by Felicien | Nov 10, 2017 | Education
Unpredictable weather patterns are making it more and more difficult for business owners to feel confident in their business continuity strategies. From snow-storms and flash-flooding to tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires, the wrath of Mother Nature poses a serious threat to continuity, no matter the industry.
Of course, the first and main priority in wicked weather is to make sure your employees and their families are safe and sound. However, once the initial danger has passed, many business owners are faced with figuring out how to keep business moving during inclement weather and the corresponding recovery periods.
First Things First: Get an Inclement Weather Policy in Place
There’s a common misconception that inclement weather policies are for large corporate enterprises with massive workforces. However, planning for the future isn’t something just big business worries about. Small business owners with teams of 50 or less should be proactive with inclement weather plans and policies just as much as the big guys.
Many modern business owners already have strategies in place to make remote business and work-from-home a possibility. However, even for organizations that do 100% of their business on-site, creating strategies for remote-work capabilities in the case of extreme weather isn’t as hard as you’d think.
If you don’t have a policy in place, your company should have a handle on the basics including:
In the case of bad weather, how many employees would be kept from work?
How will you notify your team in the case of an office-closure?
Is it possible for your team members to work from home?
If so, what resources are necessary to help them stay productive?
Are there work devices that can be sent home with employees when extreme weather conditions are pending?
Getting to know the ins and outs of your company’s unique demands and needs will help you create inclement weather policies that keep your team members productive and safe, no matter the forecast.
Working Through the Storm: Strategies for Helping Employees Connect and Work from Home
Once you’ve nailed down the basics, the question becomes: how can I provide what my employees need to stay productive when they can’t get to the office? Check out these top considerations for making work-from-home a breeze:
Figure out your Equipment Needs
When nasty weather moves in and the office shut down, employees expected to work from home will need the devices necessary to do so. Most if not all employees likely have some web-connected device at home, but it’s important to figure these things out ahead of time.
For assurance, it’s a good idea to have a collection of mobile devices – like laptops or tablets – on hand for employees to take home and work on if needed. While many will likely be okay to work on their personal devices, having this emergency stash makes it impossible for business opportunities to be left out in the storm.
Provide a Secure Way to Connect
If your employees are going to work from home during bouts of nasty weather, it’s important that they have a secure way to connect to company networks and access company data.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) has traditionally been the common way for employees to gain remote access to their business email and files. However, VPNs are often clunky, time-consuming and must be set up on a remote desktop server. Not to mention, if employees are using personal devices while working at home, they may experience technical connection issues with the VPN, slowing productivity even more.
The more modern approach to remote connection is set up secure, cloud-based access and file sharing solutions. Cloud platforms can be accessed safely through a web browser from anywhere and can make it far easier for employees to connect with company data. With these solutions, it doesn’t matter whether an employee is on a laptop, desktop, mobile or tablet — if it has a browser, employees will have the ability to securely access what they need.
Determine the Data That Should be Available
When setting up a home-base in the Cloud, it’s important to understand what company data is most important for employees working remotely. System administrators can set preferences for who has access to what and most Cloud solutions offer ways to track data access and file activity, to keep tabs on access dates, times, users and IP data.
Also, as stated before, Cloud solutions should be implemented with IT security top of mind. That said, they should also be developed in a way that mirrors the way your employees already work. This is essential for streamlining wide-spread access and keeping productivity high through extreme weather conditions.
Manage Client Expectations
Inclement weather creates service obstacles for businesses of all kinds. However, the obstacles are especially challenging for companies that serve widespread geographical locations. It can be hard for a client to understand your company’s weather emergency when it’s 75 and sunny where they are. Regardless of location, be sure to keep your clients in the know when nasty weather hits.
To make sure business stays moving, employees can easily send password-protected links for client access and review. Additionally, business owners can proactively create an online portal where clients can access, review, download or upload important documentation.
