Tomorrow (Tuesday), the Schipul team will be rolling out a new update for the event registration process that will give you more flexibility over how event registration works for your members.
Please note: This change only effects sites running on Tendenci 5 – the newest version of Tendenci
The major changes are:
1) People can register multiple registrants with different price on the same invoice.
2) Event editors can specify whether or not guests info is required. Under the Registration section of the event add/edit pages, there is a checkbox Require Guests Info, check it if you’d like guests’ info (name, email, etc) to be showing on the roster report.
3) Site administrators (super users) can control how people can register for their events by changing the setting “Anonymous Event Registration” http://yoursitedomain.com/settings/module/events/#id_anonymousregistration. There are 3 options for this setting: open, validated and strict. The default value for existing sites is validated.
a) Open – Allows people registering for events to choose any price for themselves and their guests.
b) Validated – Allows people to see all prices when registering, requires a valid site user email address for each price to check that they qualify. They do not have to be logged in, and they can register guests using the guests’ email addresses.
c) Strict – Allows people to see all prices when registering, requires the user to log-in, a valid site user email address for each price to check that they qualify. They can register guests using the guests’ email addresses.
IMPORTANT!If you are a site administrator (super user), please check and update this setting to best meet your business requirements later this week. We will be following up directly with current clients who we know use memberships and calendar events for help with which setting is right with you.
4) Members can enter their member IDs for the member-only price. If you don’t want the Member ID field to show up on the registration form, you can turn it off by changing the setting “Event Registration Requires member ID for member pricing” http://yoursitedomain.com/settings/module/events/#id_requiresmemberid.
5) Admins (super users) can override with different price for different registrants when registering multiple people.
6) Discount code can be applied (if applicable) to each individual registrant instead of one registrant for each registration.
7) Sortable feature is added to the roster report to allow site administrators (super users) to sort registrants by last name, first name and company.
8) On the Roster report, you can now check people in electronically at events by clicking a check box under the column Attend.
We Schipulites don’t want to keep our web-based passion bottled up. We want to share it with you! Throughout July & August, we’re hosting free webinars every Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30 Central. Below are our next three webinars.
New to Analytics and need some guidance to help you navigate your website stats? Search Engine Marketing Analyst Jennie Lane will give an Intro to Google Analytics webinar on July 19. Topics include:
Running a website can be hard. But don’t despair! When it comes to choosing a CMS for your business, Schipul is here to help.
This webinar is designed to help you choose the right content management system (CMS) for your business. Business development specialist Travis Dixon will talk about:
Which CMS is right for you?
Detailed look at individual CMS” WordPress and Tendenci
What questions you need to ask yourself when looking for the right CMS.
A look at the different modules included within Tendenci that increase revenue, including:
Jobs Board
Custom Forms with Payment Integration for Donations, Sponsorships, and more!
Easy and automated Membership management to increase new member applications and get more renewals
Business Directories
Events
All the hidden ways Tendenci works hard to grow your association’s bottom-line!
For more information or to register for this event, click here
We hope you’ll come out to attend one of our webinars!
More Training Resources
Keep checking the Schipul calendar for more free web marketing training at Schipul.com/events
For resources from our past training events on the Schipul Webinar Resources page at Schipul.com/webinars
I had the privilege to speak during and attend the PRSA Sunshine District Conference 2012 last week in Tampa Bay, Florida! The theme was Navigating New PR Channels.
Sunshine 2012 (or hashtag #Sunshine2012) was a fantastic conference that featured speakers in PR, Marketing, and Communications discussing brands from Coca-Cola to Playstation to local NHL team the Tampa Bay Lightning. And included an address by PRSA President Bill Murray (no, not that Bill Murray).
My presentation was on SEO Web Metrics in the Real World. Web metrics can be overwhelming, especially considering the constant changes in web trends and interfaces!
I focused on what metrics matter most when making sense of all of the data available from tools like Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools, and tips for complementing that data with offline metrics.
Major points from my presentation:
Top 5 Metrics I look at when reading Analytics reports:
Traffic Trends – should mirror offline season trends
Sources – including PR & social media linkbacks
Keywords – branded and non-branded
Content – top content & what is changing
Conversion Path
Test, Test, Test!
