Marketing

It is no surprise that consumers are turning more and more to the digital space for everyday needs, and online giving is no different. The percentage of online giving has increased and will only escalate over the coming years as new and already established donors turn to the convenience and accessibility of the internet.

Not-For-Profit organisation websites are now rolling out mobile websites which will take donating a step further into the digital space.

Marketing Opportunity

It's time to think outside the cloud and look at the bigger picture of what the adoption of the cloud system can do for your organisation or Not-For-Profit. The cloud is all about making your organisation more efficient, flexible and allowing better collaboration between staff, members and your sponsors.

As the current Not-For-Profit environment moves towards an IT future it is important not to lose sight of your association's marketing and advertising. Associations are moving towards a complete CRM system to improve their website functionality while streamlining and automating day to day activities. While these actions are all positive, associations should not forget about marketing not only to their members but also to future members, sponsors and donors.

The internet has come a long way since 1969 where four leading US universities activated a project called Advanced Research Agency Network, which was known as the first successful networking of computers. This was only the beginning and provided the basis of the Internet as we know it today.

There are a number of simple but effective strategies that your association or Not-For-Profit can employ to gain higher search engine rankings. Off site content is a great way to maximise your Internet exposure and to get people back to your site.

There are a number of ways that you can go about increasing your off site content and some proven strategies include blogging, the use of forums, article submissions and many more.

Off page search engine optimisation is the process of getting links back to your site, creating a community around your site or having people comment on your service or website. These actions appear like a vote of confidence to the search engines. The more and better votes (links) you can get to your webpage the better it will rank in search results.

For associations and Not-For-Profit organisations it is important to keep your website up to date with relevant content, not only for good Google search results but also to keep members updated and informed on the latest industry news and information.

It is a good idea for your association website to have a sitemap, as this way Google is able to craw all of your pages without missing any. Read more below for an example and more information.

It is important to cover a range of strategies to improve your association's growth and member retention rate, and I have developed a range of successful strategies that can be implemented into your association environment.

Communicating with your members effectively through a number of different avenues will increase you retention rates, and giving members the opportunity to engage with fellow members provides opportunities for further development.

For associations and Not-For-Profit organisations gaining leads and new members is vital for growth and sustainability, but how is anyone going to find your association if you're not ranking on Google?

Simply having a website with content you think is good is not enough; you need to rank higher on Google so more people will have the chance to click on your website. There are no secrets: find out how you can turn your website around today and bring in new members and businesses.

There are a wide range of different approaches and strategies that can be used to grow your association or Not-For-Profit organisation. Your main focus is attracting and retaining new and existing members as they are your prime sources of income.

It is important to utilise all of your resources and pursue every avenue available for the growth, benefit and knowledge of your association.