Keep Employees Seasonally Informed with Regular Policy Reviews
Finally, a key factor in being prepared for the weather involves regularly revisiting inclement weather policy documents, keeping them posted somewhere centrally accessible for employees, and scheduling regular company-wide policy reviews to ensure all team members are in the loop.
Additionally, your inclement weather policies should have considerations for the various seasons and types of weather that may be experienced. Paying specific attention to the kinds of weather you’re likely to experience in each season and drafting policies to reflect those realities will bring your weather preparation plan full circle.
When it comes down to it, nasty weather can really slow down a company’s momentum. However, there is no need for inclement weather conditions to result in the complete shutdown of your business. Employees can be set up to work from home proactively, so long as a business owner takes the steps to clearly outline inclement weather policies and provide team members with the equipment and programs they need to connect.
Unfortunately, there’s no hardline strategy for predicting the weather and its impacts on communities and businesses. However, there are concrete ways for business owners to stay one step ahead of Mother Nature. Don’t wait for the next blizzard or massive storm to think about your company’s plan for inclement weather.
by Felicien | Nov 10, 2017 | Education
There’s no denying that email contacts are the modern-day equivalent of the traditional address book. For modern businesses, digital contacts are a company’s lifeline. They provide the means of connecting with clients, collaborating with team members and communicating important information to employees. Without an organized approach to setting up and maintaining these digital address books, communication lines can be broken and business productivity can take a hit.
A huge number of modern professionals use Microsoft Outlook to send and receive business mail. Whether businesses are using server versions like Exchange or cloud-hosted versions with an Office 365 subscription, developing streamlined procedures for setting up and managing Outlook contacts will save your business time and hassle.
Today’s Rolodex: Using Outlook Contact Lists to Streamline Business Communication
The contact list feature in Outlook has a variety of streamlining tools to make business communication easier than ever. For instance, with an organized contact list, new emails can be addressed simply by typing the person’s name or selecting it from your contact list. Additionally, if you’re detailed when building your contact list, you can add other personal info like mailing addresses and phone numbers. This allows businesses to use Outlook as their easy-to-manage and scalable ‘digital Rolodex’.
The process of building a contact list will vary among different businesses, depending on their situation. Some companies will be starting from scratch, creating an entirely new collection of contacts, while others will already have some contacts in place. Regardless, keeping an organized list of contacts is the best way to keep track of all the people you communicate with.
Building Your Contact List: Creating, Syncing and Adding New Contacts in Outlook
There are a few different ways to add contacts to your Outlook list. You can manually create a contact with all the necessary details. You can avoid manually adding contacts by syncing a pre-existing list from another webmail provider. You can select someone’s email address to manually add that person as a contact. Or you can use the Outlook Suggested Contacts tab to select familiar contacts to add. Let’s check out the details for each way of setting up contacts in Outlook.
Manually Creating a New Contact
Open Outlook.
Select the People icon in the lower half of the left side pane.
Select the New Contact
In the Contact window, enter all relevant contact details for this person.
Select Save & Close.
Syncing an Existing Contact List from Another Source
Export your existing list:
Pull up your online mail service using your internet browser.
Select the contacts you want to export and click on the appropriate export command.
Choose the option of exporting your contacts in Microsoft Outlook or Outlook CSV
Save the exported CSV file.
Import your contacts into Outlook:
Open Outlook.
Select File and then select Open & Export.
Click the Import/Export
In the Import and Export Wizard, select the option to “Import from another program or file” if it is not already selected.
Click Next.
At the Import a File window, select the Comma Separated Values option if it is not already selected.
Click Next.
At the next window, browse for and select the CSV file you exported from your webmail browser.
The next window will then provide three options:
Replace duplicates with items imported,
Allow duplicates to be created, or
Do not import duplicate items.
Select the option you want and click Next.
At the next window, make sure Contacts is selected as the destination folder.
At the final window, confirm that the CSV file will be imported from the Contacts
Click Finish.
As a side note: Export settings will vary among different webmail providers. For instance, with Gmail, you can select the contacts you wish to export, export a specific group, or export all contacts. However, with Yahoo, your only choice is to export all your entire contact list.