As Ed often reminds me: “There is no such thing as a marketing argument, only a marketing test”
Use Google URL Builder to create Campaigns to A/B test – try to test one thing at a time, and keep iterating
My top tip for tracking offline data: Involve Sales in the process!
Educate your sales team on SEO, and ask for their feedback on trends they are seeing and ideas for new content. They have great insight from their interactions with customers!
Have your team who answers the phones ask prospects how they heard about you, including what term they searched in Google if possible
Remember that Rank isn’t everything!
Search Engine Marketing is a funnel of impressions in search, clicks through to your website, and if the content on your site is compelling enough – conversions
Interested in more Google Analytics training? Schipul is offering a free Intro to Google Analytics training webinar in July – watch the Schipul events calendar to sign up!
Insight from the Fantastic Speakers of #Sunshine2012
I got a lot of insight from the informative and actionable content from all the speakers throughout the conference. A few major trends from the conference speakers:
1. “Brand Control” is moving to the consumers
Allyson Park – Vice President of Corporate External Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company – focused much of her talk on how the brand is no longer in the hands of the company – the brand owner is now the consumer
Coke embraces this – their Facebook page is still run by the 2 fans who created it initially!
A recent Coca Cola marketing campaign showcases the real people who love the brand – “Every bottle has a story” – including this fantastic video currently shown in the India market:
2. Take advantage of technology tools, especially mobile devices
Many speakers noted new tools and technology that are becoming more and more important as part of the marketing/PR mix. This is all about using all of the tools in your toolkit. For instance: Video content is powerful and easier than ever to distribute. Social Media is a power customer service tool when used correctly.
Taking advantage of mobile devices to deliver real time relevant content through mobile sites and mobile apps is becoming not just an advantage, but more and more an expectation of brands. Here are some stats from Jody Haneke‘s presentation on the Mobile Marketing Mix:
35% of mobile workers check email before anything else – before getting dressed or eating breakfast
53% of tablet users read news on their phone every day
Smartphone and tablet users visit more pages in a given sitting than people on a desktop
SMS still the most widely used mobile data form on the planet.
3. Content Strategy
You can’t be everything to everyone, focus on what makes sense and keep it organization.
Some great tips from Josh Hallett of Voce Connect, who manages large amounts of content for brands like Sony Playstation:
Plan “episodic” content that you can schedule in advance – i.e. “Throwback Thursday” or Employee Spotlight
Don’t host your video – post on YouTube or Vimeo and embed, you get the advantage of the second network
Focus on your content plan – what makes sense for your brand, don’t worry too much about platform changes
Help your visitors by telling them what is the most important item today or this week. Make your top post “sticky” or give it more prominence – this helps visitors navigate and helps you promote your top priority
It’s ok to share something more than once – especially on a real time platform like Twitter. Post at a different time of day with a different call to action or perspective and monitor your results!
4. The Importance of Internal Communication
“As leaders, everything that we say or do communicates something ” – Keynote David Grossman
David Grossman spoke on the concept that we can’t not communicate – everything you do from how you speak to how you spend your time to body language communicates SOMETHING to the organization. Our brains are wired to take in a scene and draw conclusions, so that’s what people do.
This is especially important as the intangible benefits matter more and more to employee satisfaction. Communication is key is leadership, including in meeting employee needs.
St. Petersburg is a beautiful place with unique restaurants and fantastic art! On my trip I got to take in the Dali Museum and enjoy happy hour at the Chihuly Exhibit at the Morean as part of the conference. It was an inspiring trip inside and out!
Spiral staircase in the Dali Museum
Chihuly blown glass exhibit at the Morean
Thank You PRSA Tampa Bay!
Big thanks to everyone on the PRSA Tampa Bay host committee who did a fantastic job!
Recently, I added myself to the list of iPad owners. I own Apple products, but not a tablet, so I was excited to put this new technology to productive use. These apps aren’t free or cheap ($1-2) like a lot of other productivity apps, but they are well worth it. Here are my top 4 recommended iPad apps to help make your workday more productive.
If you need a place to doodle, take notes, or annotate PDFs, Note Taker is for you. It isn’t cheap, but you will get much more functionality than something like Penultimate ($.99).
