won’t survive but a few will thrive. If your nonprofit hasn’t tested Medium, try it. It’s
a strong community of thought leaders who write and share different perspectives
from the arts to climate change.
6. Another app worth testing is Periscope, acquired by Twitter. It's a video livestream
app that integrates real-time conversations with the people who are viewing your
Periscope. Nonprofits could use this at protests to document and narrate what’s
happening on the ground. It could also be a great way to engage with activists who
are not able to make it to in-person events.
NONPROFIT DIGITAL TRENDS 2016
azon, and providing content in smaller, more digestible bits for users. While
some nonprofits are still lagging behind in moving to a mobile-mindset, some
organizations like the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, and ONE are
building responsive sites, content, and campaigns focused on engaging mobile
users.
MAKE PERSONALIZED CONTENT YOUR ONLY CONTENT.
As our reliance on mobile devices has grown, our ability to connect with
brands and experiences has drastically changed. Users want a personal touch
to nearly every digital interaction. Brands that help create authentic and personalized experiences are shown to have greater loyalty from their customers.
Just look at Zappos: it feels like they somehow know what you want before you
do. Zappos focuses on providing a personalized shopping experience for every
visitor to the site.One way of building experiences that generate brand loyalty is
through personalization. Nonprofits must find ways of personalizing their messages to help maintain a one-on-one, authentic experience with their donors.
Using data gathered from website and social analytics, nonprofits can uncover
information about their donors to build campaigns that feature unique, visually-inspiring content like infographics, videos, and other imagery that create a
digital, personal connection. Charity Water does an outstanding job with their
Dollars to Projects (D2P) by connecting each person and their donation directly
to their mission. D2P helps create a personal connection to the individual by
allowing them to see exactly how their donation was used and the impact it
had. The resulting personal connection will keep people engaged longer with
the organization and more likely to donate again.
STAYING RELEVANT REQUIRES ORGANIZATIONS TO EMBRACE CHANGE.
By Ben Coit
Nonprofits occupy a uniquely particular place in today’s digital marketplace. As has always been the case, these organizations must convince donors,
stakeholders, and members that their cause is worth their time and investment,
but doing so in the digital world comes with distinct but related challenges:
1) People’s attention spans are shrinking because of the changing digital/mobile technology landscape, and 2) At the same time, these same people are
targeted by award-winning campaigns from Fortune 500s at every moment,
narrowing the window of meaningful interaction with your nonprofit. Given
these complexities, consider the following digital trends and tips for using them
to your advantage in 2016.
FORGET BUILDING WEBSITES; BUILD MOBILE EXPERIENCES.
While it’s evident in many of our everyday lives that mobile has had a significant impact in how we work, live, shop and obtain information, mobile is
still an area for growth for nonprofits. A recent study[1] by Nonprofit Hub uncovered that more than 50% of nonprofits still lack a mobile-friendly website.
Nonprofits must continue to invest in building digital tools that are optimized
for mobile devices, making digital donations as simple as checking out at Am-
Cyber Monday in 2015 saw mobile traffic to websites increase 16% over
the previous year[2]and accounted for 48% of all web traffic. Consumers ever-growing preference for mobile is here to stay and that means nonprofit leadership needs to get on board.
Many of the nonprofits lagging behind in building mobile/digital campaigns and experiences are limited by leadership unaware of the dramatic
mobile shift that’s taken place and how to address it. Thoughtful planning, a
commitment to being open to new ideas, and investing in the proper training
and tools for staff are a must to stay relevant. Nonprofits can solidify their relevance today and in the future by using the rise of digital and mobile technology
as a way to help define, refine, understand the impact of, and analyze what you
do and how you do it.
If you keep these trends in mind, commit to challenge the status-quo,
and believe your nonprofit is not limited by what you can accomplish simply
because you’re a nonprofit, 2016 can be the year of your organization’s digital
revolution.
[1] Nonprofit Hub, Nonprofit Website Survey.
[2] IBM Cyber Monday Benchmark Report
The Philantrepreneur Journal
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