Strategic Online Communication for Nonprofits

The Upleaf Blog

Upleaf will be offering new workshops in October for nonprofits in New Mexico at the United Way’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence.

1.  Intro workshop.  Interested in learning more about the big picture and how online communication can help you increase your impact and strengthen your fundraising efforts?  Join us for a short intro workshop during the lunch hour on Thursday, October 6.  You can register online at the Center for Nonprofit Excellence website

2. Full-day workshop.  This day-long workshop on Wednesday, October 26 will focus on proven best practices in community engagement, online fundraising, and use of social media.  The workshop will review the tools and strategies required for a successful online strategy, and provide practical tips for development and communication staff.  Register online through the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.

On November 16, 2010, Upleaf will be offering a new workshop in Alamosa, CO on strategic use of social media for nonprofits.

Specific skills/learning that participants will take away from the training are:

• How to use social media tools to mobilize a community for social change
• Best practices in community engagement
• How to set up and use the following online tools:
  • Facebook Pages, Groups and Causes
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Change.org
  • Digg
• How to monitor and evaluate social media strategies
• The importance of interactive websites/blogs and e-newsletters in a comprehensive online communication strategy
• Overview of online fundraising tools

For more information or to join the workshop, please contact us!

I recently came across an excellent analysis & recommendations on the Google Conversion Room Blog.

These recommendations are just as relevant to nonprofits as they are to anyone else, and offer a great checklist to review your own website against.

There is a clear trend in web design toward less cluttered, more open and clean-looking websites, based on recent study results on readability and taking action.

In a nutshell, people skim websites, and take just a few seconds to decide whether to stay and navigate through a website, or whether to go somewhere else.  If your site is too cluttered and too difficult to decode, you run the risk of losing your visitor who simply doesn’t want to take the time figuring it out.  You also run a greater risk– of alienating someone who genuinely wants to help out your organization, but can’t easily figure out how to donate, volunteer, or get involved in some other way.  If you make it too difficult they get discouraged and leave.

The tips offered by Google basically boil down to the following for nonprofits:

1. Use large, prominent call to action buttons
2. Visually support the calls to action with your design
3. Clearly communicate the benefits of taking action
4. Eliminate clutter that competes with your call to action
5. Clearly prioritize the calls to action for your visitor
6. Repeat your call to action
7. Test usability and make it as easy as possible to take action

Read the full article to learn more!

Posted by Elizabeth Beachy, Upleaf Co-Founder