As we are approaching our Digital Leap conference, I have been thinking about digital campaigns and the misconceptions surrounding them. One of the more common misconceptions is that digital campaigns are loss leaders, don’t make real fundraising dollars and it takes years of investment to see return. The fact is, if the campaign is done properly, the return can be out-of-sight.

So how do they do it? What goes into making a great digital campaign that makes money?

1) Channels and Media

It is wrong to think that a Facebook campaign alone will make you lots of fundraising dollars. But there are charities that have created stand alone campaigns on Facebook and wondered why they failed. The reality is there needs to be investment in other digital channels to have success. You need to include Facebook Ads, Tweets, Emails, your whole digital arsenal to make it successful. Think about all the ways you could touch someone, then act on those channels and try and create a funnel super jam-packed with supporters.

2) Creativity

Be creative in your campaign and in your activation. “Make a donation” is like oatmeal, freakin’ boring. “Kick poverty in the ass!”, now you got me! Digital campaigns are flexible enough to showcase passion and flair with video, pictures, stories in a way a traditional campaign cannot. Use all the creative powers of the digital space to drive interest and wow people.

3) Immediate Activation

Maybe this is more about the user experience but take donations/emails/sign-ups right away, at the first point of contact. Don’t link to your website and then to a donate page etc. Make the activation page branded to the campaign and within a click! Also think about all the demographics that could be involved and try and provide them with their favourite method for raising their hand, whether it is texting, a Facebook ‘like’, giving a gift, etc.

4) Be Website Ready

What does this mean? It means when you have a big campaign and you are pushing it on Facebook or on a micro site, it needs a whack of real estate on your home page. It needs to be about ‘brand’ consistency. I see too many times no mention of a cool campaign on the home page because the real estate is accounted for. Squash that thinking.

In my opinion, there are lots of moving parts to a digital campaign, much more so than a mail campaign. And it takes effort to keep them all running and providing value. But it is worth it! The investment on digital marketing is low and the return can be very high. Just get in the game and take some risks.

Do you have any good examples? I want to hear about them in the comments below.

Ask us about client specific examples where digital campaigns had great return!