Let’s face it, at the rapid rate of technological advancements, any website (no matter how awesome or how much money is spent on it) is going to become outdated. New programs are introduced, best practices are modified and Google’s ever-changing algorithm raises the stakes on a regular basis; all making it increasingly important to have a fresh website.
The success of your fundraising system builds on the level of Know, Like and Trust you’ve created. So, if your audience clearly understands and identifies with your organization’s mission and vision, like who you are and interacts with you, and trusts you, you’ll find that it’s much easier to develop ways to strengthen your relationship with your community members and create more interest in your campaigns.
It’s early 2017 and America is gearing up for an undoubtedly active political year. With a new administration and many changes occurring, people are speaking out and protests are popping up everywhere. It seem every time you turn on the news, you see communities across the nation are coming together to not only show their support for civil liberties, but also enact legislation and advocate on behalf of groups facing discrimination and inequality. Uprisings and protests are taking place daily in major cities and small towns, petitions are circulating and individuals are calling their representatives in congress. People in your community are empowered to create social change NOW and are eager to express their opinions.
Selecting the right online marketing tools is only accomplished when you know where your audience can be found online. In other words, creating a Facebook page for your organization does you little good if your target market spends little time on Facebook. Are there benefits to having a Facebook page for your organization? Yes, but it may not be your first priority if you have limited resources and time. The only way to determine the priorities of your action plan is to truly understand the needs of your audience. It’s critical to take a good, close look at your audience members and understand where and how they interact online, along with what they’re looking for. Your audience wants to know that you understand them and the the services and programs you’re providing are what they’re looking for. In order to gain this insight, take the time to research where your visitors are coming from, where you’re losing potential visitors and how long it takes for your audience members to identify with the organization and community.
When you’re designing your website and, in particular, setting up its structure, decide what your ultimate goals are and what’s most important for your organization. Many organizations will say that it’s a combination of creating a user experience that resonates with its community and also building brand awareness. This means that people who are not yet involved with the organization can search for the organization and find out how they can become involved. Through these efforts, the organization can not only appeal to its current community, but also grow. We strive to create a memorable and exciting user experience that is easy to navigate and understand. We enjoy creating websites and the best part about designing one is getting to be creative with a customized solution, rather than following templates. Our clients thrive from our paying personal attention to their needs. We focus on the design and development of your website, or how it looks and flows. During development, it’s necessary to build in SEO best practices so your potential audience can find you and your current audience can quickly search for and find what they need. During development, we set up Google Analytics, SEO-friendly URLs, keywords and more. We also provide the tools you need to track your data and adjust your marketing based on what’s working and what’s not. Google Analytics can be quite a lot to digest, but we help you out.
In Yiddish, there is a term for this: Hamish. It’s an adjective that means cozy and warm. Make your website hamish. When visitors are relaxed, they’re more open to hear what you have to say. They feel as though they know you and vice versa. Encourage your users to keep coming around and to bring their friends along. There are many ways to do this, but our favorite way is to create an ongoing dialogue with visitors. Through marketing and connecting with your ideal users, you can build your mailing list. You can also provide entry points on your website to join the list. Through this list, you can promote your news, events and the overall message of your organization.
With over 3.5 billion online users, having a website is an absolute must for any organization looking to grow its community. In order to build trust and brand awareness, your community need to be able to find you online. But it’s not as simple as setting up a website and walking away; a successful website requires a significant amount of time and resources to keep them performing well. They need updates, tweaks, and occasionally they need total makeovers and a website rebuild. These can be difficult to keep up with, so if you’re not sure whether it’s time to rebuild your site, here are some tips to help get you on the right track.
If you were to ask a panel of marketers how they reached people in their early teens through their mid-20’s two years ago, most of them would say they weren’t their highest priority. Until recently, marketing efforts have been largely aimed at millennials, who hold most of the buying power. But now, trends are turning toward Generation Z, who bу thе уеаr 2020 wіll ассоunt fоr аlmоѕt hаlf оf аll соnѕumеrѕ. This means it’s beyond vіtаl for your brand tо соnnесt wіth thіѕ gеnеrаtіоn now in order to build lasting relationships.
So, you’re in charge of marketing for your non-profit organization. This means you’re the person everyone’s looking at when asking about the newsletter, advertisements, the awesome facebook group and maybe the most important thing… the website. And it’s all about the numbers. Your superiors want to see more of them. More leads converted to sales, a higher ROI and all within a smaller number; the budget. The pressure is on, to say the least.
As you aspire to create a beautiful, traffic-driving site with great social media tie-ins and a top search engine ranking, there’s one more thing to consider when making your website the best experience it can be for all your customers: Accessibility.
