5 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Take #GivingTuesday to the Next Level

5 ways your nonprofit can take givingtuesday to the next level

5 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Take #GivingTuesday to the Next Level

For the last several months, nonprofit organizations from all across the globe have been mobilizing their digital marketing efforts toward one goal: #GivingTuesday. Taking place on December 3rd this year, #GivingTuesday is the largest day for charitable giving in the world. Since the movement began in 2012, the amount raised from #GivingTuesday campaigns totals over $1 billion online in the U.S. With #GivingTuesday 2019 just around the corner, we want to take a look at what makes a #GivingTuesday campaign successful and what your nonprofit should be doing to improve yours. 

Defined Goal

The #GivingTuesday movement is strong, but do not solely rely on it for your message. Oftentimes, a nonprofit’s #GivingTuesday campaign is built on describing what it is and why they are celebrating it. That might be unique for your current audience, but it does nothing to help your organization stand out to new consumers from all of the other nonprofits spreading the same message. Having a clearly defined goal on #GivingTuesday will boost your campaign to new heights. For example, a nonprofit that says “if we can achieve ‘x’ amount of donations on #GivingTuesday we will be able to do ‘y’” is more likely to garner attention than one that says “#GivingTuesday is the largest day for charitable giving in the world. Celebrate with us by donating to our cause.” If your nonprofit has engaged in #GivingTuesday in the past, it would be worthwhile to highlight past #GivingTuesday successes as part of your goal. An example of this could be “Last year, with your help we were able to save 1000 children. Help us raise 10% more than last year so we can save even more.” People have hundreds of options for who to donate to on #GivingTuesday, and they are more likely to donate to organizations that provide a meaningful reason to give instead of one that asks people to give for giving’s sake. 

A Comprehensive Plan

The best #GivingTuesday campaigns make full use of an integrated marketing strategy to ensure their message is clear and consistent across all of their platforms. Creating and implementing an IMC strategy goes hand in hand with your organization’s defined #GivingTuesday goal. Planning your strategy should focus on how to best communicate your overall objective and message on each platform. A potential donor should be able to go to each platform you are advertising on and have the same message emphasized to them over and over again over a period of time. In line with this strategy, we recommend implementing your nonprofit’s plan sooner rather than later. However, do not bombard your audience with #GivingTuesday messaging all at once. Instead, your plan should feature a slow build up in messaging that begins in the months prior. Use the extra time to place the idea of #GivingTuesday in your audience’s mind to prepare them for a fuller slate of messaging as the day approaches. While each nonprofit’s capacity to create an in-depth strategy may vary, having a plan, even a bare-bones one, is better than no plan at all. 

Landing Page

To go along with your nonprofit’s unique #GivingTuesday goal, we recommend building a campaign-specific landing page on your nonprofit’s website. Think of your IMC strategy as a funnel. At the highest level you are attempting to communicate your #GivingTuesday-centered goal to as many people as possible. Potential donors move down the funnel as you continually interact with them at different points with the end goal of having them make a donation. At every stage of your IMC plan, people should be interacting with the same message, and that is especially important for the final landing page. Donors who are coming to your website from your #GivingTuesday IMC-funnel are coming for a specific purpose. Funneled users will be less likely to donate if your landing page does not have consistent messaging to give them the final push they need. There are several ways your nonprofit can do this. You could create a new #GivingTuesday-specific donation page, create a blog post based around your goal, or you could simply update your existing donation page copy in line with your #GivingTuesday messaging. Much like we said before, having some #GivingTuesday copy is preferable to not having any at all. 

Remarketing 

Remarketing is a fantastic tool for any #GivingTuesday campaign. With remarketing, your nonprofit will be able to target potential donors who have interacted with your brand in the past. Your organization is able to increase the relevance of your ads and target potential donors more specifically, allowing you to hone in on them in a way that other tools cannot. When you engage an audience member in remarketing you are targeting someone who has already expressed interest in your message in some form. Using remarketing in your #GivingTuesday campaign, you can target people who have already donated or have expressed interest in donating in the past. Showing this audience a defined #GivingTuesday goal can help drive repeat donations and push potential donors into completing the donation process. Remarketing is a more advanced tool, however, the benefits it can provide for your #GivingTuesday campaign make it a worthwhile investment.

Tracking

The key to digital marketing is data. Your nonprofit should be tracking every stage of your #GivingTuesday campaign and analyzing the results. Platforms like Google AnalyticsFacebook Pixel, and Google Ads are able to gather incoming data for your organization to monitor, analyze and implement into strategies like advertising your #GivingTuesday campaign. Additionally, this data is not only useful for your campaign, it is also great for your year-round marketing and vital for planning your next #GivingTuesday campaign. Tracking engagement, audience demographics, session time, audience behavior and more will help you craft your message and hone in on an audience that is more likely to donate to your cause, ultimately making your #GivingTuesday campaign more successful.

If approached correctly, #GivingTuesday can be an incredible beneficial for your nonprofit. By applying the methods described above, your organization can better harness the potential of digital marketing and people’s generosity to support your cause. If you have any questions about implementing and assessing your #GivingTuesday campaign, or you are thinking of working with Cause Inspired Media to bolster your #GivingTuesday, contact us.