Today in..." posts, links to their blog, and links to Pinterest.  Each post has a photo.

2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

The Social Media Examiner recently published the 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report.

Miratel Solutions wrote about the report in their blog entry titled 4 Insights from 2013 Social Media Marketing Report Nonprofits Can Learn From.

This report was mainly for businesses, but nonprofits can also learn from this report. Both businesses and nonprofits have the same questions and goals when it comes to social media.

Here are some of the findings:

• At least 88% of marketers want to know the most effective social tactics and the best ways to engage their audience with social media. 
• A significant 69% of marketers plan on increasing their use of YouTube, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2013.
• While 58% of marketers are blogging, 62% want to learn more about it and 66% plan on increasing blogging activities in 2013. 
• The top two benefits of social media marketing are increasing exposure and increasing traffic. 
• 87% of marketers want to know how to measure their return on investment for social media activities. This question has been top of mind for marketers for the last three years.
• 26% are able to measure their social media activities
• 62% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more and 36% for 11 or more hours weekly. 
• The top five platforms used by marketers are Facebook (92%), Twitter (80%), LinkedIn (70%), blogging (58%) and YouTube (56%).
• YouTube is the top area where marketers plan on increasing their social media efforts.

Here are some of the similarities between nonprofits and businesses:

• Facebook was the top platform used. Twitter was the second platform used the most.
• Both want to learn the best ways to engage their audience with social media.
• Both want to learn how to measure their social media activities.

Great Example of a Nonprofit Guest Blog Post

Nonprofits are always looking for content ideas for their blog posts. One type of blog post is a guest blog post where nonprofits can ask their supporters to write an entry.

Milk + Bookies recently posted a guest blog post on their blog by Ariel Winter (who is on the cast of Modern Family). This is a great example of what a supporter of an organization should write about!

Her post mentioned the following:

• Her involvement with the organization
• Why books have been a big part of her life
• Explains what the organization does and her connection to the organization
• Encourages others to get involved and mentions ways to get involved

How to Share Animal Photos, Videos, and Webcams

"Live Owl Cam Cuteness By Explore.org",  an article on HelloGiggles, is a great example of how to share an animal webcam, video, or photo.

The post starts off with a few facts about the Great Horned Owl. Then the webcam from Explore.org is embedded in the post. The post ends with a link to the Owl Research Institute website where readers can learn more about owls or donate to the organization.

Cute animals rule the social web. Photos and videos of animals posted on social media get lots of likes, shares, views, and comments. Beth Kanter wrote about this on her blog in her entry titled "What’s the Secret to Social Media Success? Cute Animal Theory".

Organizations should add text to the photos, videos, and webcams they share on social media. Here are some ideas of what can be added-

• Facts about the animal
• Current news about the animal
• Link to your organization's fact page about the animal
• Link to your organization's donation, volunteering, or e-mail signup page

Gardens on Pinterest

April is National Garden Month. Since gardens are visual, I was curious to see how gardens were using Pinterest to show photos of their gardens. Listed below are links to Pinterest pages for gardens that I think are great examples.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Chicago Botanic Garden

Desert Botanical Garden

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Longwood Gardens

Missouri Botanical Garden

Naples Botanical Garden

New York Botanical Garden

Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden

Powell Gardens


What boards are gardens creating and pinning/repinning to?

• Colors
• Birds
• Butterflies
• Insects
• Wildlife
• What's in Bloom
• Crafts and Art
• Books
• Weddings
• Special Events
• Types of Flowers
• Pins from Visitors

I took the picture above at the Butterfly Garden at Brookside Gardens in 2010

2013 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study

NTEN and M+R Strategic Services recently released their annual  eNonprofit Benchmarks Study. Here are some of the findings:

• The two sectors with e-mail list growth in 2012 were Health and Wildlife & Animal Welfare. Health has gone up since 2010 by about 10% in each year. (10% in 2010, 20% in 2011, and 31% in 2012)  Wildlife & Animal Welfare went up by 27% in 2012. (17% in 2010, went down to 5% in 2011, and went up to 32% in 2012)
• The Environmental sector had the most e-mail open rates with 16%. 
• The Environmental sector had the most e-mail click through rate with 2.6%.
• The Environmental sector had the most e-mail advocacy click through rate with 5.5%.
• The two sectors with the highest e-mail newsletter click through rates were Environmental (with 2.9%) and Wildlife & Animal Welfare (with 2.1%)

Treasured Links About Blogging and Nonprofit Blogging

Blogging

5 Types of Blog Content That Drive Engagement (Social Media Today)

50 Blog Ideas to Help You Keep Your Blog Fresh (Marluck Marketing)

Social Media: 23 Ways To Promote Your Blog (Heidi Cohen)

