As surprising as it sounds, tablets and smartphones are fast becoming an essential item for the millions of homeless and poor people in the US, who are increasingly using handheld devices to access services and resources in a way never seen before.

This trend towards smartphone dependency, which has been well-documented in a number of recent studies, is having a profound impact on non-profit organizations. The need for a responsive website (one that provides the optimal viewing experience for users whether they’re on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone) has become an even greater priority for non-profits if they are to continue to meet the needs of those they serve via new media.

Service providers everywhere are realizing the importance – and benefits – of communicating with their audiences effectively via mobile devices, as increasing numbers of disenfranchised people turn to smartphones and tablets to access health care, legal services, shelter services, food programs, and potential employers.

For many poor and homeless people, the smartphone is their only means of accessing information, getting online, and connecting with those who can support them, whether they are friends and family or social service providers. Low income and less educated Americans, young adults, and non-whites are more likely to rely on their smartphone for services and information. 15% of smartphone owners say they have limited options for going online other than their cell phone (source: Pew Study 2015). So for those in need of support from non-profit organizations, their tablet or smartphone is fast becoming a survival tool.

The rising popularity of mobile devices has undoubtedly changed our lives; the use of smartphones and tablets among Americans alone increased from 56% in 2013 to 64% by the end of 2014 (source: Pew Study). And where the use of these handheld devices had once been the clear domain of the middle and upper classes, the low-income sector (those making $30,000 a year or less) are now catching up, with usage reported at 50%. What is striking are the figures for those who fall well below the poverty level, namely the homeless, who are completely reliant on their mobile device for Internet access, with 62% of homeless teens making up that share (source: USC Study).

Take-Aways:

Healthcare: 62% of smartphone owners have used their phone in the past year to find information about a health condition (source: Pew Study 2015) and 71% of Emergency Department patients experiencing homelessness own cell phones (source: Yale/New York University Study).

Ethnicity: Smartphone dependency rose dramatically among non-whites, with 12% of African Americans and 13% of Latinos smartphone-dependent, compared to just 4% of whites (source: Pew Study 2015).

Employment: 18% of smartphone users have submitted a job application (source: Pew Study 2015) and 36% of homeless teens use the phone to call current or potential employers (source: USC Study).

Resources: 39% of smartphone owners have used it in the past year to access government services or information (source: Pew Study 2015).

With responsive websites achieving greater conversions rates, being given Google rankings priority, and providing a more user-friendly experience overall, a mobile-device optimized website should now be the greatest priority of non-profit organizations.

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Author: Laura Garton | Chaffington Marketing Communications

I was poking around the Internet to locate data on responsive (mobile device-friendly) nonprofit websites after a client had asked what percentage of giving is now occurring on smart phones, tablets and alike. Though data for this sector is a bit scattered and anemic, the answer was located (nearly 10%), along with several more eye-opening finds which I found suitable for sharing.

The Nonprofit Website Visitor is Now Very Moible Engaged

At the end of the 2014 giving season, NPEngage.com completed a mobile fundraising study, across 343 nonprofit websites, titled: “5 Myths of Mobile Fundraising“. These statistics show that mobile viewing is no longer just for the impulse shopper.

• 9.5% of online donations are made on mobile devices.
• 1 in 5 (19.6%) people are registering for an event from their mobile devices.
• Memberships accounted for 12.3% on mobile, with a nearly 5% bump (17.2%) for responsive mobile websites.
• 49% of all emails were read on mobile devices.
• 1 in 6 donors who give from an email are on a mobile device, with a nearly 2% bump (18.5%) for responsive mobile websites.

Wow!

Responsive Web Viewing Performs Far Better

Aside from smashing some of the myths about mobile giving on devices, the following statistics also show that responsive web viewing is now essential.

Responsive websites get 34% better conversions. Nonprofits without a responsive website had an average donation form conversion rate of 7.45% while responsive websites had a rate of 10.09%.  That means donors were 34% more likely to make a gift after reaching a donation form when the website was responsive. (Conversions are potential donors who had once visited the donation page, but had not given, e.g.: changed their mind about giving) . Source: NPEngage.com.

Many more nonprofit websites are responsive than expected. Of the 105 nonprofit websites researched by NPEngage.com, they found that 56 of the organizations were responsive. That means 42% (of the small and mid-sized organizations they randomly selected) were responsive.

