Posts Tagged ‘online’
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
It drives me a bit batty every time I see an organization put the following words on the bottom of their emails or advertisements:
“Like us on Facebook!”
It drives me even crazier if I see the following on the bottom of their emails:
“Please consider the environment before printing this email.”
Why? Because this is valuable real estate that could be used to say the following:
“Please consider a gift to <<your organization>> in your will or financial plan.”
The financial benefits your organization will receive will unquestionably be tremendous from my message. So, why not include a button just like mine everywhere? And have it link to your planned giving pages!
Tags: Facebook, Fundraising, marketing, online, online marketing, philosophy, Planned Giving, Planned Giving Marketing, Social media, strategy, website
Posted in Advertising, Facebook, Fundraising, marketing, Philosophy/motivation, Planned Giving, Planned giving, Planned Giving Marketing, Social media, strategy, website | 2 Comments »
Monday, August 27th, 2012
I think it’s safe to say that the argument is over— seniors and all other planned giving prospects are on the Internet.
Here are some findings from the recent Pew Research Center’s study (released in June 2012):
- Half of adults age 65 and older are online.
- As of April 2012, 53% of American adults age 65 and older use the internet or email. Still less likely than all other age groups to use the internet, the latest data represent the first time that half of seniors are going online. After several years of very little growth among this group, these gains are significant.
- Once online, most seniors make internet use a regular part of their lives.
- For most online seniors, internet use is a daily fixture in their lives. Among internet users age 65 and older, 70% use the internet on a typical day. (Overall, 82% of all adult internet users go online on an average day.)
- After age 75, internet and broadband use drops off significantly.
- Internet usage is much less prevalent among members the “G.I. Generation” (adults who are currently age 76 and older)1 than among other age groups. As of April 2012, internet adoption among this group has only reached 34%, while home broadband use has inched up to 21%. SmartGiftmaker believes that many of these folks have already made their decision anyway. According to the National Committee on Planned Giving (Indianapolis, Indiana), only 15% of those who set up gifts to charities in their wills were over 75. Forty-three percent were under 55. Forty-two percent were between 55 and 75.
- Seven in ten seniors own a cell phone, up from 57% two years ago.
- Even among those currently age 76 and older, 56% report owning a cell phone of some kind, up from 47% of this generation in 2010.
- One in three online seniors uses social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.
By comparison, email use continues to be the bedrock of online communications for seniors.
- 86% of internet users age 65 and older use email, with 48% doing so on a typical day. Among all adult internet users, 91% use email, with 59% doing so on a typical day.
Tags: G.I. generation, internet, online, online marketing, Planned Giving, Planned Giving Marketing, seniors, Social media
Posted in Fundraising, Inbound Internet Lead Generation, marketing, Multi-channel marketing, New Technology, Planned Giving, Planned giving, Planned Giving Marketing, Social media, strategy | No Comments »
Thursday, August 9th, 2012
In his recent post on The Social Graf, Erik Sass punches social media in the face a bit. There are some interesting thoughts here although I think they only apply to Facebook and Twitter. I think LinkedIn provides a lot of value— the social media option for grown ups. Furthermore, I happen to like social media. I feel more connected with friends I don’t see often and I use Twitter to find interesting news articles.
Anyway, although these points are watered down from his original post, here are his 9 reasons to quit social media:
1. It’s a waste of time. I like Erik’s take on this. Let’s face it… how much time is spent “goofing off” with social media and how much true value do you get from looking at posts your friends?
2. It’s addictive and unhealthy. “If nothing else, countless hours might be better spent taking a walk, pursuing a hobby, or doing activities you enjoy outside,” says Erik.
3. It encourages envy/narcissism. I think this one is self-explanatory.
4. It takes you away from the real world.
5. It encourages superficial relationships. How many “friends” do you have? Now, how many “real friends” do you have that will help you move out of your apartment on a sunny Saturday?
6. Privacy concerns/unethical business practices. How much information do you really want Facebook to know about you, your friends, your interests and your debauchery?
7. It can be personally and professional dangerous. Same deal here? How much do you want your friends or business associates to know about you?
8. It’s expected. I object to this one because I don’t think anyone really expects you to have a profile on social media (except on LinkedIn). Recently some folks have suggested that criminals and murderers are less likely to have Facebook profiles. But I don’t think your absence means you should be profiled.
