Marketing Your Organization's Web Site

You need an ongoing, integrated approach: promoting the web site is everyone's task, particularly at a nonprofit organization/NGO, from the person who answers the phone to the executive director. And the more valuable your web site is for your organization's donors, volunteers, other supporters, potential supporters, clients and the general public, the more effective your marketing efforts will be. And remember: you don't just want new visitors; you want RETURN visitors.

People find a web site for a nonprofit organization for a variety of ways:

• a reference to your organization in a newspaper
  
• a reference to your organization in an email
  
• a reference to your organization in an online discussion
  
• a reference and link to your organization on another web site, including an online social network like MySpace, FaceBook, Change.org, etc.
  
• pre-existing knowledge that your organization has information or a service they need (they visit your web site expecting to read about such in complete detail)
  
• from using certain keywords in a search engine relating to your mission statement, services, or name of your organization.

They come back to a web site because they find the information they need, and they know that new information is going to be added to make a return visit worthwhile. There are a number of ways to prompt people to return to your site -- more on that in a moment.

There are lots of low-cost, no-cost ways to market your Web site both on and offline.

Offline Marketing

Offline marketing of your web site is JUST AS IMPORTANT as online marketing of your site:

• Add your web site address to all literature and publications (business cards, letter head, newsletters, fax cover sheets, etc.) right next to your organization's "snail mail" address and phone number.

• Announce the launch of you site, as well as major changes to your site (such as the addition of a directory of services, an essay from an executive director, etc.), in your printed newsletter. And you should have something in every newsletter that highlights additions or a resource on your Web site.

• Make sure everyone who answers your organization's main phone line and deals with the public in any way, shape or form, as well as your Executive Director, marketing staff, fund raising staff and volunteer manager (and at a mission-based organization, this is often all the same person) knows how to say the web site address, and knows what information is available via the Web site. It is particularly hurtful to an organization if all staff cannot do this and, instead, stumble over the URL of the site, or can't describe what's on the site.

• Add the web site address to your organization's main voice mail message.

• If you write an article for a publication, ask that your organization's web site address appears with your name or bio at the beginning or end of the article.

• When talking to the press, remember to mention your web site address.

• Add your web site address within the text of all press releases. For instance, on a press release announcing a new publication, add a paragraph that says (if applicable) "This new publication can be accessed via our Web site at... "

• Your web site address needs to be on all t-shirts, posters, buttons and other items given to the public. Make the address LARGE and easy-to-read from a distance! (I cannot believe how many nonprofit event t-shirts DON'T do this!)

• Make sure the name of your organization appears in the TEXT of your web site, not just within a graphics file. This greatly increases the possibility of your site being found when someone types your organization's name into a search engine. I can't believe how many organization's don't do this, and are then surprised when they can't find their web site easily using Google. If you do nothing else, you need to do this first suggestion.

• Make sure the keywords and phrases you want people to use to find your web site via a search engine appear often in the TEXT of your web site, not just within a graphics file. Again, this greatly increases the possibility of your site being found when someone types your organization's name into a search engine. And, again, I can't believe how many organization's don't do this, and are then surprised when they can't find their web site easily using Google.

• Search for organizations on the web that are similar to yours, and see what sites link to them. Send an email to the web masters of these sites that you think should link to your organization as well, and request what specific page(s) of theirs you would like to be linked from. The more sites that link to your web site, the greater your ranking on sites like Google.

  Keep your requests appropriate: if you find a web page that links to services in a specific geographic area for parents, for instance, don't ask for a link from that page unless your organization provides services in that specific geographic area for parents! Also, do NOT ask for link exchanges; that puts you into the position of linking to any organization that links to you, and perhaps you don't want to link to just any organization. Instead, in your request for a link, explain why it would be appropriate to link to your site, based on to whom the site links to already. If you are going to link to their web site as well, do not make such a link conditional on their linking to you, and create the link before you ask for such yourself.

• List your URL address in every e-mail signature on every e-mail your staff sends, and require staff to post the web site address within any post they make to any online fora.