How To Get More Blog Traffic (Business 2 Community)

Blogging Tips A-Z: the Ultimate Guide (Business 2 Community)

What Painter Bob Ross Can Teach Us About Blogging (Business 2 Community)

The Secret to Creating Stellar Content Marketing (Heidi Cohen)

65 Metrics To Track Blog Success (Heidi Cohen)


Nonprofit Blogging

Should Your Nonprofit Start a Blog? – Benefits and Drawbacks (Wired Impact's Blog)

11 Blog Content Ideas for Nonprofits (Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog)

Quick Guide to Starting A Nonprofit Blog  (Nonprofit Bridge)

Four Things A Blog Can Do For Your Nonprofit (The Salsa Scoop)

7 Tips for Successful Nonprofit Blogging (Miratel Solutions)

Clairification's Series of Posts about Nonprofit Blogging



Image from tao_zhyn on Flickr

How Nonprofits Are Like Snowflakes

Nonprofit organizations are like snowflakes. There are many organizations that are trying to solve the same problems. But each organization is unique in their way of solving the problem. Just like snowflakes, no organization is the same.

One way for nonprofits to share how their organization is unique is by sharing their stories on the Internet.  Nonprofit Quarterly has some great web content ideas for nonprofits in their article titled "The Role of Hope in the Nonprofit Website".

Here are some ideas mentioned in the article -

• Showcase your past impact my sharing your past successes
• Share stories about individuals
• Share data
• Let community members tell their own stories

How Nonprofits Can Take Advantage of Their LinkedIn Page

While researching nonprofits on LinkedIn, I noticed that many organizations are not taking advantage of their LinkedIn page.

Nonprofits can upload their logo, add a header image, share news, and add products & services.  LinkedIn members can follow nonprofits to stay updated on their news and recommend their products & services.

I like how organizations (and companies) can add a thumbnail image for their products & services. The product or service has its own page on LinkedIn with a description and a link can be included to that product's page on the organization's website.

Examples of products & services listed:

• The American Red Cross lists donating blood and disaster relief as services. The disaster relief page has a link to their newsroom on their website.
• The American Cancer Society lists Relay for Life (which has 52 recommendations) and their blog as products. The Relay for Life page has a link to the Relay for Life website and the blog page has a link to their blog.

Listed below are links to LinkedIn pages for nonprofits that I think are great examples. These organizations have updated their pages with their logo and banner images. They have also listed products & services. Most of these organizations keep their followers updated by posting videos, photos, news updates, and links to their website.

American Red Cross

American Cancer Society

American Heart Association

National Kidney Foundation

Invisible Children Inc.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The World Bank

Action Against Hunger | ACF-USA

The Nature Conservancy



Links for more information about LinkedIn pages:

HOW TO: Claim Your Nonprofit’s “Company Page” on LinkedIn (from Nonprofit Tech 2.0)

Company Pages - Frequently Asked Questions (from LinkedIn)

LinkedIn Offers Personalized Banner Image For Company Pages (from Business 2 Community)



What are your favorite nonprofit pages on LinkedIn?

Arts Organizations and Digital Technologies

Pew Internet released a report this month titled "Arts Organizations and Digital Technologies".

Here are some of the findings that I thought were interesting:

• The most common activities on arts organizations websites are content creation, sharing, and comments.  These activities include posting photos (94%), allowing users to share content (90%), streaming & posting video (81%), streaming or posting audio (57%) maintaining a blog (50%).
• The other major activity on websites is event promotion and management.  These activities include maintaining an online calendar (74%) and selling tickets online (72%).
• I was surprised to see that not many arts organizations have online exhibits (20%) and have educational/instructional content (22%) on their websites.
• The three social media platforms used the most are Facebook (99%), Twitter (74%), and YouTube (67%).
• The most common thing they do with social media is to engage with member before, during, or following an event (82%). The second most common thing is monitoring what people are saying about their organization (77%).

2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report

The 2013 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report was just released. Here are some of the findings:

• The three most important goals nonprofit communications strategies are acquiring new donors (57%), engaging our community (52%) and general brand awareness (45%). Creating website traffic was at 22% and building print or e-mail list was at 18%. 
• Websites, social media other than blogging, and email marketing are the most important tools. 
• The three most important social media sites are Facebook (94%), Twitter (62%), and YouTube (42%).
• Nonprofits are most likely to add or experiment with Pinterest this year.
• Nonprofits expect to spend the most time this year producing content for Email newsletter articles (52%), Facebook updates (49%), event marketing (38%), and website articles (36%).  Producing content for blog posts was at 20%,  Twitter updates was at 18%, and infographics was at 6%.
• The biggest challenge nonprofits expect to have is lack of time to produce quality content.