Let’s talk about campaigns
LET’S TALK ABOUT CAMPAIGNS
What’s the difference between a social media campaign and a fundraising campaign? How do you plan a successful campaign?
Let’s go back to the basics of campaign planning to set your small shop nonprofit up for success.
First, the definition.
First, the definition.
What’s a campaign? A campaign is an organized plan of action to achieve a specific goal. Easy enough right?
No matter your organization type, there are a number of different types of campaigns you can do. Some examples:
Social media campaign. This is where you’re looking to grow brand awareness —you want to grow your following and spread the message about your nonprofit.
Engagement campaign. Here’s where you’re trying to get your audience to take one specific action (other than making a gift). Think writing a Valentine’s Day card for Veterans.
Crowdfunding campaign. This could include peer-to-peer campaigns. This is where you’re trying to get traction around a certain day or event; you’re leaning into your community to create buzz and encourage more gifts. Things like Mother’s Day, Giving Tuesday, Relay 5K, etc.
Year-end campaign. A fundraising campaign that takes place throughout the month of December. (did ya think I’d leave this one out)?
Lapsed donor campaign. A re-engagement campaign to connect with donors who gave last year, but haven’t this year.
Monthly donor campaign. Nurture your monthly donors with ongoing communication to keep them feeling welcome and appreciated, or re-engage to encourage increasing their gifts.
Whatever campaign you’re doing, I want you to have all the best practices at your fingertips, so you can make the most out of all the time and energy you’re putting in.
Here are my 5 tips for campaigns
1 ➜ know your specific goal.
I know this feels obvious, but knowing your goal is the essential first step for any given campaign.
A lot of nonprofits jump straight into the design and messaging of a campaign without knowing the WHY behind it.
Are you trying to grow brand awareness?
Are you trying to get more funds for your new building?
Get clear before you start planning your campaign.
2 ➜ know how you’ll measure success.
Once you know your goal, get super specific on what success looks like.
Does “more brand awareness” mean 12 new followers? 120?
I like to create 3 different benchmarks:
What result would completely blow my mind?
What’s the bare minimum result? (Aka, what result will I be kinda sad not to hit)
Then, try to pick a middle-ground goal…something realistic but also a little stretch.
Practice the 3 benchmark tricks next time. I promise you, it’s way more effective than pulling a number out of nowhere. It also keeps you from feeling like garbage when you have to come back to your Board and say “we didn’t hit our goal.” Instead, you have three clear levels for success.
3 ➜ use cohesive branding.
Make your campaign more memorable. Create custom graphics and templates to use across your channels.
[Pick a favorite nonprofit and screenshot either their Instagram or part of the website. Be sure to include the source in the caption (Ex: “Source: @Brooklyn2Alaska”)] custom graphics and templates to use across your channels.
4 ➜ use consistent messaging.
Make sure you’re using the same language across your website, email, and social channels. No need to have a separate tagline for every donor touch point. That’ll create confusion more than anything.
Consistency creates trust.
5 ➜ try a soft launch.
It sounds scarier than it is. A soft launch is asking your most loyal community members to get involved—BEFORE you go public with a campaign.
We all know when you post on social media that your fate is left in the hands of the algorithm. Who can you count on to help you spread your message?
Shoulder-tap a few volunteers and key supporters. Let them know the where, when, why, and how before you launch your campaign. Ask them to re-share on their own social accounts to get your message out there.
A soft-launch works nicely for crowdfunding and other fundraising campaigns too. See if you can get your biggest supporters to create a Facebook or Instagram Fundraiser before you launch your campaign to everyone.
Now let’s talk about the 4 biggest mistakes that I see nonprofits make with campaigns.
1 ➜ not planning ahead
Calendars are your friends. I know planning ahead is a pain, but you need to know where your campaign starts and ends. Will it overlap (and potentially take away from) another campaign coming up?
Once you choose your timeline, make a list of when communications will go out - a schedule of dates and channels. Too often, I see nonprofits fly by the seat of their pants and they’re not sure when or where to talk about the campaign. Create a communications and marketing schedule and you won’t be scrambling at the last minute.
2 ➜ over-doing the design and branding
I love the creativity, I do. But, dear nonprofit leaders, you do NOT need to sprinkle leaves in the background of every email in the fall. You don’t need to send a completely hot pink email for Valentine’s day. Or a glittery, funky font throughout the holiday season.
I see a lot of nonprofits share a brand new color palette for every newsletter. Again - I appreciate the creativity - but it’s doing more harm than good. Remember, consistency creates trust.
So, earlier, when I said use cohesive designs for your campaigns, I don’t mean come up with a brand new, unrecognizable “look.” You want people to recognize you. Keep it simple. Don’t go overboard. And try to stay within your brand’s color palettes and fonts.
3 ➜ panic-posting and panic-emailing
When we don’t see results right away, it can be disheartening. I get it. Trust me. But, pretty please, out of respect for the individual humans in your audience, don’t “panic-share”. Follow your plan.
Let’s say you’re on week two of your year-end campaign, and you haven’t seen a lot of traction. You were supposed to only send one email this week, but in a moment of weakness, you panic and send an extra one (....or two.… or more).
You might think I’m exaggerating, but I’ve seen it before!
The only person you’re helping is YOURSELF in that moment. Trust the process. Stick with your original plan.
4 ➜ coming across as desperate
Your donors can read between the lines and sense the desperation in your tone. And…it’s not a good look.
Head back to our last episode on creating a fundraising offer. When you have a clear, heartfelt fundraising offer, you’ll inspire donors to take action. No need to invite your community into your personal panic spiral. Be honest, but with a hopeful tone.
5 ➜ not talking to your community
Communicate with the people in your community. Donors, volunteers, even your email list lurkers—they all have value to add. Find out what they think before you invest thousands of dollars into guess work.
What do they love about your cause?
What channel do they prefer to hear from you?
What topics are most interesting to them?
Why did they give their last gift?
Include a poll in your next newsletter to find out. Call a select number of donors. Send coffee chat invites to a handful of supporters.
Yes, talking to your community takes planning ahead. You need to know what’s coming in the next couple of months to take the right actions now. And if you can’t do it for this coming year-end campaign, that’s okay.
But, come February when you have no clue what to send your community, keep this nugget of wisdom in mind 😎.
Don’t overcomplicate it
A campaign can be very, very simple. It’s all about setting clear goals and having a plan. Head to your computer, open your computer, and answer these two questions:
1 ➜ what’s your goal?
2 ➜ what metrics will you need to keep track of?
Start there! You got this.