• Announce the web site on appropriate online discussion group (however, please remember your netiquette and don't announce it on online discussion groups that in no way relate to your organization). Any search engine can help you find appropriate online discussion groups.

• Encourage your staff to regularly participate in relevant online discussion groups to offer relevant answers to queries; this activity will build a reputation for your organization and its Web site as a valuable resource. Don't just post announcements about yourself and your organization; be a member of the online community and help others out. It will greatly increase your organization's reputation and visibility -- and, if you include your web address in every post you make, will drive more traffic to your site. More advice here about online communities.

• Ask your volunteers to link to your web site via their own personal web sites and profiles on Online Social Networking sites like LinkedIn or MySpace (with some cautions to keep in mind.

• When you've made a major change or addition to your site (a homeless shelter adds all of the data of its printed service directory to its Web site, for instance), send out a press release and post on appropriate newsgroups and lists. You may even want to do a special mailing to your clientele, if they will find the information particularly valuable.

Keep Visitors Coming Back

Don't just market to new visitors; market to return visitors as well! There are a number of ways to do this:

• Update your web site at least once a month!

• Make sure ALL departments are using the web site to communicate. Not just the marketing staff but, also, your volunteer manager, anyone who works with clients, your fund-raising staff, etc.

• Have a place on the home page for announcements, upcoming events, links to blog updates, etc., so that a visitor to the home page can immediately see what's new.

• Create a subscription-based e-mail newsletter to promote updates to your web site.

• Create a way to allow people to receive updates about your web site via their RSS readers. For instance, you could create a blog at a free site like Forumer (it's what I use for my blog) that you use only to announce events, new services, updates to your web site, etc., and then link these announcements to appropriate places on your web site. Then, anyone who wants to can put your web site announcement blog into their RSS reader, and automatically receive updates whenever you post such (the RSS feed address for the Jayne Blog: is http://blogs.forumer.com/rss.php?u=jcravens).

 
Other Resources:

• Promoting Your Nonprofit Online
  Advice that goes well beyond just Web sites -- it talks about email, online communities, podcasts, webcasts, and more.

• Don't Just Ask for Money!
  Something much more should happen if someone clicks on your web site's "Help Us" link than a message that asks only for money.

• Mission-Based Groups Need Use the Web to Show Accountability
  There has never been a better time for mission-based organizations to use technology to show their transparency and credibility, and to teach the media and general public about the resources needed to address critical human and environmental needs.

• Handling Online Criticism
  Online criticism of a nonprofit organization, even by its own supporters, is inevitable. How a nonprofit organization handles online criticism speaks volumes about that organization, for weeks, months, and maybe even years to come. There's no way to avoid it, but there are ways to address criticism that can help an organization to be perceived as even more trustworthy and worth supporting.

• Is Your Staff "Walking the Talk" Re: Your Organization's Online Activities?
  Mission-based organizations use the Internet in all sorts of ways to interact with the public, or with staff and volunteers abroad: for instance, online discussion groups, an intranet where staff and volunteers can share profiles about themselves and updates about their work with each other, or an online service that is promoted as central to the organization's mission and identity. But is your staff showing leadership in using these online tools? If your organization is to use technology successfully, all staff must embrace it. Here are tips on how to encourage that.

• Online culture and online community
  This section of my site provides many ideas and resources on how to work with others online, in language that's easy to understand for those considering or just getting started in using online technologies with volunteers, donors and other supporters.

• What are good blog topics for mission-based organizations?
  The word "blog" is short for "web log", and means keeping a journal or diary online. Blogging is NOT a new concept -- people have been doing it long before it had a snazzy media label. The appeal of blogging for an online audience is that it's more personal and less formal than other information on a web site. Readers who want to connect with an organization on a more personal level, or who are more intensely interested in an organization than the perhaps general public as a whole, love blogs. Blogs can come from your Executive Director, other staff members, volunteers, and even those you serve. Content options are many, and this list reviews some of your options.

• For Nonprofits Considering Their Own Podcasts:
  Why It's Worth Exploring, and Content Considerations
  I present my first podcast about... podcasts (transcript included). Specifically, I talk about how podcasts can be used by nonprofits, and just how easy it is to do.

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