Giving Tuesday is all about giving back during the festive season and sends a powerful message of community and kindness that you want your organization to be associated with.
However, Giving Tuesday falls right in the busy holiday season, so it can be easy to slip your mind until the last minute. As a nonprofit organization, there are often so many things to think about that creating a Giving Tuesday campaign can seem overwhelming.
But don’t worry – even if you’ve left it a little late this year; we’re here to help with some simple steps to follow for a successful Giving Tuesday marketing campaign.
Tips to Prep Your Giving Tuesday Marketing
Determining a Purposeful Goal
The first step to a productive Giving Tuesday campaign is about setting a clear and purposeful goal. It can’t just be about ‘gimme money’ because your audience won’t necessarily respond to that.
Setting clear and tangible daily goals gives you, your team, and your clients something to work towards. There’s also an incredible sense of achievement when you reach this goal. This is what your whole Giving Tuesday marketing strategy will be designed around, so make sure it’s clear and simple to communicate.
It would be best to decide whether this goal is a stand-alone one, whether it’s the culmination of a longer campaign or even being used to kick off an end-of-year fundraising campaign. Go back to our old friend SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Based – to help you pinpoint your goal.
Outlining an Impactful Strategy
Once you’ve established your goal, it’s time to start thinking about how you will achieve it. The great thing about Giving Tuesday marketing is that it can be as elaborate or as straightforward as your organization can manage; it’s also a good opportunity to think outside the box and try something new.
Think about your audience and your message – how will you ensure you’re communicating your message in a way that will resonate with your potential supporters? You want your campaign to have a positive impact, so consider how you can publicize it memorably and cohesively.
No matter how many channels you’re using, ensure your branding and messaging are consistent across these – the more consistent and integrated the campaign is, the more people remember it. Remember that people are inundated with company communications at this time of year, so make sure yours stand out.
Create timelines for your communication strategy – think about when you’ll start your campaign, the dates for any milestones leading up to the day, and the best time to send fundraising emails. The more organized you are, the more effective your campaign will be.
Creating Necessary Resources
To implement your strategy, you must ensure you’ve got enough staff support, a big enough budget, and a bank of templates and materials. We understand that nonprofit budgets are often not huge, so maximizing resources as much as possible is vital to achieving results.
This is a good time to take advantage of the extensive toolkit that #GivingTuesday.org makes available to nonprofits taking part. You can choose from a range of logos, branding materials, and social media templates, so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
We also love how much inspiration there is, including how-to videos, blogs with ideas from other nonprofit organizations, and best practice tips. Take ideas from this and from your team to develop creative and engaging resources. Visual images are sharable, so it’s a good idea to have a bank of these ready to push engagement.
Deploying Social Media Tactics
Giving Tuesday is largely driven by online conversation, so your social media channels are the best place to drive engagement and interact with your audience. Here’s where you can get the most immediate response, so throughout your Giving Tuesday marketing campaign, you can track involvement on social media.
Custom hashtags, Facebook live videos, or Instagram stories are great ways to utilize social media tactics to maximize support. Again, this is the perfect time to try something fun and different; step out of your social media comfort zone to raise your profile.
Don’t forget what we mentioned above: successful campaigns are cohesive, so ensure your social media messaging is consistent across channels. Encourage supporters to get involved and make it easy to do so with suggested posts, photos, and accessible share links. This leads to more user-generated content and organic growth of your support.
It all comes back to value; you are doing something valuable on Giving Tuesday, so the more you communicate this across social media, the more people are encouraged to participate.
Utilizing Contacts & Network
We spoke above about maximizing resources. Well, your community is one of the most important resources, and you already have it! Your current contacts and supporters are a network you can utilize to spread the word about your Giving Tuesday Campaign. They’re also more likely to donate on the day itself!
Don’t spam them, of course, but plan a strategy for how you will communicate with your current support base and how they might be mobilized to help. Ask them to share your posts about your campaign or create a ‘tell a friend reward scheme with a token gift for people who recruit a new participant.
You could also form partnerships with other organizations in your network. For example, one of your bigger sponsors might be willing to match donations, which often yields outstanding results. People like to feel that we’re all in it together, so knowing that their donation will be matched makes them more likely to contribute.
A successful Giving Tuesday campaign is a fantastic way to start the holiday season, so enjoy the preparation and see what a positive response you’ll get!