How to Build Buzz Around a Donation Campaign

How do you build buzz around a church donation campaign? How do you get people to talk positively about your upcoming fundraiser? How can you create enough buzz, so that when it happens, donors are lining up at your doors, donations in hand? 

(For more tips for pastors and church leaders, check out our blogs on the intensive subject.)

Increasing the Reach of Your Campaign

More people raising awareness for your cause can lead to more donations. Let’s look at some ways to best maximize your fundraising efforts and build genuine excitement around your church outreach campaign.

Know Your Audience

The first thing you must do is get clear on whom you want to reach. Knowing your audience will make it easier for you to plan the type of fundraiser and best strategies to get their attention.

Find out where your audience spends time—whether online or in person. Which social networks are they using? Which donation platforms do they prefer? How familiar are they with giving principles? Are you targeting donors who are long-term supporters or new to your cause? Who are their social circles?

Once you have answered the above questions, you can make a plan for reaching them. Find out more about growing your donors in our special DonorWerx courses and online coaching material.

Outline Your Plan

Good fundraising or donation campaign plans should take into consideration:

· Your most important message during the campaign (what you want people to walk away remembering)

· Your average audience persona

· Which donation campaign tools you will use for communicating your message and raising awareness of your cause

Expand Your Network

Even if you only start with your smaller networks before expanding, the point is to grow. Envision what your greater network might look like and whom it might include.

You can start with your personal network, letting them know you need their help to raise awareness for your donation campaign. Close family members and personal friends will almost always support a charitable cause. Even if they do not commit financially, they will act as your “ambassadors,” spreading the word of your mission.

Humanize the Campaign

Remember that authenticity always wins.

When people consider donating money, they want to put a face on the recipient. They usually imagine who will benefit from their support. Your job is to paint that picture as clearly as possible for them, making it easy for them to respond and take action. So tell your stories as distinctly and humanly as possible.

Articulate why your donation campaign is worth their time. Through your human storytelling, you present your needs, goals, and outreach ambitions. Through the right stories, you can appeal to emotions and get decision-makers to act.

Plan Your Social Media Campaigns

When social media campaigns work, the reason they do is that social media targets emotions. People click, like, or share content because it resonates with them.

So when planning your social media campaigns, again, be human. Do away with corporate-speak and jargon that nobody understands outside the church. Speak or write as if communicating with your network of friends, because that is what you are doing. And that is what will make a difference.

It’s also worth noting that nowadays, it’s common to see campaigns and causes being shared and supported all over social media. People accept and even expect it. So with this mindset, they can also be open to providing financial support.

Use Visuals People Want to Share

Go for high-quality, inspiring images. These will help create the aesthetics needed to get people to share and talk about your campaign. Consider creating videos, using art, and coming up with other ways to communicate your message.

Whatever visuals you choose to use, be clear and concise, and create pictures that people will want to see in their social media feeds or their mailbox. Remember that it does not have to be complicated. Use ready-made templates from a site such as Canva to create your appeals. It’s fast, easy, free, and visually appealing.

Set a Time Limit

Good marketers know how to use the power of limited time to their advantage. You see it with campaigns such as, “for a limited time only,” “get it while sales last,” and “seats to the event are limited.”

The technique of limiting the time people have to donate creates urgency, which creates importance, which can help increase the number of donations you receive. In the end, you create the most impact, because people want to get in on the buzz before it’s too late.

Make Donating Fun

Reward your current and potential donors with gifts—simple things such as tickets to your annual charity dinner or gift certificates from sponsors, for example. Show how giving can be a two-way street and get people excited about the goodies they may receive in return.

Keep your campaigns light-hearted, and share a spirit of joy whenever you start one. People are attracted to other people who make them feel good, and they want to know that your space—even if online—is a positive place to be. (Check out more tips for better online services here.)

Create Buzz with DonorWerx Tools

Building buzz around your donation campaign is easy with the right tools and resources. Learn more about how to simplify digital giving and get your donors excited to take part in your fundraising campaign and tell their friends. Before you plan your next online fundraising campaign, contact us at DonorWerx so we can help you Get started.