Creating a New Contact Using Email Address Selection
Right-click on an email address in a received or sent the email message.
From the popup menu, select the Add to Outlook
A contact card will pop up – enter any further contact details required.
Click Save to add that contact to your master list.
Using the Suggested Contacts Feature
Open the Contacts
Select Suggested Contacts in the left side pane.
Select the contacts you want to add to your Contact list.
Drag and drop your selections into your Contact list.
Managing Contacts in Outlook: Making the Most of Your Outlook Contact List
Once you have your Outlook Contact List started, it’s just as important to keep it organized. Making sure you weed out old contacts, verify that information is correct and up-to-date, and manage contact access will ensure that your entire staff experiences the streamlining power that Outlook offers.
Editing & Deleting Contacts:
There’s nothing worse than having a crowded contact list, filled with outdated or unnecessary contacts. Maybe you have old employee info to remove or maybe there’s a stash of an old client’s info that’s no longer relevant. Regardless keeping your contact list groomed is a great habit to keep.
Here’s the step-by-step process for editing or deleting contact info:
To view the details for any contact, double-click on the contact name or right-click on the name and select Edit Contact from the menu.
If you need to edit info, make the necessary revisions and when finished, click
If you want to delete a contact completely, just select the contact and use the Delete key on your keyboard. Otherwise, you can right-click the contact and manually select Delete from the menu.
Dual Contact View
This might seem like a strange feature, but viewing two contacts at the same time can be extremely helpful in organizing your inbox. Perhaps you have duplicate entries for a certain contact and you want to compare info to see which is most recent. Or, maybe you communicate with multiple people in the same office and want to make sure addresses and phone numbers match.
Regardless of the reason, here’s how to pull up two contacts at once in Outlook:
Double-click on the first contact you’d like to view.
Select the Cancel button to display the contact card.
In the card, click on the Pin icon to keep the card visible.
Double-click on the second contact and perform the same steps to keep the second contact in view.
Now you’re able to position the two contacts in a side-by-side view.
Click on the Edit link for each contact card.
Copy and paste information as needed, from one contact to the other.
When done, click Save for the contact whose information you revised and Cancel for the other.
Then, close each of the two contact cards.
Add Individual Contact Lists to the Outlook Address Book
To keep businesses even more organized and productive, the Outlook Address Book helps to centralize company contacts in one place for easy access. Using the Outlook Address Book allows you to access your contacts instantly from within an email message by selecting the To, Cc, or Bcc buttons.
Here’s a step-by-step process for adding your contact list to the Outlook Address Book:
Open Outlook.
Select the File
Select the Account Settings button, then select Account Settings again.
In the Account Settings window, select the Address Book
Make sure an address book is listed. If not, select the New
Select the option for Additional Address Books and click
Click Finish.
In the Contacts window, right-click on your Contacts list.
Select Properties from the popup menu.
In the Contacts Properties window, click on the tab for Outlook Address Book.
Click on the checkmark to “Show this folder as an Email Address Book” if it is not already checked.
Click
Here’s how to access and view contacts once they’re added to the Outlook Address Book:
Go to your email view and start a new message.
Click on the To field, and you should see your contacts listed.
Double-click on the contact or contacts that you want to send mail to.
Click any contact that you want to Cc and then select the Cc
Click any contact that you want to Bcc and then select the Bcc
Hit send and you’re all set!
As you can see, while business contacts are a straightforward concept, Outlook offers a variety of dynamic ways to create, maintain and optimize your digital address books. Staying on top of organizing and updating business contacts is critical to ensuring your company’s line of communication is working as strong as possible. Make sure your company is making the most out of the technology you deploy.
