Earn More Giving Tuesday Donations with Multi-channel Marketing

Giving Tuesday is almost upon us! If your nonprofit is participating this year (and you should be!), how are you getting the word out about your Giving Tuesday campaign? What marketing channels will you use? If you’re thinking about taking a one-channel marketing approach, there’s a good chance some donors will miss your messaging. Instead, try using multi-channel marketing to earn more Giving Tuesday donations. Here are some tips! 

What is multi-channel marketing? 

Multi-channel marketing is the practice of using multiple channels to reach your target audiences. But content on each channel shouldn’t exist in silos. For best results, your multi-channel marketing campaign should look similar across all of the channels you use to reach your supporters. 

How to Earn Giving Tuesday Donations with Multi-channel Marketing 

Use these tips to put together a great multi-channel marketing campaign to earn more Giving Tuesday donations. 

Assemble your marketing team and assign responsibilities  

If you’re lucky enough to have more than one marketer on your staff, put a team together for your Giving Tuesday marketing. Your team can discuss your messaging and design, communication cadence, and even assign responsibilities. 

Some responsibilities you can assign are: 

• Copywriter – this is the person who puts all your copy together 
• Designer – this is the person who finds the images and designs your messaging 
• Storyteller – this is the person who curates the stories you’ll use 
• Analyzer – this is the person who analyzes your appeal performance across the different channels to determine what’s working and what isn’t 
• Scheduler – this is the person who puts together your communication schedule and keeps everyone on track 

Put together a master marketing calendar 

To make your multi-channel marketing efforts successful, it’s important to implement a campaign calendar. Your communications across every channel you use should be included on the calendar. It helps to write out the language you’ll use to help your tone and voice be consistent across your messages. 

This master communications calendar is a great way to stay organized, assign message responsibilities, and keep your messaging going out as intended. 

Next, here’s how to maximize the potential for some of the most popular marketing channels. 

How to use email marketing efficiently

Before you hit send, use this helpful advice to get the most out of your email marketing for Giving Tuesday.  

Target your engaged supporters 

Your highest priority when sending Giving Tuesday appeals via email is to earn the most donations possible. Focus your efforts on supporters who are engaged with your nonprofit. Email marketing is effective, but only if your audience is receptive. There’s no point in spending money to send a massive email appeal to donors who haven’t given in years. 

Instead, when you make your email contact list, pull recent donors with valid email addresses for better results. 

Personalize your emails 

If you’re pulling contacts from your donor database for email marketing, you’ve already got your supporters’ names. Use them! The more you can tailor an email to the recipient the better you’re able to communicate to them directly and secure your Giving Tuesday gift. 

Pro Tip: Check your database for any errors like blank first name fields or typos in names. Your personalization efforts will be wasted if you misspell a donor’s name! 

Consistency is also important

Lastly, when your email appeal is part of a multichannel marketing strategy, the messaging is key. Make sure that your emails sound like the rest of your communications. It also helps to give them a similar look. It can help to start from a template so that all you have to do is drag and drop the language and design elements in. 

We’ve put together some email appeal templates specifically for Giving Tuesday.

How to get the most of your social media marketing 

Social media is a great way to get your Giving Tuesday campaign noticed quickly. If social media is part of your multi-channel marketing plan (and it should be) use these tips to help you make the most of your social media marketing efforts. 

Make a posting plan 

It’s not enough to just throw some posts out there on your social platforms and hope for donations. For the best chance of success, you need to ensure your supporters are aware and excited about your Giving Tuesday campaign before it even launches. That’s why you need to develop a plan for posts that start well in advance (like a month out!).  

When you have a posting plan, you make it more likely for your supporters to see one of your posts and learn about your Giving Tuesday campaign. From there, they can share your post or even give from a link you share on your social media pages. 

You can read more about planning an effective Giving Tuesday social media campaign in our Giving Tuesday Social Media Playbook. It’s packed full of social media marketing best practices specifically for Giving Tuesday! 

Like email marketing, your messaging on social media is best when it’s consistent. That’s why we put together some handy Giving Tuesday Social Media Templates to make implementing your social media strategy easier. 

How to use SMS marketing on Giving Tuesday 

Want to get your Giving Tuesday campaign off to a great start quickly? Using an outbound text messaging campaign can help. Text messages have an astounding 98% open rate and only take 90 seconds for a response. That means you can make significant progress quickly if you send messages asking for help on Giving Tuesday.  

