Maximize Your Organization’s Impact with These Five Questions – Before Your Next Campaign
The primary goal of a nonprofit organization is to create long term, high-value donors. Donors provide the resources needed to the organization for innovation, scaling impact, and sustaining the organizations ultimate vision.
At the end of the day, if creating an all-around satisfying donor experience is your goal (which it should be), it’s important to recognize what motivates donors in today’s economy. Without a doubt, it’s the organization’s mission impact and value you bring to the community. Ultimately, your success depends on the donor’s perception of your contribution to the stated mission.
So, how can you be sure your organization is maximizing impact? We have found, by answering the below questions, it creates clarity in how best to communicate to an engaged audience. You may be surprised when you compare the results with campaigns that didn’t start off with a clear definition of your audience.
1. What makes your message relevant to your particular audience?
First, find out what drives your audience. What motivates them? How does your message relate to their life, and – more importantly – how does your organization enhance their life? In this era of big data, it’s very easy to seek refuge in statistics and retreat into the sanctuary of numbers as proof that your ad campaigns will work. But to deliver messages that spark the right kinds of action, you first have to know what will move your audience.
To pinpoint what messages will resonate with your audience, first, you must define them. Look at the members of your organization who are already active. What is their demographic? Where do they live? What are their hobbies? Income level? Marital status? Following the age-old philosophy that “like attracts like,” you’ll want to center your ad campaigns around people like those who are already active donors and participants.
2. Which touchpoints (media experiences) influence your brand to drive interaction (response)?
Once you’ve pinpointed your audience and what messages are most relevant to them, you want to analyze your most successful past campaigns. Media touchpoints are the places – real or virtual – where customers interact with your brand, ideally changing or reinforcing the way they feel about your brand or the services you offer.
Touchpoints are often confused with channels, but they are much more than that. A church service is a touchpoint, as is a radio ad, a direct email campaign, or even a discussion about your brand with other people on social media. It can also involve the moments when they arrive in your parking lot, the signs they see when they enter your building or event, or even just the feeling they have when hearing your name.
For the purposes of successful ad campaigns, you want to consider the interactions you can control and determine which ones are most successful in driving a positive response.
It is a safe bet that video will be one of those touchpoints. The average internet user watches 1.5 hours of video a day, with 15% noting they watch three hours’ worth. Even more significant, 50% of all videos are viewed on mobile devices.
3. What marketing efforts are your audiences responding to?
Think about how technology may help you drive your audience down the sales funnel for more successful advertising. Big data combined with artificial intelligence (AI) can help you identify your most successful marketing efforts.
You might think a successful campaign starts when your copywriters coin a brilliant tagline, your designers select impactful visuals, or you see your marketing ads in action online or on the air. Creating a winning campaign, however, begins long before that point. In fact, ad creation is the culmination of your marketing efforts – not the start.
4. What motivates people (your audience) to be enthusiastic advocates for your organization?
What is it about your brand’s values, belief system, and culture that resonates with your audience? If you aren’t sure of the answers — ask your audience. Find places to connect with them, whether it is at your events or online via email.
Speak to your most active members. Yes, actually have human conversations with them and find out why they chose your organization instead of the one down the street, and what they like best about your programs. Understand that not everyone’s answer will be the same. But if you continue talking to people, you will find trends that should drive your campaigns.
5. What’s the propensity that will propel your audience toward your organization?
In advertising, a propensity model is a statistical scorecard used to predict which people are likely to respond to your campaigns. Find the common denominator amongst those who are likely to respond favorably, and you can create campaigns that resonate with this target demographic.
Once you’ve discovered what messages resonate with your audience and what touchpoints are most successful in deepening the relationship, you’ll be on your way to a more successful campaign.
It’s never too late to answer these five questions. To maximize your organizational impact these are essential for best results.
Sources:
https://www.bluecorona.com/blog/mobile-marketing-statistics
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/state-of-video-marketing-new-data
https://get.tithe.ly/blog/how-to-quickly-create-a-communication-strategy-for-your-church
https://churchbrandguide.com/identify-target-audience-church-website/
https://pushpay.com/blog/5-questions-to-ask-when-creating-a-digital-church-strategy/
https://topnonprofits.com/know-your-target-audience-questions/
https://www.aspengroup.com/blog/3-keys-to-discovering-what-makes-your-church-your-church
https://factsandtrends.net/2016/01/25/the-four-dna-elements-you-must-understand-about-your-church/
