Getting started with digital at your charity can be an overwhelming prospect.
There is such a huge number of tools, platforms and opportunities out there that it can be impossible to narrow down where to start.
Here are the 7 essential things we think every charity should have as part of their marketing arsenal.
A plan
Before you get started with all those fancy tools, do you know who you’re actually going to try and reach with them?
If your answer is ‘everyone’, then you probably need to do a bit of planning first.
We sat down and asked Macmillan’s former head of digital what three things she would do at your charity if she worked there. And answering the question ‘Who are we trying to reach?’ was her first answer.
Email marketing
Email is a hugely under-rated channel. After all, you don’t pre-date and outlast every social media platform going without being pretty awesome.
Email can give you a direct relationship with your supporters, take them on engaging journeys and convey important messages at exactly the right time.
Email is a particularly vital tool for fundraisers. Find out why below.
Why email can save fundraising
Facebook advertising
Facebook ads allow you to reach Facebook’s 2 billion users. You can select who will see your message based on their age, location, interests and so much more.
If your charity uses Facebook advertising right, you can make thousands of people aware of your cause and why they should support it in a matter of days. It’s one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of reaching new audiences available to you.
A Google Ad Grants account
Google provides charities and nonprofits with a $10,000 AdWords credit every month. That means your charity’s ads can appear in Google search results when people search for information related to your charity. Those searches happen in their thousands every day – you need to be appear when they do.
Getting a Google Ad Grants account is just a matter of applying to be part of the Google for Nonprofits programme, which any registered charity can do. From there, you’ll be able create campaigns that get you in front of people when they need your charity most.
How to apply for the Google Ad Grant
A Twitter account
Twitter is a brilliant way to engage with your supporters, potential supporters and other useful folk like journalists and politicians about the things that really matter to your cause.
You can share stories about the amazing work your charity is doing, build relationships and increase your reach.
Brave social media
If you’ve been on Twitter for a while, now might be the time to take your social media game to the next level.
Move away from the safe and non-controversial stories. It might be the only way to gain valuable attention in people’s crowded Twitter feeds.
A brave social media feed can bring your cause to the attention of way more people.
Inspiration
If you’ve got the building blocks of digital in place, you just need a healthy dose of inspiration to keep you motivated and give you the ideas that get you out of bed in the morning.
From meetups to online forums, we’ve gathered together the top six sources of inspiration for charity digital teams