Make sure text recipients are expecting your message 

However, it’s not enough to send a text the day of and expect to see a huge response from supporters. Instead, prepare your supporters for your text messages. You don’t necessarily have to send multiple rounds of outbound messages (as this can seem pushy) but you’ll want the members of your contact list to keep an eye out for it. You can accomplish this by giving donors a call to let them know you’re counting on them. Or, you could send a save-the-date that mentions the possibility of being reached by text. 

Include a link to your donation form in outbound messages 

For best results with your outbound messages, include a link to your donation form in your message. Your message should be brief, so you don’t have to go into great detail about what you’re funding in your outbound texts. But make sure those details are apparent on your donation page.  

If you’re not sure what your outbound texts should say, consider these Giving Tuesday Text Message Templates. 

Make it possible for donors to give via text 

Another possibility that comes with using a text fundraising service is the ability to receive gifts via text. You’ll need to set up an easy-to-remember text fundraising keyword such as your org names plus GT (so long as autocorrect won’t change your keyword to something else). Then, share this text giving keyword in your Giving Tuesday communications. 

When your supporters text your keyword to a text-to-give service they’ll be charged a preset donation amount on their phone bill. If you’re using a text-to-donate option, they’ll automatically receive a link to a mobile-friendly donation form to complete their gift. Both processes can be completed under a minute and can provide a big boost to Giving Tuesday revenue. 

How to use other media for your Giving Tuesday campaign 

Tried and true methods like direct mail and local media spots on radio and TV can be a perfect complement to the rest of your marketing efforts if done right. 

Direct mail

Direct mail still works as a means to raise funds and get noticed. Giving Tuesday is all about raising money the day of. If you’re going to use direct mail as a way to get the word out about your campaign, you’ll want to provide specific instruction on how those recipients can support you on Giving Tuesday without having to mail in a check so that they know their gift will be applied to your Giving Tuesday campaign goal. 

There are a few ways you can do this. You can print a scannable QR code on your appeal letter or remittance slip that links to your online donation form. Likewise, you can add the URL to your donation form into your appeal letter. Lastly, you can include your text giving keyword and number to make it easy for donors to give via text message.  
 
You also want to approach direct mail with a plan. Direct mail may require more than one touch to really drive your message home. Plan for a couple save the dates and an appeal letter that should arrive ahead of Giving Tuesday with instructions on the various ways donors can give and support you (as well as a statement about how their gift will help, of course!). Use this method with those supporters who have the most affinity with your mailed appeals. You should be able to determine who to mail materials to using your donor database.  

Local Media 

When it comes to using radio and television spots, there are tips that will make your efforts more successful.  

First, you’ll need to reach out to local media companies to acquire ad spots. Determine the days, times, and frequency your ads will run. You’ll want to make sure you get the most exposure for your budget. As a nonprofit, you may be able to get free or deeply discounted ad spots—so don’t forget to inquire about this. 

Once you’ve purchased ad time, you’ll want to prepare your ads ahead of time. This way, you can ensure they’re the most polished and professional as possible. Those ads should run ahead of Giving Tuesday and on the day of at increased frequency. It may help to prepare multiple ad formats so your message doesn’t become noise to those exposed to it on a regular basis.  

But it’s not enough to simply buy ad spots and ask for support. Instead, consider how you want people new to your cause to support you. Provide instructions that are specific to your giving method and be sure to mention why you need the community’s help. 

Pro Tip: A great option for new supporters is inviting them to give via text. That way, no matter where they are when they hear your message, if they’re inspired they’ll make Giving Tuesday donations. How easy is it to say something like, “Give today to help feed local families struggling with food insecurity. Text LFPGT to 50155 to make your gift.” 

Final thoughts

Your Giving Tuesday campaign can be more successful if you take a multi-channel marketing approach. When you use multi-channel marketing to help you get more Giving Tuesday donations you increase your reach and number of touches to convince a wider audience to support your nonprofit. You don’t need to use every media channel mentioned here. Every nonprofit is different and sees different levels of success with each format. However, you should use more than one to reach your supporters where they’re at. 

Looking for more Giving Tuesday resources? Check these out! 

• Build the Perfect Giving Tuesday Donor Journey: Part One — The Discovery Phase 
• Giving Tuesday Checklist: Plan for Greater Success 
• 8 Giving Tuesday Ideas You’ll Want to Use in Your Own Campaign 
• 3 Ways to Retain Giving Tuesday Donors in the New Year