Online Targeting — Too Precise For Comfort?
Every fundraiser, every issue advocate reading this post targets his or her audience.
At least you should. But how far are you prepared to go?
The targeting tools available for getting a precise message to a precise prospect in the online medium are truly awesome … and commensurately frightening and increasingly controversial.
Your online behaviors and preferences are constantly recorded and monitored, whether you're filling out order forms, signing petitions, making donations, conducting searches, filling out profiles on social networking sites, or just browsing the web. Any and all of this personal data can be used to drive targeted messaging (e.g., advertising, calls-to-action, fundraising). More on the process from this previous Agitator post, Emitting Digital Residue.
Try these articles, in order, to see where online targeting is headed and the issues involved.
1. From Behavioral Insider, here's an interview with Axciom's chief strategist that reminds us that direct mail marketers have always targeted … from choosing mailing lists to making data appends and selects. Their techniques are being “re-discovered” and embellished by online marketers.
2. From Search Insider, a description of how you can target users of Facebook, the fastest growing site on the internet, based on their volunteered profile information … looking for political liberals in Austin, TX who are college-educated and are David Letterman fans?
3. Are you worried yet? Some consumer advocates say you should be. As reported in this NY Times article, they are calling for the government to set-up a mandatory do-not-track list for the internet. As the article notes, such a list gives the consumer a choice — receive relevant ads, or irrelevant ones! But make no mistakes, the ads are here to stay.
Over a year ago, in our first Agitator reader survey, respondents didn't express much concern about online privacy issues. Roger and I debated the issue a bit. You can track our food fight from this post (Roger was Mr. ACLU Privacy Advocate; I was Mr. Prying Eyes).
Might be time for a re-read … we'd love to hear your views.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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