9. It’s only going to get worse. Erik finishes his post by saying, “in short, if you think managing your social media presences is overwhelming now, just imagine what it will be like ten years from now. And ask yourself: is it really worth it?”
What do you think?
Tags: internet, Networking, online, online marketing, Social media
Posted in Facebook, LinkedIn, Social media, Twitter | No Comments »
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Now that I have your attention, I’m actually going to tell you that the problem with planned giving websites doesn’t begin with the words. It begins with who is writing them.
Is marketing planned giving at all like selling insurance?
Let me ask you this. If you owned a car wash, would you get your employees to write the copy on your website? No! Then, would you get the engineer who created the machines used to wash the cars to do it? No!
Ok, I realize that a car wash is not the same as planned giving. So, how about something more complex… more sophisticated… How about something that could have major legal ramifications? How about something that must require legalese… like insurance!?!
Sure! Let’s go to State Farm’s website at www.statefarm.com. They’re selling that stuff.
Did you go there? Did you notice the conversion opportunities at the top. “Get a Quote.” “Contact Us.” “Manage Claims.”
And did you check out the copy below? Hmm. Not very complex, huh? Hmm. Are you scratching your head yet?
Alright… I’ll just say it. Most planned giving websites are written by the wrong people. They usually have the following problems:
- They are too complicated
- They have too many words
- They use legalese that most people don’t understand (My Aunt Carol does not know what appreciated assets are)
- They don’t have easy ways for people to contact someone to ask questions
- They don’t easily offer downloadable information or a way to sign up for a newsletter
- IMPORTANT: They don’t focus on the mission of the organization
- They don’t tell folks how their money will be spent
- They don’t share bequest language easily
- They don’t say who is leading the charge at the non-profit and what his or her strategic plan will be going forward
- They don’t emphasize the history and longevity of the organization signaling that an investment in the organization is an investment well-spent
I could go on. But the point is… people who believe in your mission just want to know the basics about planned giving. Make it simple. Make it easy to understand. Make it emotional. And make sure they can contact you.
Tags: internet, online, online marketing, Planned Giving, Planned Giving Marketing, strategy, website
Posted in marketing, Planned Giving, Planned giving, Planned Giving Marketing, strategy, website | No Comments »
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
Moving pictures and words are unbelievably powerful when combined together. That’s why television was the most powerful medium for so long. Videos are easy to make these days. All you need to do is turn on your webcam or point your phone at yourself and talk for a minute or two. Let people know what you have to say. Plus the search engines love video so it helps your SEO ranking.”
Don’t like to be on camera? Upload a presentation of some PowerPoint slides to your website, blog or SlideShare (www.slideshare.com). It’s fast, easy and a very compelling way to get your message across. And if you upload presentations to SlideShare, you can still get some SEO benefits as long as you remember to add a link back to your main website.
Once you see how easy it is to make video, you’ll be ready to upload them to YouTube.com. This means you can create your own promotional videos and TV commercials that people can view on their laptops and smart phones.
Whether you want to demonstrate your product or service or talk about how you can help humanity, it’s free and very effective.
Plus, if your information is interesting and valuable, people might spread it around making it viral. Always remember to have the video link back to your main website to help your SEO.
Tags: internet, marketing, online, online marketing, SEO, Video
Posted in marketing, strategy, Uncategorized, website | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011
Let’s face it. Marketing has changed. The old rules don’t work today and the Internet has proven to be a powerful marketing tool. Although many organizations have
employed informative websites for their planned giving programs, the tracking is not robust. Traffic is low and visitors are anonymous. Just having planned giving web pages online is not enough to properly cultivate your list from awareness to leaving a gift .
Here are the new rules you must embrace in order to attract prospects, capture leads and cultivate relationships:
1. People like to search for information at the time of their choosing. Thus, relevant information needs to be available 24/7.
2. The Internet is the most convenient and powerful search tool available.
3. People want to be informed and educated… not sold.
4. Your prospects and leads must be continually reminded about the information you can provide (otherwise they simply won’t use your website and you’ll be “off their radar”).
