Interactive Marketing
The web has literally opened up the world as your audience. Take advantage of every way to reach your audience with the new interactive marketing tools.
How's your website doing?
Google Analytics:
A free service provided by google that allows you to view detailed information about the visitors to your website. It is easy to find out how many people are visiting your website, how they're getting there, and most importantly, what they are doing once they're there. Read more...
Search Engine Optimization
One of the most important aspects of an organization is the website. With that said, even the greatest website will do nothing for an organization if users can not find it.
Search Engine Optimization is all about ensuring that online users can easily find your website on search engines. Being high up on the search engine list will increae the volume of users able to visit your site.
Tag Words: Come up with a list of key words that users would likely type in when searching for your organization. These keywords should be used to optimize your page. Keywords should appear close to the top of your web site. Words in the title or the first few sentences will increase your group's chances of showing up under relevant searches. The amount of times keywords show up in your website also increases your sites rankings on search results.
Useful Marketing Links
Guide to Marketing Your Non-Profit Online: http://www.work.com/marketing-your-non-profit-online-2157/
How Search Engines Work: http://searchenginewatch.com/2168031
Chad Bauman iMarketing workshop
- PowerPoint presentation (4.2 MB) - This is a large file. Please be patient while it downloads.
- The Case for Using MySpace.com in the Marketing Mix
E-Mail Blasts
A great way to communicate with your audience is through e-mails. They are free to send, or, if you use a service to keep track of your communications, it is affordable (see below).
The most important part of using e-mail? Capture e-mail addresses!!!
Writing an effective subject line for e-mail
(The full article, by Russell Feldman, Junior Account Executive at Patron Technology, can be found at http://pm.patrontechnology.com/newsletters/article_jan10.htm)
Here are some tips on creating an effective subject line that will engage and capture your reader's attention:
- Creativity in e-mail subject lines should only go so far- more important to be concise and relevant.
- The subject line may be cut off if it's too long. Keep to 50 characters to be sure the entire phrase is seen.
- Develop an identity for regular mailings. Give them a name that people can easily identify and (with the right content!) actually look forward to. At the same time, don't be redundant.
- Don't try to cram in everything. Find one compelling thing and give it room to breathe. Try to say it all and you end up saying nothing at all.
How to capture e-mail addresses
- Every ticket sold through your office or box office should ask "May I have your e-mail address? May we send you information via e-mail?"
- At every performance, have a raffle. That's right, a raffle for something worthwhile. On the sign-up slip, ask for e-mail address and add the line "May we send you information via e-mail? Yes or No."
- At any special event where you have a booth (e.g. an art fair or festival), have a raffle (see above).
- On your website, on the HOME PAGE, have a way for people to sign up for information. "Sign up for e-mail about our new season."
- On any written form that people send in, ask for the e-mail address.
Text E-mails vs. HTML E-mails
You are no doubt very familiar with a regular text e-mail. It is all words. Sometimes there is a "hyperlink" which you can click on and goes immediately to another website. Any text e-mail will help you inform the recipient about your organization.
An HTML e-mail is more attractive and exciting. The phrase "HTML" refers to techno-jargon that you don't have to understand. But what it means is that you need a special program to create the e-mail (not just typing) and a special way to send it through the internet (not just "SEND").
Here are examples of the same information, one done in text e-mail and one done with HTML.
Blogging
Free Blogging Sites:
- Blogger.com
- wordpress.com
Many free websites are available to host a blog for your organization. Your blog can be used to write posts about anything your organization thinks would engage its visitors! Many non-profits use blogs to show others the importance of their cause by frequently writing inspirational and informative blog posts.
Twitter 101
Many people have heard about Twitter, yet dont really unerstand the entire concept of it. You may be wondering what twitter really is and how to successfully use the site to benefit your organization.
Twitter is a social media site that is dedicated to keeping people informed on what others are doing. Status updates are the prime feature, and these so called "tweets" keep others up to date on what your group is doing and vice versa. Twitter is a great way to infrom others on what your organization is doing and to build relationships with users.
How to Get Started
- Create an account: Go to Twitter.com and Sign Up! Choose a username and try to make it your organizations name if available so others can easily search for you.
- Design a Profile: Choose a picture to display, and find a unique background that fits your organization. (found under settings at the top)
- Start following: Search for friends and other organizations to follow. Once you start following others it will get your name out there, and others will want to follow you. All you have to do is click follow on others' twitter pages.
- Start Tweeting: You have to keep your page interesting in order to make users want to follow your organization (tweet about recent events, performances, awards, anything!)
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Read more...
For Everything You need to know about Twitter:
Create a "MySpace" Page
Today many cultural and arts groups are using MySpace to market themselves. It's FREE! And it's a great way to publicize your calendar, let the public listen to your music or watch your video.
When you create a "MySpace" page, your organization immediately becomes part of an incredibly large community of people looking to make "friends" with other people and groups.
To create a free MySpace page:
- Determine which kind of account makes sense for your organization:
- a standard account
- a music account - includes the capability to upload up to four MP3's of your group's music
- a filmmaker account
- Visit www.myspace.com and click the orange "Sign Up!" button. (Music groups: click on "Music" in the light blue bar and then "Artist Sign Up" in the red bar.)
- Follow the prompts to fill out your organization's profile.
- You're done!!
You can customize your MySpace page to your heart's content: add photos, video clips, and upcoming events - almost anything you can imagine!
Also, be sure to explore the other features of MySpace: start a blog for your organization, a forum group for those interested in the specific discipline (or join one if it already exists), and post your upcoming events to the MySpace Calendar.
FACEBOOK 101
*For everything you need to know about Facebook see the Facebook 101 section!
Facebook is currently the largest social networking site, with hundreds of millions of users signed up around the world. Online networking is growing rapidly with new users joining each day. The demographics of Facebook are also changing with users of all ages connecting through the site. Facebook provides a free space for your organization to connect with your "fans" as well as gain new fans. Unlike updating information on your website, Facebook makes it simple to add information about current news and events.
Facebook is not a form of aggressive marketing. The site is a tool that can be used to help organizations interact with their "fans" and gain a stronger following.
13 Ways to Cross Promote on Social Media Sites
http://publicityhound.net/13-ways-to-cross-promote-on-social-media-sites/
Media Contacts
Here are lists of major media contacts to whom you may want to e-mail a release, call or send a letter. The lists will be updated regularly, so please let us know of any changes.
