We don’t have a choice about participating in Internet connections with donors, says former EBay marketer Elmer Sotto, any more than our predecessors had a choice about adopting phones and TVs. But technology itself is not the centre of the strategy. It is simply another means of telling a story, conveying a message and building a community of supporters.
Sotto cited his own experience at EBay during his presentation to ArtezInterAction, held in Toronto on September 9. The online auction site had a competitor in its early days – Yahoo! Auctions. Sotto frankly admits that Yahoo’s initial technology was superior to EBay’s. EBay, though, built community among its users by bringing them together in local events, and above all by sharing stories at those events and online. It wasn’t long before Yahoo Auctions folded, leaving the field to EBay.
Stories, Sotto reiterates, are the “secret sauce” of building community and commitment among supporters. Why is the iPhone flying off the shelves while its competitor built by Samsung gathers dust? Sotto cites the stories Apple created around the excitement of waiting for it, lining up for it and being among the first to obtain it. Follow Apple’s example, he says, and use technology to make your supporters feel the urgency of your mission, care about the people you serve, and take the action you want.
How do you reach the right people for your cause? The biggest tool is search engine optimization. Briefly, that means constructing your website so that it shows at or near the top of any search on your cause’s keywords. E-mail and mobile communications such as text messaging give you more options for communicating with people who are already on your list. Blogs, online forums and videocasts can be one-way communication tools, but you can engage the Web 2.0 donor more effectively and create a true dialogue by allowing user-generated content. Once engaged in dialogue through those means, supporters are more likely to share your story within their own social networks.
Trust process, ditch assumptions
EBay has already demonstrated that strangers will trust strangers, says Sotto. People are willing to believe that a stranger is telling the truth and will handle their money honestly. Trusting online giving, he declares, is just like assuming that the person behind the Salvation Army kettle is an authorized canvasser turning in every dollar collected.
While we can trust the process, Sotto warns that we can’t trust many of the assumptions about potential Web donors. Internet users aged 50 and older are more active in some areas than younger people. For example, 42% of Internet users over 50 check news online daily, compared to 18% of those under 20. 58% of the 50+ group log in to online communities daily, surpassing the 47% daily usage rate of those under 20. 36% of users over 50 report that involvement through the Web has increased their social activism, while the rate is 29% in the under 20 group.
Getting past the excuses
With all this potential, what holds organizations back from fully exploiting technology to help people give to people? One excuse, says Sotto, is that there is not enough historical data to warrant a significant investment in these new channels. He believes that disadvantage is more than offset by the ease and precision of tracking results of electronic communication. When compared to conventional fundraising campaigns, the ability to test, measure and adjust electronic campaigns makes failure cheaper and recovery quicker, he maintains.
Yes, says the board of directors, but our resources are already scarce. In fact, the cost of social network fundraising is not as high as you might think, counters Sotto. While larger organizations may develop or purchase software allowing the creation of personal pages within their own websites, smaller ones can still begin by using the online community tools that exist now. Many of them allow you to “plug and play” for a nominal monthly fee.
But we’ll lose control of the brand, wails the marketing director. That, claims Sotto, is happening anyway. People are already talking about your organization. Allow them to talk in an online forum where you can learn from their feedback, correct misinformation and enlist their support. That will strengthen your charity now and in the future – and brand it as a responsive, flexible organization.
This article appears on Canadian FundRaiser eNEWS, September 30, 2008, Article 2 of 14.