From The Political Online Fundraising Front
It pains me to do this already in July 2011, but here’s a rundown on what the emergent 2012 political campaigns are doing with respect to online fundraising.
The 2008 Obama campaign re-wrote the online fundraising handbook, and all the wannabees have studied it closely.
This report from Clickz.com provides several articles for you political groupies, covering Obama, Romney, Palin, Bachmann, Pawlenty, Huntsman … and even Ann Coulter.
As always, my interest in this political propaganda is chiefly from the perspective of … Anything here for us legitimate, principled fundraisers?
Tom
One response to “From The Political Online Fundraising Front”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Great question! Here’s how behavioral science can help unpack what might be happening: Pain of Paying: Even a small extra charge can make giving feel more transactional than emotional, potentially reducing generosity. Fairness Concerns: Some donors might perceive donor cover as a surcharge rather than a contribution to the cause. If they feel the charity […]
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The choice between “Your gift CAN…” and “Your gift WILL…” taps into the psychological framing of certainty vs. possibility. Currently, there is no academic research directly comparing these two framings in charitable appeals. However, I suspect no framing is universally better—the outcome likely depends on your target audience and the campaign’s goal. Here are some thoughts: Certainty Framing – […]
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Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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I LOVED today’s post on political campaigns because nonprofits absolutely learn from the online-fundraising-petri-dish-on-steroids that we call political fundraising. In fact, I just published a paper on “Borrowing from Obama’s Online Fundraising Playbook” sharing how the online fundraising strategies that Obama (OFA) uses can be used immediately by nonprofits to boost their online response. Tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/3q9qb86.
Not every nonprofit is the focus of 24 hour news cycles like Obama. However, Obama’s entire online strategy is paying huge dividends in advance of his direct mail and television flights and I encourage us all to watch closely. What OFA has done right the past ninety days include strategies nonprofits can implement immediately, including:
· Online Advertising. Smart nonprofits are already using geo-targeted advertising to reach people who care about their issues to grow their supporter base.
· Insider Information. OFA let donors and supporters know in advance how successful second quarter fundraising had been and are making donors the hero of the story.
· Video. OFA gives you insider access to Obama’s campaign manager using video.
· Multivariate Testing. Like Amazon, Zappos, and Apple, a one percent (1%) conversion uptick for a campaign like OFA makes a huge difference. It looks like they’ve spent quite a bit of testing on online ads and their sign up to maximize conversion.
· Frequent Communication. Using multiple channels, email, Facebook, Twitter, the campaign didn’t shy away from sharing relevant information, especially on key dates.
· Celebration. The campaign, like almost all nonprofit issues, are a long haul. OFA is smart making milestones a big deal and then celebrating those milestones to keep momentum and enthusiasm up for the duration.
· Social media was fully integrated into the communication. Rather than treating Facebook, Twitter, Blogs as a separate channel, the campaign stayed “on message” through multiple channels.
Finally, the ClickZ article missed one major political-digital story: Using Facebook to defeat a Florida Ballot Initiative: https://www.facebook.com/notes/connectednonprofit/facebook-ads-help-defeat-a-ballot-initiative/128768493872469. Facebook advertising has been the poor relation to Google Advertising, but these stories are beginning to paint a picture that nonprofits and political campaigns can’t afford to overlook Facebook advertising one piece of an overall fundraising strategy.
Thanks again!