5. Frequency and building relationships are more important now than ever.
6. Multiple channels must be used to reach your targets.
7. People consume information in many ways. For example, some prefer printed materials while others enjoy PDF downloads.
Once you embrace these new rules, it’s best to employ sophisticated tracking tools so you know precisely who is logging on to your site. Don’t wait for them to fill out a form. If you do, over 90% of your web visitors will be anonymous. Tracking tools are the key to determining who is most interested in your planned giving options.
Tags: internet, lead generation, leads, marketing, online, online marketing, Planned Giving, Planned Giving Marketing
Posted in Inbound Internet Lead Generation, Multi-channel marketing, Planned Giving, Planned Giving Marketing, strategy, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2010
According to research from Pitney Bowes, “60 percent of respondents believe that offline marketing is most likely to get them to visit the website of a company from which they have not previously made a purchase”.
Hmm. Should we believe these respondents? Are traditional media still alive? TV, radio, direct mail, billboards, etc. Could it be true that these media still need to be part of our marketing mix?
The answer: IT DEPENDS
Let’s go back to what I always go back to… STRATEGY. The decision to use traditional mass media (direct mail among them) really depends on your overall strategy. One of our clients truly cannot survive without mass media working in concert with email, SEO, PPC, social media, and everything else. They are a mass consumer marketer. They need to hit the people in their geographic region from all angles.
Of course companies like GEICO, Budweiser, and Toyota depend on this strategy. But some smaller regional businesses need to do it this way too.
And we’ve found that direct mail is, indeed, terrific for nurturing targeted lists that have been compiled from mass acquisition efforts. So… Yes! We do believe that direct mail can drive online interactions.
In fact we’ve seen it work very well. One of our clients got a 14% response rate from a direct mail effort. Not bad, huh? But we recommend using it sparingly with a “smart” strategy. Otherwise you’ll over-spend on printing and postage.
Targeting, segmentation and relevance are the keys to a direct mail strategy that will truly drive online interactions and deliver ROI.
Tags: Direct mail, Direct Marketing, internet, online, online marketing, strategy
Posted in Direct Marketing, Lead Generation/Nurturing, marketing, Mass Media, Multi-channel marketing, strategy, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Monday, October 11th, 2010
I love Marketing Sherpa. They have great charts and free information.
Of course, they’re trying to sell you their three-hundred dollar benchmark reports. But I don’t care. Their free information is fantastic. And I’ve actually bought two of their reports. So I guess their strategy works.
And recently, they released a free chart that shows what marketers think about the effectiveness of PPC marketing. The results are in! And PPC is a clear winner.
The effectiveness of PPC objectives
Over 87% of marketers feel that PPC is either somewhat effective or very effective increasing lead generation. And 94% feel the strategy is either somewhat effective or very effective for increasing website traffic.
Good stuff!
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31708
Tags: Inbound Internet Lead Generation, internet, online, online marketing, Pay-per-click marketing, ppc, results
Posted in Inbound Internet Lead Generation, ppc, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Two of the keys to marketing in the next decade are simple. Get found. And help people when they find you.
Get found.
These days, the first thing people do when they want to learn about something… anything… is they search for it online. Young and old alike now search. So pretend you are your customer/client. Go to your search bar and type in whatever they would type to find your product or service. Are you there at the top of the list? On the first page? Can they find you easily? Or are they finding your competitors? Hmm.
Disagree?
You may say that your business doesn’t work like that. Ok. So suppose your sales team does a great job. The cold calls were made. The meetings are over. The proposals were submitted. At some point the decision maker or a team in a board room will decide to look-up your company online. First they can’t find you. So they type in your web address and YUCK! … your site is slow, looks bad, is clumsy to navigate and offers nothing helpful. It’s all about you, not them.
Help people.
Once they find you, your site needs to be helpful. If your website is basically an online sales brochure, you probably aren’t helping anyone. And if you don’t help people, they’ll bounce to your competition. Fast.
Most websites need to be completely re-thunk. Smarter. Make it easy for people to find you by implementing search engine optimization and online marketing strategies. Then, be truly helpful once they arrive at your site.
Keep your eye on those two things and you’ll at least have the basis for a sound internet strategy going into the next decade.
Happy New Year!
Tags: CEO, internet, online, online marketing, search, search engine optimization, SEO, smart, strategy, website
Posted in Multi-channel marketing | No Comments »