It should be noted that these step by step instructions are for the 2013 and 2016 versions of Outlook. However, the steps for earlier versions are quite similar. If you’ve recently made the switch to Outlook or if you’re looking to get on top of your Outlook Address Book once and for all, don’t feel overwhelmed. Making use of Outlook’s dynamic contact management features will have your digital address book neat and tidy in no time.
by Felicien | Nov 9, 2017 | Education
For today’s business owners, web presence is everything. Making an impact online is how most modern businesses generate leads and make an impact on their target markets. A big part of a company’s online presence is their domain name. Your domain names serve as your company’s internet address, inviting new and existing clients to explore your online headquarters.
Understanding the Basics: What is a Business Domain and Domain Name?
The domain name system is not terribly complex, but it can be tricky for busy business owners to fully understand and manage. In fact, many organizations turn over all control of their domain name to an external agency to manage. However, for those looking to learn a little more about domain name management, let’s explore the basics:
A domain name is a web address that defines a designated space on the internet.
Like a business’s physical address, a domain name is an online location where mail is received and customers can visit a business.
Simply put, a domain name is an address that directs online users to a company’s online domain – namely, their unique business website.
Domain names are also very often used for company email addresses, making it the primary way for clients and colleagues to stay in contact.
Breaking Down the Process: How Businesses Register and Optimize Domains
Now that we’ve got the domain-101, it’s important to get a handle on the key things about domain management that business owners should know. From registration to renewal, its critical for business owners to know the ins and outs of properly registering and strategically maintaining their online address.
Here are some key bits of information to help you better understand domain-name management:
What is the DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name System. The DNS is a server that translates a web address into one or more IP addresses.
What’s an IP Address?
Your company website lives on a web server and has a specific numerical address assigned to it, called an IP Address, which stands for Internet Protocol Address. IP addresses are made up of four segments separated by a period, like 123.456.789.123.
What is a Name Server?
Name servers are machines that route domain names to the proper IP address. When a company’s domain name is assigned to a set of name servers, the name servers have the authority to direct the domain name anywhere. Name servers are usually implemented by the vendor that hosts a company’s website.
What is a Domain Search?
Before a company can put their ideas into action, they need to ensure that the domain name they have in mind is available for use. There are plenty of resources online that help business owners search for available domain names and select alternatives if needed. Check out some of the leading domain name search tools here.
What is a Domain Registrar?
When you decide on what your domain name should be, it must be externally registered with an entity called a domain name registrar. A registrar is a company that issues and manages domain name registration for an annual fee. Check out some leading domain registrar sites here.
Don’t Let Your Online Headquarters be Sold to The Highest Bidder: Managing Domain Expiry & Renewal
Ok, so you choose a domain name, you search and find that it’s available. You make sure it’s registered, and you’re done, right? Wrong. Domain name registrations expire and must be renewed upon expiry. Business owners who don’t renew their domain name registration in a timely fashion, risk having their online address be put back up for grabs on the world-wide-web.
Even more challenging? When many business owners are getting started and launching their website, they often enlist the help of a tech-savvy friend or one-time tech contractor to get the domain set up and registered. Then, when expiry is looming, business owners are scrambling to figure out how to log in and make sure domain information is updated and renewed. In worst case scenarios, business owners are only made aware of this once their domain is already expired.
While many companies outsource a lot of their web-management responsibilities to an external digital agency, domain name management is the one part of web presence that business owners must have a handle on themselves. Why? As mentioned, a domain name is an address for your company’s online headquarters. It controls how new and existing clients access your website and reach out to you by email. Keeping tabs on managing this critical piece of business helps ensure your unique web presence remains untouched.
It’s also important to note that, while extremely important, domain name management is not that difficult for businesses to control. As long as you have a handle on the domain name expiry and renewal processes, you can put strategies in place to ensure you’re never unexpectedly evicted from your online office.
Here’s a rundown of the various steps in the domain-name expiration and renewal process:
Domain name registration expires
Quite simply, expiration happens when a company does not renew their domain name before the expiry date. However, businesses are given a bit of a break. Once a domain name expires, the domain is placed under the status of a Renewal Grace Period.
During the Renewal Grace Period, a company has the chance to renew their domain name without any additional fees. Renewal Grace Period length varies among different registrars.
