Bill Scott “Social Must Haves For Your Fall Fundraiser”

3 Social Must Haves For Your Fall Fundraiser

Recently, while in London spending time with Premier Christian Radio, I took the time to watch the CMB webinar that Dunham+Company’s VP of Digital Services, Tom Perrault did on Social Media and the latest trends in online fundraising.

I wanted to give you my top three takeaways in regards to what YOU need for your next fundraiser.

Drive your audience to Social Media:

This  is a must for your radio station.  I know this means a lot of things but I am focused on how you do that for your next fundraiser.  Create content that your listeners would like to see behind the scenes in regards to your fundraiser.  Give your followers on social  updates, use video and take them behind the scenes showing them the studio, and have listeners or volunteers that are on site share their stories of how God is using your station in their life.  Give hourly updates on how your fundraising event is going.  Keep your listeners up to date on what your hourly theme is or challenge that might be on the air.

Respond to post-donation comments:

This may seem like a small thing but in all reality is huge.  Perhaps you were as surprised as me when Tom shared that 91 percent of nonprofits don’t respond to a donor’s comment once they have posted on the website or social media.   Especially during your fundraiser you need to watch for those kinds of posts on Twitter or Facebook so you can engage this donor.  You need to make sure your average response time is within two hours and I would suggest  cutting that down to one hour while the event is live on the air.  You want your donor to feel good about their gift and you want them to know that you are excited to see their donation and comment.  Take the time to engage your listeners and donors.

Email  is a MUST:

Email must be a part of your next fundraising campaign.  Tom shares that the percentage of donors that gave in response to an email is up 300 percent since 2010.  You must craft your message carefully and make sure that the link in the email doesn’t just take your listener to your website but the link takes them to a very special landing page that is created to capture their donation during your event.  Recently for a client we were able to craft two of their emails during their last event, we added the ShareMedia special sauce and watched as those two emails out performed any email blast they had seen in the history of their company.

As your station approaches your Fall fundraiser don’t miss having these three things in place.  They are a must and will make a huge difference.  Let us know how we can help you apply these digital strategies and do MORE for your next fundraising event.

Bill Scott is a fundraising consultant and coach for ShareMedia Services. Bill has over 30 years of experience as an on-air talent at stations like WCIE, The JOY FM, WAY FM, has produced five syndicated radio programs and has hosted about 700 broadcast fundraising events helping stations and organizations fund their ministries. You can reach Bill via email at bill@ShareMediaServices.com.