Ghazal Vaghedi 6 min read

Five Online Strategy Tips to Manage Data Across Multiple Channels

Fundraising and building a robust and active email list is critical to nonprofits who want to thrive in a multi-channel world. To do this effectively though, nonprofit campaigners need to truly understand data by segmenting their current list and tracking and segmenting new supporters.

So keeping data in mind, here are five tips I hope can help you with your online strategy:

1) Profiling is key to targeting and hence the *channel*: creating supporter profiles will help you target different audiences in different channels more effectively. For example, your fundraising email list versus your Facebook page versus your direct mail—three different channels translates to three different communication tactics.

2) Social Networks require their own list growth strategy: email open rates are on the decline, according to Pew, 61% of adult users are social network users, an increase of 9X since 2005. This means organizations have to think about not only growing their presence in relevant social networks, but they also have to think about growing their “lists” in these environments—much like you think about growing your email list. Roz Lemieux argued that where we are with social networks today is where we were with email in 1999.

3) Email appeals are not dead: although according to M&R Strategies, email open rates declined by over 48% between 2005 and 2009, it does not mean the email channel should be ignored. What it does mean is that you have to get more creative with your emails and that begins with understanding your audience. What no longer works is the same email blast with the same ask to your entire list. Email thoughtfully (check out BuzzMaven’s e-mail marketing check-list [external link] on how to write effective emails). Start with segmenting your database, and then create conditional copy to match your supporters profiles, and always test your different segments with different content (such as subject lines or even the content and ask within the email itself) and measure the response.

4) Tracking is key to understanding how your channels are working for you: social media experts say “you must measure, listen, and adapt”. If you are not measuring what is working via unique tracking links for your petitions and fundraising pages or using Google analytics, you are not listening to what is working for you and what is working against you. It is only when you track and measure that you can adapt your appeals to your different audiences in different channels. Remember its important to connect and communicate with your supporters based on what you know about them.

5) And last but not least, build your donor community by adapting “customer service” manners that a) effectively illustrate to your donors where their money is going (most donors have no idea where their money goes most of the time); b) make your donor feel appreciated (check out donorschoose.org for some great examples of making donors feel special); and c)remember most donors stop giving because of how they are treated by a charity. Customer service for non-profits is the extension of your organization to donors. How your supporters experience you is at the heart of this interaction and key to building a strong and loyal donor community.

*Ghazal Vaghedi is the Business Development Manager for Engaging Networks.