| Crafting an Online Presence |
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Online presence can become an effective way to raise money, inform other about your organization, perform administrative tasks, or even create new programs. What is clear --- as we look at developing an online presence, we need to consider more issues/questions than just "what kind of website do I need?" Some questions to answer: + What are your key constituencies (donors, volunteers, clients, etc) and how do those groups tend to interact with Things They Love? For example, if your primary donors are foundations, it will be necessary to consider a large amount of background and information pages. + If you were going to explain your organization in one sentence, what would it be? Creating that one "tag line" can be important in controlling the scope of your online tools. + How does technology play into the "culture" of your organization? Are you viewed as being "cutting edge", "reliable", "kid friendly" -- your online presence needs to match your offline culture. --- Messaging: how do we get our message out? ++++ Blogs are a great way to perform one way communication, sharing expert and knowledgeable opinions. They can be integrated in your website to drive traffic ++++ Message boards / forums can be used to create multiple directions of communication ++++ SMS updates are very popular, and people that have opted in to text campaigns are 15-20 times more likely to read your message than email newsletter subscribers ++++ Website design elements should all be organized around specifically what you want people to do when they visit your site These are important considerations, and it is important to note that many modern options online, such as Facebook marketing, blogging and email newsletters can all be done at a fraction of the cost of a full featured website implementation. At the same time, cutting edge Content Management Systems can supercharge your website to bring value to potential donors, but also volunteers, staff and clients. |