There's a good chance you came across this article on your phone — if not, your phone is likely within reach. Considering the estimated 23 billion texts sent daily via mobile phones, it’s clear that text should be a crucial communication channel for nonprofits. Text messaging can benefit your nonprofit in many ways, from fundraising appeals to ongoing donor engagement.
In this guide, we’ll cover tips for maximizing your nonprofit’s impact with text messaging. We’ll dive into the different purposes of text messaging for nonprofits, how to set goals, the marketing funnel, and more. Let’s dig in!
1. Understand the different purposes of text messaging for nonprofits
Text messaging for nonprofits can serve many different purposes; the goal of your SMS outreach is essential to understand before setting specific goals for the campaign. Broadcast texting is the general term for sending mass text messages to your audience; here are some everyday uses of broadcast texting for nonprofits:
- Welcome messages: Greet new subscribers or interested audiences with a quick text introducing top resources.
- Donation requests: Leverage text-to-give appeals to share resonant calls to action (CTAs) and information about your campaigns.
- Holidays or celebrations: Commemorate special moments with a message to your audience, whether those moments are nationally-recognized holidays or occasions that are specifically relevant to your nonprofit and cause.
- Emergency alerts: Communicate about emergency needs or last-minute requests to keep your donors in the know.
- Event management: Share when tickets go on sale, update event information, and share fun countdowns as you near your nonprofit’s upcoming events.
- Fundraising campaign marketing: Entice your audience to contribute by spreading compelling campaign content via a highly-sharable channel.
2. Create an implementation plan
As with all marketing efforts, planning your text messaging campaigns in detail is necessary for a successful launch. These steps can help you set clear goals for text messaging campaigns:
- Pinpoint your ideal text messaging style and substance. For instance, a text-to-give message might have a different tone than a volunteer recruitment message.
- Understand your audience. Assess factors that will impact the success of your text campaign, such as your audience's tech-savviness and what CTA formats appeal to them.
- Determine key performance indicators and benchmarks. Some important SMS metrics to consider include deliverability rate, response rate, click rate, etc.
- Plan the rollout and assign roles. Decide which teams or individuals will have responsibility for writing copy, sending messages, monitoring replies, and tracking results.
3. Use text-optimized CTAs
When crafting your text message campaigns, include SMS-optimized CTAs to maximize your return. Texts are a great place to put CTAs for a variety of reasons:
- You can reach donors quickly. Since donors often have their cell phones handy, you’re likely to reach them quicker than you would via email.
- Texts are short and direct, ideal for conveying brief yet impactful CTAs that spur your supporters into action.
- You can link out to relevant websites or resources. Texts allow you to link to your donation form, sign-up sheet, and more.
Here’s an example of a text-optimized CTA for a fictional fundraiser:
“Join our Books for All campaign! Click below to donate and spread the joy of reading in our community. A gift of just $15 provides 3-5 books for local kids. Don’t wait — our campaign ends next week!”
4. Prioritize a data-driven approach
Broadcast texting allows you to easily track performance data. Collecting and acting on data can help you determine when, how often, and to whom you should send your texts. It also helps validate your efforts in the campaign and can help you decide if, when, and where to pivot your efforts. Here’s how you can prioritize a data-driven approach:
- Determine "when" by tracking your open rates at different times of day.
- Determine "how often" by testing several frequencies and seeing how conversion rates evolve.
- Determine the "who" by segmenting donors into different sub-audiences.
Once you have this information, you can start tailoring your messages to the receiver's funnel position. There are three stages of digital marketing to a nonprofit audience: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
- Awareness. In the first stage, the primary objective is to spread awareness of your organization's mission, vision, and goals. This involves raising visibility through various channels, including text messages. Those in the awareness part of the funnel may want to receive informational texts and updates that keep them in the know.
- Consideration. During this phase, potential supporters evaluate whether the cause aligns with their values and interests (and if they should contribute). Providing them with meaningful experiences and opportunities for deeper engagement is essential for fostering a sense of connection and trust. This is an excellent position to share statistics, stories, impact, and other elements to begin persuading your audience.
- Conversion. The final stage of the nonprofit marketing funnel is conversion, where individuals transition from passive supporters to active participants or donors. At this critical juncture, it's essential to provide clear CTAs and remove barriers to engagement to encourage people to take the next step.
