Combat Donor Fatigue with Digital Media

For wilderness explorers and urban MacGyvers alike, there’s no better tool than a Swiss Army knife. 

Although fundraisers might not carry around actual Swiss Army knives in their pockets, they do know the importance of a multipurpose tool. Digital media is the Swiss Army knife of marketing. It has multiple components: website, blog, email marketing, social media, and paid search, just to name a few. Like the Swiss Army knife, digital performs many functions. From branding, to traditional marketing efforts, to fundraising and donor stewardship, digital marketing should be an integral part of every nonprofit campaign because of its ability to build, support, and expand relationships with your donors and constituents.

The integration of digital with offline efforts not only increases digital response, but it can lift offline results, as well. Donors are exposed to and use multiple and varied channels for communication. And fundraisers have more touch points, information, and creative that help to support and encourage donors to respond. So give your donors more opportunity to engage with you in the channels they prefer!

Here are 5 reasons why fundraisers should include digital to combat donor fatigue:

1. You can create rich experiences that you could never do in direct mail, like video and interactive surveys.
2. You can promote programs that you might not want to talk about in direct mail.
3. You can test a lot, as digital is more affordable. Because of the lower price point, testing your digital fundraising has less risk than testing in other channels.
4. You can remind your donor of the impact of her gift. Digital marketing allows for immediate and relevant donor stewardship by creating content that donors will want to engage with, and ultimately share, as they become influential ambassadors on your behalf within their social circle.
5. You have multiple ways within digital media to communicate with your donors, such as social, email, native ads, and more!

This is the fourth post in a four-part series about Donor Fatigue.

Our fundraising experts met to discuss how to identify and stop donor fatigue. The panel included Mimi Natz, Senior Vice President of Client Development; Kurt Worrell, Senior Vice President of Donor Engagement Team; Jason Wood, Vice President of Digital Business Development; Jamie Veltri, Vice President of Acquisition and Media; Chris Griffin, Senior Strategic Planner; and Angie MacAlpine, Creative Director.

Other series posts:

• Are Your Donors Bored? How to Identify Donor Fatigue
• The #1 Way to Stop Donor Fatigue
• Prevent Donor Fatigue with Smart Acquisition Strategies