During 2014 there was an 8.9% increase in online fundraising, where overall charitable giving in the USA increased at only 2.1% Source: Blackbaud Giving Report

In 2014, approximately 6.7% of overall fundraising revenue was raised online (excluding grants). Source: Blackbaud Giving Report

December may no longer be do-or-die month. Online giving is also shifting away from the high percentage of December donations. In 2014, 17.8% of all online giving happened during December. That is down from 22.4% in 2013. However, in June, 2014, overall giving was at 9.0%. Source: Blackbaud Giving Report

Sobering find: the percentage of nonprofits donation landing pages that are not optimized for mobile is 84%. Source: Online Fundraising Scorecard.

I recently took part in a webinar on the topic “Fundraising Apps to Make Your Life Easier”. Essentially, it was a discussion on applications which the nonprofit fundraising professional can employ to help better manage events, work flow, connectivity, and whatnot. And like other articles I’ve read and webinars I’ve attended, the focus has been on how to get the viewer from the website to the payment option as quickly and easily as possible—but with minimal human interaction. And, certainly, that is a good thing since staff time costs. But, as I started to consider what, if anything, of this webinar I should include in my next blog, I began to consider how the “just click here” mode of thinking—when taken too far—is, well, de-humanizing (for lack of a better term) the relationship between supporter and organization. That, I don’t see as a very good thing. Perhaps striking some sort of balance between automation and personal attention needs to be evaluated.

Any good fundraising professional understands that the cultivation of a prospective new donor, or sustained giving from donors, is achieved more often when there’s genuine one-on-one dialogue taking place. Call me old school, but I believe donors should never feel like they’re just another entry in the database. It’s why successful development professionals are required to have good people skills in addition to their technical fundraising prowess.

That being said, how does one maximize their people skills in an age when website and mobile devices intercede in our social marketing? (This isn’t totally rhetorical. If you have suggestions to share with us, by all means, please do so below.) Well, let’s consider the familiar options first.

The comments/discussion windows below blog posts (such as this one) are excellent for general, though not time-sensitive, inquiries and remarks. Adding video testimonials, or videos that introduce staff to givers, along with how their social investments are helping people, provides a nice dynamic element to the giving experience. Also, social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, allow for real-time interaction when content is fed live on an organization’s web page.

These devices, as good and as important to the nonprofit website as they are, are still a bit detached. Social networks, even with their chat abilities, are more tribal in nature and less of a private, one-on-one, experience. Moreover, these examples require an action on the part of the visitor if communication is to commence at all.

On that point, wouldn’t it be far better if dialogue can be initiated, not just by the visitor, but by the nonprofit professional or website operator as well? If so, then how? Two solutions (at least for now) come to mind. And neither are new technologies. Webinars (as I had introduced at the top of this article) and live chats.

The use of active communication software, such as webinars and live chat, are still well below the radar of consideration for most nonprofits.

Webinars. Inviting supporters and potential donors to join in a live discussion where staff is introduced and programs expanded upon, is certainly the modern conference room or even living-room social equivalent. And with webinar software offering audio, video and whiteboard options to the type-chat function, this really is the closest thing to being in a face-to-face gathering. Attendees can choose to participate in the discussion, or simply listen in. At the end of the webinar, a transcript is usually available so even note-taking is no longer required. The downside to this option is that the webinar works within a schedule. Yup, those darn schedules!

Live Chat. (This may be my favorite complement to the website.) Just like we as consumers appreciate having a live chat operator assist us with technical issues or product purchases at commercial venues, the same client service is available to those of us who are tasked with donor relations, client relations, or simply fielding questions to the right person within the organization. Best of all, when one is visiting your site, and/or on a specific web page, the operator actually sees the activity in real-time.

Although the visitor is yet unnamed, since they have yet to click the “live chat” button, the operator can initiate a conversation! Should Janet or Jason be viewing the walk-a-thon or golf tournament page, you as the operator will know it. And instead of watching the visitor leave the page without considering a ticket or sponsorship package, you can introduce yourself to them then and there. You can explain to them that their participation is very much welcomed, that they’ll have an amazing time at the event—and that you are there to assist them with any question right now if they’d like.

As I had stated earlier, I’d like to hear other ideas for better humanizing the nonprofit website. If you have something to share with us, please do so below.

