The influx of information across the internet has changed the way we do business. For non-profits, it is important to hire someone capable of marrying digital marketing and development. Let’s take a closer look at how and why a multi-talented marketer like this is so crucial to a non-profit.
Marketing is all about raising awareness for your cause and what your organization does for the cause. It’s important that your new hire is capable of creating ideas to reach the hearts of people. He or she must understand the concepts behind a great marketing strategy: when to raise awareness about your organization when to educate the public, when to ask for donations, and when to ask for continuing support.
Development, or fundraising, is typically a short-term goal. The goal is to raise money and usually, fundraising events have a specific period of time. That’s fine. Fundraising occurs in the last step of the consumer decision-making process. More than that, it offers your potential donors to become a part of the process. It makes them feel good.
Intimate knowledge of both digital marketing and development makes for a killer pairing. Donor retention is the product of marketing and fundraising strategy. A donor engagement cycle has components of marketing (inspire, learn, engage) and fundraising tactics (ask, thank, repeat). Julia C. Campbell says, “Effective marketing gets people’s attention, and successful fundraising keeps it.”
Engaging with donors keeps them inspired and committed to your organization. When a new organization comes along to ask them for donations, they’ll choose you. Continued efforts to educate and retain donor relationships breeds respect, trust, and familiarity. The truth of the matter is that people support organizations they know and love.
The two are just meant to be together. Your digital fundraising team should know how to incorporate digital marketing and development concepts for a successful campaign. Before beginning fundraising initiatives, he or she should plan for outbound messaging to warm up the audience. They should be able to craft compelling emails that target the hearts and minds of potential donors. That’s where the storytelling component of digital marketing comes in. And thinking about what donors engaged and interested in continued giving is a fundraising component.
For those of you wondering what a typical job description for a Digital Fundraising Manager might look like, this is it:
So, when you are in need of a new team member for your non-profit, perhaps you should take a closer look at candidates who possess skills in both marketing and development. These multi-talented marketers are necessary for the success of your non-profit and the cause you support. Of course, finding the right candidate is not always easy. Need a better solution than job boards? Get in touch with us!