Renewal Grace Period Ends
Once the grace period is over, the expired domain name is then placed under the status of Registrar Hold. This status holds expired domain names for 30-45 days, during which business owners still have a chance to renew their domain. However, they will likely pay a redemption fee of approximately $100, depending on their domain registrar.
During Register Hold status, registrars can attempt to sell the domain name to the highest bidder in an open auction. However, if the domain is sold, the buyer must wait the full 30-45-day period before the domain is handed over. If a company renews their domain before the Register Hold period ends, the auction buyer will be refunded. If it the domain is never renewed, it will be transferred over to the auction buyer at the end of the Register Hold status.
Registrar Closeout Sale
If a domain is not renewed by the original owner before the end of the Register Hold period and is also not sold at auction, some registrars attempt a closeout sale once the 30-45-day Registrar Hold has ended. Closeout sales usually offer expired domain names to buyers at a discounted price. Many registrars even go further to waive registration fees during closeout sales, increasing the incentive to buy.
While not all registrars use closeout sales, they are successful for those that do. Sales are first come, first serve and they move quickly – with cheap, expired domain’s flying off the digital shelves.
Registrar Released to Registry
If the domain name doesn’t get renewed or sold, the registrar then releases the domain name to the registry, where it is placed under Redemption Period status. Under this status, the domain cannot be modified or deleted. This status gives original owners one last chance to restore their domain by paying a redemption fee. This status lasts for a maximum of 30 days.
However, it’s critical to note that once a domain name enters the Redemption Period status, a company’s website and email addresses will stop working. Business communications will halt and clients will not be able to access your online headquarters.
Redemption Period ends
Once the Redemption Period status ends, if the domain has still not been renewed, it is then transferred to Pending Delete status. Pending Delete status lasts for five days, during which it cannot be restored by the original owner or the registrar. Company website and email addresses will remain inactive.
Domain name deletion
Once the 5-day Pending Delete period ends, the domain name is deleted and dropped from the online registry. As soon as it’s deleted, it becomes available for registration by the general public.
While it’s apparently possible to manually re-register an expired domain name as soon as it’s been deleted, the chances of success aren’t great – especially if the domain name is potentially valuable to others.
Keeping Your Domain Name Safe: Strategies for Locking Down and Maintaining Your Online Presence
The leading reason companies lose control of their domain is that they realize far too late that their domain name had expired. Therefore, it’s critical for business owners to implement standard policies to manage domain name maintenance and renewal. Even companies who think they have domain name management under control should make a conscious effort to prevent an expiry crisis.
Set an annual date to check-in on domain-name expiry. Keep your eyes peeled for renewal reminders from your registrar in your inbox. If your domain is set to renew automatically, it might fail if your account billing info is outdated. Make sure to keep tabs on the billing information on your domain name account to ensure registration fees are paid effectively.
Here’s a list of other key strategies for managing domain name renewal:
Use a separate email address for the accounts you use to manage your domains. This will avoid communication issues if your email is rendered inactive in case of expiry.
Keep and store registration and ownership records and account access details. Make sure this information is stored in a safe and easily accessible place that you’ll remember.
A designated person should be bestowed with domain-name control responsibilities. It’s recommended that this responsibility remains with the business owner, however, if you’re going to delegate, be sure to transfer the responsibility to a reliable and trustworthy employee who’s in it for the long haul.
Make sure your domains are renewed before expiry every year. Keep track of domain records, account and billing information and renewal history to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.
Keep open lines of communication with your domain registrar. Ask them explicitly to consult with you directly before any domain changes are made and make sure they know the best ways to reach you.
In a business landscape that is increasingly web-based, taking care of your online headquarters is just as important as maintaining your physical office space. A unique domain name gives you a chance to creatively present your business online and develop a unique web presence. Making sure your online address stays secure and well-managed is critical, because an expiry notice can quickly become an eviction notice.
by Felicien | Nov 8, 2017 | Education
Sending an email doesn’t guarantee that your recipient will take action. Create a compelling call to action and get the boost in response (or sales) that you need without lifting a finger!
