It’s Time to Spread Your Word!
Year-end is here, and for non-profits, this can be the busiest time of the year! But a good 2022 holiday fundraising strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. To kick off the year-end giving season, we are giving you five marketing fundraising tactics you can implement as soon as today to start hitting your fundraising goals.
Bringing in Organic Social Media for 2022 Holiday Season Fundraising Strategies
Organic reach has become more complex over the last few years, and the ever-changing algorithms don’t help. Instead of focusing on how many platforms you feel you need to be on, focus on which platforms you SHOULD be on! What platform does your targeted audience live on most?
Marketers can leverage LinkedIn for non-profits in many ways. Start tagging board members and other influencers in your posts so their followers can see you for free. Leverage LinkedIn polls to ask questions about your mission and follow up with responders via DM. Find other people’s posts related to your mission and COMMENT on them! LinkedIn is a space for connecting, networking and a great place to start for organic reach.
Other platforms that require relatively little effort with organic views are Tiktok and Instagram Reels. Whether it’s for Giving Tuesday or for a Year-End Appeal, participating in trends or leveraging trending audios in a way that ties back to your mission can help you successfully promote your campaign. According to TikTok, 68% of TikTok users say videos using popular songs or audio allow them to remember brands better, and 62% say they’re more curious to learn about the brand.
Implementing Paid Social Media Into Your 2022 Holiday Season Fundraising Strategy
Organic social media and paid social media go hand in hand! Paid social media can enhance your online presence and expand your organization’s reach. Let’s get down to basics.
Install a Facebook pixel on your website if you haven’t done so already! Doing so will help track who is coming from your Facebook to your website when running a paid campaign.
Next, create a custom audience by uploading your donor list. Reinforce the message you use on your website, email, and direct mail. If you don’t have an extensive list, no sweat! After this, set your budget and how long you want your paid campaign to run. Depending on the traffic, just a few dollars per day can go a long way!
How To Leverage Email To Spread The Word!
This time of the year, email inboxes will be slammed with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday messages. Getting ahead of the curve and starting your email outreach early is essential!
Plan to send out your initial Giving Tuesday message a week or two leading up to the date, and be sure to send your Year-End appeal a few weeks before the busy holiday season begins. Remember, don’t be afraid of rolling out more than one email for your campaign because you’re afraid of unsubscribes going up. The subscriber count is a vanity metric; it will always have highs and lows.
When it comes to the actual content of your email, use the less is more tactic. One test showed that click-through rates perform best among emails with three or fewer images, and emails with approximately 20 lines of text result in the highest click-through rates. The email does not need your message entirely, but it should be a good glimpse that catches your audience’s attention enough to take the next step and click your CTA.
Moving onto your lists, it’s best to segment your lists if you haven’t already. Don’t talk to your year-end donors the same as your event attendees, monthly donors or corporate sponsors.
Are Unsubscribers still on your mind? Launch a win-back campaign for lapsed donors and email subscribers.
Optimizing Your Website To Fit Your 2022 Holiday Season Fundraising Strategies
You can use a few quick tactics TODAY to ensure your website is ready for donors.
Adding a hello bar on your website with information about your current campaign and a CTA can help welcome first-time donors and make a great first impression.
What happens after someone has donated to your cause? Well, the next page they should see is a Thank You page, but it shouldn’t be a dead end. Include a simple video from your founder, provide an ‘I donated sticker’ that people can repost online, or include a link for them to share with their network they have donated and to help spread the word.
You can also implement SMS opt-ins into your 2022 Holiday Fundraising Strategy, even if you don’t have a specific SMS strategy in place at this very moment. In fact, SMS open rates have an average of almost 100%, while email open rates are around 20%!
Direct Mail: Bring Your Cause To The Mailbox
Even though direct mail is considered a traditional marketing strategy, it pairs well with your digital efforts, so don’t be afraid to make some noise in the mailbox!
When beginning your direct mail campaign, be mindful of the type of vehicle you will be sending. Will it resonate with your audience? Think about the size and brainstorm how to make it stick out in the mailbox. Next, craft some compelling copy that tells your mission’s story. Ensure it’s informative and impactful, and create a loud and clear CTA. Lastly, with the design, include a QR code to lead them to a specific landing page to donate and a reply mechanism so they can mail in their donation. It’s important to note that the more ways you give your audience to contribute (QR code, PayPal, credit card or check), the better.
Lastly, it’s time to get into your audience’s mailboxes NOW. The holidays are hectic for year-end asks, so hitting the mailboxes at the right time with the right messaging will help your chances of boosting awareness, response rates, visibility and, ultimately, donations.
Wrapping Up
Whether it’s for annual fundraising, annual reports, Giving Tuesday, or a particular event, it’s time to start planning and executing for Q4. If you’re looking for an agency that can elevate your 2022 holiday season fundraising efforts, you’ve come to the right place. Shoot us a message to get started!