Tech Resources: There are many good webinar and live chat service providers available these days. Some are well known. For webinars, there’s GoToMeeting.com, and Join.me (which is free). For live chat, LivePerson.com (though pricy) is an industry leader, where the lesser-known ones are more affordable or even free such as ClickDesk.com. All of these examples at least offer a free trial period.

By Mike Maddox

Despite what many people believe, corporate branding is much more than just a logo, some colors and a font displayed in a way that looks interesting or quirky. It goes much deeper than that, and a successful branding solution which has been well designed and managed can give an organization’s audience something in which they can believe in, while helping to build and grow its own image.

A successful brand should not only be able to communicate an organization’s aims, ambitions, personality, what it does and how it does it, but should also be a reflection of its values and reputation and should be able to clearly communicate what it does differently to its competitors.

With the emergence of the interactive media age, where the internet and social media offer so many new ways for organizations and audiences to participate and communicate, many organizations are now expected to be much more effective in how they deliver their image and messages. Having a strong brand image and effective marketing strategy can go a long way to making one organization stand out above the rest.

A corporate brand, as a whole, is usually made up of the following elements:

1. A core idea – the fundamental idea behind the brand which defines the organization as a whole.
2. The logo – the most visible and unique icon, that is easily recognizable and embodies the organizations personality.
3. The identity (or toolkit) – which encompasses a number of visual devices, consisting of imagery, fonts, colors and tag-lines which are used consistently across all media.

A fourth element, outside of “design” consists of a marketing strategy, which dictates how and where the organization communicates its messages.

Today, more than ever, supporters of the nonprofit sector — just as they are of the consumer market — are much more aware of brands. They are making more informed choices based on them. Arguably, having an effective corporate brand and identity in place can give an organization (be they nonprofit or commercial) the edge over its competition.

The argument in support of well managed, consistent branding is well made by Professor Ian Bruce, Director of the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Cass Business School, in his article: Justifying the Spend in which he states that “having a clear identity is absolutely essential for all three main functions of a charity; fundraising, campaigning and delivery of services. If potential donors don’t recognize the charity they’re very unlikely to give,” he says. He further stated that “If decision makers don’t recognize and trust the brand then they’re not going to be persuaded. If potential beneficiaries don’t recognize the brand they won’t know where to go for services and they’re less likely to trust the service deliverer, especially if they’re in a vulnerable position.”

In the same article Cathy Pharoah, Director of research at the Charities Aid Foundation, says the process of developing a brand is broader than simply designing a logo. “I think it should express the organization’s values and attitudes and indicate what the organization’s mission is. That’s why it’s worth spending some money on.”

Some charities, however, choose not to spend money on branding. They’ll accept a volunteer’s (though well intentioned, often amateurish) concept. Or, they might deliberately choose a basic identity to make a point about avoiding unnecessary cost outside their core work. But Pharoah warns, this is a dangerous strategy, especially for those looking to expand.  And as a charity has no product to sell, its brand is all it has to work with. “With charities that have been going for such a long time, often what the charities stood for has got lost, there is no strong brand, there is no consistent message, and there is nothing to hang it on.”

Further agreement is made in the UK. According to a recent marketing report, increasing numbers of non-profit organizations are looking towards branding and marketing in an attempt to increase their donations and raise awareness.

In Rosie Baker’s article Branding is a secret weapon for charities featured in MarketingWeek she noted that: “Macmillan, a UK based cancer charity which overhauled its brand in 2006, has recorded an increase in awareness to 65 per cent in 2011 – up from 31 per cent before the rebrand.

Its fundraising income has increased to £141m ($214m) in 2011 up from £97m ($147m) in 2006 and it has been able to help 65 per cent more people suffering with cancer as a result of investing in its brand and marketing, the report adds.

Blind Veterans UK, which rebranded from St Dunstan’s, has seen a 31 per cent uplift in response rates to direct mail and a 38 per cent increase in likelihood that the public would consider supporting the charity since the rebrand”.

To summarize, having a memorable, well designed logo backed up by a strong core message, a consistent identity which clearly reflects the aims and personality behind an organization can go a long way to helping any organization stand out amongst an ever increasing and brand savvy crowd.

 

Written by Mike Maddox (mike75maddox@hotmail.co.uk)
See Mike’s profile on Linkedin, or send an email to the address above for more information.