Anyone writing an email will tell you that they’re dreaming of the thousands of visitors coming to their site, or purchasing their products and services simply on the merit of a single email. While this scenario isn’t entirely realistic, there are ways that you can optimize the call to action (CTA) on your email, and boost responses from 2-4 percent up to 11-15 percent depending on the audience and the offer. Even a not-so-great offer can take on a life of its own if the messaging is consistent, on brand and timely for the reader. Want to improve the responsiveness of each business email leaving your building? Keep reading for killer CTA tips from Karen Turner at Turner Efficiency in Calgary, Canada, that will keep your customers clicking.
Clean and Concise
There is often a tendency to overshare via email, as it’s a great way to get all of your thoughts down on paper and deliver them to another individual or group. However, is the recipient ready for all of those details? Creating a wordy or overly-involved email may be a great way to have your message ignored completely. Think about it — if you’re in a rush for time, and you receive an email with multiple paragraphs, are you more likely to read it or save it for later “when you have time?” Unfortunately, more emails roll in after the one you’re saving for a free moment, and before you know it several weeks have passed and the sender is still wondering how you want to take action on the project.
One Subject, One Email
Along with creating a clean, simplified email message, it’s important that you only attempt to tackle one subject at a time. People are incredibly distracted and have little time to focus. When you begin an email with one subject and then shift halfway through, you’re reducing the chances that your recipient will act on any of the items listed! Sure, it may feel more efficient to list a variety of actionable items per email, and in some circumstances such as a meeting followup or project management email that works. However, in selling emails or when you’re attempting to get a quick response from a colleague, the rule of one subject per email is the most effective and efficient method of communication for action.
Action + Urgency
Don’t be afraid to use action terms to detail how you would like your recipient to respond. People are much more likely to give you the go-ahead and take the next step in a process when they clearly understand what you’re asking them to do. Create a sense of urgency by listing a specific time and date by which you need someone to take advantage of an offer or respond to a request. As soon as possible can be interpreted differently depending on your point of view, so avoid using this language if you want to drive real responses to your emails.
Get Noticed
Finally, look for ways to stand out from the crowd! Whether this means through personalization for your audience or a tactic such as an interesting image, different font colors for action words or underlines, find a way to make your email look engaging and interesting enough that your audience wants to take action. Boring is definitely not “in!”
by Felicien | Nov 8, 2017 | Education
Non-profits that utilize technology find that it creates engagement, automates the fundraising process, improves emergency response time, and leads to higher levels of success.
“Before the Parade Passes By,” the great song from the Broadway smash musical, “Hello, Dolly,” talks about getting ready to move out front while there is still time left. When it comes to fundraising, though, non-profit organizations that don’t jump on the technology bandwagon could indeed find that the donor world is passing them by. In a world where it seems like donors hold onto every single penny with every ounce of their strength, how can you shake the money tree to get their dollars to fall into your coffers?
Donor and volunteers alike are pulled in multiple directions by the extraordinary number of non-profits looking to capture their attention. It used to be that local charities only had to compete with each other, and the occasional United Way or March of Dimes appeal. Now it seems that every local incident, national tragedy, or natural disaster spawns a monumental fundraising effort. Even donors who previously contributed on a regular basis suddenly find they don’t have enough discretionary income left at the end of their paycheck.
Although certain organizers have no problem starting a GoFundMe page at the drop of a hat, it seems like the more established, traditional non-profits are stuck in a well-worn rut. They send out the same address labels and yearly calendars, host the same fundraisers, and rely on the same celebrities, but really don’t pay too much attention to building strong relationships with their donor base. Maybe they have a website, but they shun other techniques which could really raise their online profile and radically change the game for them.
But who says non-profits can’t use technology to raise awareness while doing good? Not Microsoft, of course. Although they have a vested interest in every entity using technology, they make quite the case for using it properly. In their white paper, “The New Imperative of Nonprofit Digital Transformation,” they lay out a convincing case for non-profits to follow the lead of their for-profit brethren by incorporating technology into the everyday mentality.
