May 10, 2019
5 ways to improve your NGOs digital presence
With an estimated 10 million non-governmental organisations worldwide, it can be daunting to try and figure out how to draw attention to the life-changing work of your NGO and its importance. Living in what is known as the “digital age”, it’s no secret where the potential of organisational growth is- in digital! This is why improving your NGOs digital presence is so important.
Whether you’re an international NGO or a smaller NGO meeting your local needs, every organisation benefits from enhancing their digital presence and undertaking a digital transformation. Without effective use of digital, according to the Lloyds Bank UK Business Digital Index, more than 100,000 charities lack basic digital skills, equating to more than half of the registered charities in the UK. By not effectively using digital, NGOs are limiting their outreach, and with more and more people using the internet and social media for all needs, it’s vital to have some presence in that spotlight. It’s important to note that digital does not mean solely social media, it includes your presence on search engines, your website, e-newsletters etc.
Before looking at enhancing your presence, begin with an assessment of your organisation’s current digital presence, and ask yourself some questions- Do we have a website, is it effective? Do we have a social media account and are we posting consistent, engaging content? What is our call-to-action? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself regarding your organisation’s digital presence before jumping.
Without further ado, here are 5 ways in which your NGO can digitally transform:
- Optimise your content:
Retaining your viewers is crucial, and without optimising your content to ensure smooth user experience, you could lose potential leads before they’ve had the chance to read about the vital work your organisation does. Always make sure your content is optimised, both in user experience and navigation as well for the various platforms. More and more, mobile is being used to surf both the web and social media, so it’s important that your content works on PC, tablet and mobile. Remember, the more people you make your work accessible to, the bigger your audience is. This isn’t just limited to your website! Social media posts need to be the right ratio in order to not blur or cut off. With proportions and ratios changing all the time, It’s important to make sure that you stay up to date to ensure that your content is looking its best across all social media platforms. Here are some general ratios for social media post sizes in 2019:
- Build your social media presence
Regardless of what types of services you offer, or the scale of your organisation, a solid social media presence is vital for gaining recognition or awareness. Build upon what your organisation already has, if you’ve not got a social media account- make one! It’s free and helps you engage with your audience, connect with your peers, and raise awareness of what you’re doing and any events you’re holding in the area. Picking the right social media platform is just as important- every platform has its intended audience and opportunities. LinkedIn is great for B2B for more business-sense content versus Instagram, which is more popular with a younger audience, with 64% of users between the ages of 18-34. When starting off, it is better to limit your presence to one or two social media platforms and produce solid content than to stretch your content thin over five different platforms, and your content consequently suffering due to this.
- Ensure you have a clear CTA for everything you post
Email, social media, etc. know what your Call to action (CTA) is and ensure your team sticks to it. Redirecting traffic to your website? Raising awareness about a particular piece of content or signing up for a new event of yours? Always ensure that the CTA is clear and obvious to the user, this can be content specific or general for your organisation as a whole. Without a clear CTA, you will lose valuable interested potential leads which are damaging even for non-profit organisations and NGOs.
- Create a buzz
Get connecting. Networking is everything now, whether it’s through mail, social media or your website, getting to know your peers within the industry, engaging with your audience on Twitter or making a mark through LinkedIn. Getting people to talk about what your organisation does is the best way to increase brand awareness, trust and slowly turn these leads into conversions. This would vary depending on your content. Blog posts are a good way to generate a conversation and the platform could make all the difference! Using Linkedin can be a great way to meet other professionals in your industry and generate relevant leads.
- Improve your search-visibility
Unless a donor uses a direct link to your website or social media, they will generally find you through a search engine. Search engine visibility is key to helping new leads find out about your business. There are some easy ways in which this can be boosted without the headache of knowing the complexities of SEO. One of the most effective and easiest ways is using Google My Business. Google is the most popular search engines of our time, with 92.46% of all searches done through the google search engine according to Statcounter. So whilst this makes it evident that Google is the place to be, it can be daunting trying to figure out how to make your business visible. Google My Business allows you to register your business name and presents your business at the top of the search engine query with your name, this allows you to present all the relevant details to the searcher in one, small, easy to digest paragraph.
You can also link your contact number, map location and website to ensure that all leads are redirected to the correct location. Below is an example of what this looks like, using our own Google My Business profile.
You can see above that it immediately pulls our business to the top of the page, the best bit about this is that it’s completely free and you have full control over what images you choose to upload for your organisation!
Small digital changes such as these are great starting points to get the ball rolling and can make a huge impact on your digital presence and brand awareness. HAD is committed to helping NGOs and the greater humanitarian sector realises their potential and in turn become more effective in providing their services to beneficiaries. Watch this space for more information on our upcoming webinar on digital marketing practices for small business.
To find out how HAD’s expert marketing team can support your NGO, contact [email protected]
Written By Hannan Almasyabi
Marketing and Communications Officer
Related Articles:
Employee Development: A must-have strategy in the Humanitarian Sector
HAD Recommends: Podcasts for Humanitarian Workers
New videogame launched to combat Islamophobia and show how Islam inspires life changing charity work
