SMS marketing is quickly becoming a fan-favorite among businesses across a variety of industries. With a 98% open rate, texting is one of the most effective ways to communicate with customers. A subscription to a Business Texting Services gives businesses the ability to take advantage of this tool in a larger way than would be possible otherwise.
However, marketing can be a little trickier when it comes to nonprofit organizations. Many nonprofits lag behind for-profit businesses when it comes to marketing spend. In fact, The NonProfit Times found that just 4 cents of every dollar raised by nonprofits was devoted to marketing efforts in 2015. Of that money, almost 70% was spent on lead generation and new donor acquisition.
Of course, nonprofit organizations ultimately want to devote as much money as possible to the cause in question. Luckily, many business texting services offer affordable and flexible subscriptions– making SMS marketing a no-brainer for nonprofit organizations.
Here are a few ways your nonprofit can use a business texting service.
Business Texting Services for Nonprofits
- Lead
generation
Since we’ve already mentioned the importance of lead generation to nonprofit organizations, it only makes sense that we would explain how a business texting service can help!
The first thing you should do after subscribing to a business texting service is post your opt-in instructions everywhere. Offer website visitors, social media followers, event attendees and email subscribers the opportunity to contact you via text.
In 2020, 48.7 million people will choose to receive texts from businesses, so it’s clear that many people want to communicate with you via text. Make sure you’re advertising your texting capabilities clearly on all your owned channels and start generating leads!
- Build personal relationships
Building relationships is more important to many nonprofit organizations than it is to for-profit businesses for one simple reason: donors don’t receive anything in return for their hard-earned money.
Of course, that is a generalization. Many people find great satisfaction in donating money to worthy causes, especially in today’s environment in which activism is a heavy focus. However, they don’t receive a physical product or service to use in their daily lives. Nonprofits have to “court” new donors in many ways to convince them that their charity is important and that the organization as a whole is trustworthy.
Enter: your business texting service. While many businesses take advantage of the automated features provided, nonprofits should place equal value on the two-way chat feature. This will allow you to have real time conversations with donors and potential donors in an effort to build more personal relationships.
- Fundraising campaigns
At the end of the day, the goal of any nonprofit is fundraising. You can use a business texting service to plan and schedule campaigns to that end.
Texting is an ideal platform in which to host various fundraising campaigns. According to TechJury, the average American checks their phone 47 times a day. Furthermore, 5 billion people around the world have a phone that can send and receive text messages, so even those people who don’t have social media, for instance, can still be a part of your text fundraisers!
Get creative with these. Fundraising campaigns via text don’t have to be limited to a mere donation request; instead, plan out a drip campaign related to your fundraiser.
For instance, if you run a wildlife nonprofit, you could ask donors to “adopt” an animal and send regular updates on how their money is changing the life of their “adopted pet.” People like to know that their donation actually makes a difference, and a creative text message fundraising campaign could be the perfect way to show them that it does! It will also encourage donors to continue making a difference through future donations.
- Event management
Events provide your nonprofit with incredible fundraising opportunities, but logistically, they can be rather difficult to pull off. Simplify your event management using SMS through your business texting service.
With a business texting service, you will be able to send out event invites, updates and countdowns to generate buzz. Additionally, through two-way chat, you can answer any questions that attendees may have leading up to your event.
Furthermore, you can streamline communications with event staff- including your nonprofit employees and services that were outsourced, such as contractors, caterers and volunteers. Texting is the quickest and easiest way to get in touch with all relevant personnel, either through mass texts or two-way chat, to make sure that your event goes off without a hitch!
Pro tip: Don’t forget to gather contact information from event attendees to add to your text message list. While events are fantastic fundraising tools, they are also great opportunities to generate more leads and keep people engaged with your nonprofit.
- Alerts
Since many nonprofits deal with humanitarian causes, they also have a need to send out urgent alerts in times of crisis. In an emergency situation, would you rather send an email which has just a 20% chance of being opened? Or, would you rather send a text message which has a 98% chance of being opened?
Of course you’d rather send a text! When your nonprofit needs immediate assistance, financial or otherwise, in dealing with a crisis, you want to choose the messaging platform which has the best chance of actually being seen. Additionally, if you are alerting your list about impending danger, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, you’ll want to make sure that you can contact as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Through the use of a business texting service, your nonprofit can get in touch with your list instantaneously, and as every activist knows, time is of the essence.
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Nonprofit organizations are vitally important to our society. Without people who dedicate their lives to making a positive impact, who knows where we’d be? Through the use of a business texting service, you can be sure to reach as many people as possible with your message in an affordable way. If you’re ready to try it out, start your two week free trial today!
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