Using Technology Improves Donor Engagement and Participation
Although technology can certainly play a key role in making the non-profit function more cost-efficiently and can be used to keep tabs on volunteer activities, its main benefits can be seen in the fundraising arena. Take a look at these key ways technology can help raise the level of fundraising to previously-unreachable heights:
Technology can automate the fundraising process: Even the most loyal of donors might be tempted to donate elsewhere if they don’t feel appreciated enough. Instead of performing a mad dance to orchestrate a once-a-year fundraiser, technology can spread out the process of asking over the course of a year. Your non-profit can create a schedule of events, build messages around them, and close with a giving reminder. Schedule them into your online system to automatically send emails and update social media pages, and you’ll stay at the front of your donors’ giving queue. Once they take an action, an automatic email can be scheduled to provide the appropriate thanks.
Technology creates engagement: Donors today like to be involved and know what their favorite non-profits are doing. Use regular Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest conversations to highlight your success stories, and show them how their money is being used.
Technology builds a data warehouse: Every non-profit organization has one-time donors, regular donors, and everything in-between. The secrets to success are to make the one-time donors become regular donors and to keep the regular donors captivated. But this can be hard to do if you don’t know which donor is which, how much they like to donate, or whether they have a preferred donation time period. Collect data religiously and then use Customer Relationship Management, or CMR, software to build a donor database so your organization can study it, and communicate more effectively to achieve the best results.
Technology helps your organization respond in an emergency: Social media is the workhouse of online communications, and your organization can use it to stand out from other non-profits clamoring for a limited audience with limited funding capabilities. Use your social media network to raise awareness for a specific activity, or respond quickly to a tragic event.
Technology gets your non-profit where your donors are: Donors are not sitting at home waiting to get that next letter from you. They are out and about, performing a wide array of activities, and using their mobile devices to keep up with the rest of their lives. Use technology to become a mobile-responsive organization, and you’ll be ready to connect whenever and wherever your donors decide they want to get in touch.
How Can Your Non-Profit Get Creative With Technology?
Using the fundamental donor and database management capabilities is the first step to ramping up your non-profit success, but why not get creative and use technology in other ways to accomplish your goals? Some examples might be:
Offer online volunteer sign-up forms.
Accept online donor payments easily in multiple formats.
Promote online ticketing for events.
Sponsor a Facebook fundraiser.
Hold a silent auction online.
Create a cool app.
Automatically Tweet out the results of your next fundraising campaign.
Add a “Donate Now” button to your website and Facebook page.
Find a partner to promote a matching campaign, and provide updates on creative fundraising efforts on your social media pages.
Conduct a quick donor or volunteer survey.
Make it contagious. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge, the awareness it raised, and the amount of money it garnered? And it all started with an online video and a dare. Get your donors involved in doing something creative online, and use the publicity to propel your non-profit to newer heights.
Hitch a ride on a wildly successful online non-profit event by getting involved in #GivingTuesday on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Now in its sixth year, this event reminds us all of the importance of participating in acts of kindness and makes us wonder what we can give to make our world a better place. Create your own local challenge under the #GivingTuesday umbrella, and then use social media to drive and direct requested donations of time, money, resources, and talent. It’s the perfect way to get one-on-one with your donor base and build towards end-of-year charitable donations. Register online at the https://www.givingtuesday.org/ website, and be sure to download the #GivingTuesday Toolkit for some terrific social media ideas.
Answer The Call of Technology Now
For much too long, technology has been used by only larger non-profits or for-profit organizations to increase communication, maximize effectiveness, and support profitability. But there really is no reason why non-profits of all sizes should not carefully integrate technology into their everyday activities to help support their mission and ensure compliance with regulatory overseers.
There is no difference in the types of technology that are available to non-profit and for-profit organizations; the only difference is how that technology is utilized. Non-profits can easily find cost-effective solutions that help meet their unique administrative, communication and service needs.