Note Taker lets you create folders of documents and store those in other folders so it’s extremely organized. It also conforms to your style of note taking. Whether writing, note taking or doodling, you can:
Insert text via the keyboard
Insert shapes (Note Taker has 65 built in) or pictures from both your photo library and your camera instantly
Change the color and size of your pen
Zoom Writing and the Wristguard are what make Note Taker great for writing notes.
Zoom Writing
The zoom writing feature allows you to write accurately as large or as small as you’d like. When you want to advance: tap the right arrow to continue on the same line and the left to go to the next.
Wristguard
The gray bar is the wristguard feature. When most people write, they rest their hand on the writing surface. In Note Taker, the wristguard makes sure you don’t mark or mess up the line you’re writing on. You can toggle it on or off in zoom tools.
My Favorite Feature
My favorite feature is the ability to annotate PDFs. I needed to fill out some forms for an online class I was taking and had left my computer at a friends house. I downloaded the forms (as PDFs) I needed, filled out all the subject fields, and sent them in from my iPad.
Note Taker Tips and Integrations
Note Taker has a lot of features and is extremely powerful, but it has a bit of a learning curve, so you have to be patient with it. To read a comprehensive Note Taker user’s guide click here.
Note Taker is compatible with CloudOn(mentioned later), Evernote and Dropbox and you can send your notes to any of these apps using the output button in the tools section.
Overall, this app rocks. Plus, its only $5 for one killer note taking platform.
Scanner Pro is a dream: powerful and simple. Once the app is open, you can either scan using the camera, or upload from your photo library.
Scanner Pro Tips & Tricks
For scanning documents, the sky’s the limit. You can scan almost anything and use custom sizes.
I use “Select All” to choose which part of the document to save, but you can adjust it using the blue dots in the corners.
Once the document is scanned, you can edit the contrast and brightness then export as a PDF or JPEG. Scanner Pro syncs with Dropbox, Google Drive (previously Docs), or Evernote.
Scanner Pro is powerful, so if you don’t need an app of this caliber you can try Genius Scan which is free but has limited capabilities.
CloudOn’s claim to fame is being the first to bring Microsoft Office to iPad. It’s great for editing your PowerPoint, Word, and Excel Microsoft Office documents on the go. CloudOn’s downside are the limitations with creating new documents or doing heavy re-structuring.
Capabilities
The keyboard responds to commands like cut, copy, paste, and undo. All of the buttons in the interface are click-able but not all of them work.
I use CloudOn for minor editing and changes like font family, size, and type.
It’s especially helpful in PowerPoint because you can easily edit, add, or delete slides and save to the cloud.
CloudOn links with Box, Google Drive, and Dropbox. You can save, edit and access your files anywhere with Internet.
CloudOn is great for the price and offers on-the-go editing for the on-the-go person who needs to make quick edits to their Office documents.
Pocket Informant HD is expensive compared to some other apps in the App Store and is the most expensive app I’ve included in this review. However, if I had to choose one app as a must have, Informant is that app.
At Schipul, we use Google Calendars for scheduling and Informant syncs seamlessly. It also syncs with Toodledo, Google Tasks, and iOS Calendar.
The beauty of Informant is that it does everything. It has a calendar (with customizable views much like Google Calendar), tasks & events, notes, and contacts. Each item is tabbed and color coded.
Features that Make Informant Worth the Extra Cash
With Informant, you can call anyone (via FaceTime) straight from the contacts tab.
Informant also enables you to link contacts and send them invite via Google sync or the iPad’s email client when creating tasks/events.
One or more of these features come standard in every scheduling app, but Informant effortlessly puts them all in one place, for you to use. For the same price as a good notebook planner, you always have it, and it integrates digitally.
Increased Productivity for Just $26
I use these apps daily and I strongly recommend all of them. Together, they make your iPad more than just a portable toy for playing Angry Birds by giving you a suite of tools to increase your productivity at work.
Informant is a stand alone app and the other three apps integrate with each other. I’ve found it is pretty easy using Note Taker, Scanner Pro and CloudOn in unison.
You can get all of these apps from the iTunes iPad App Store for just $26 dollars (less than dinner and a movie)!
While You Are on Your iPad…
Come check out some of Schipul’s recent mobile responsive sites from your iPad! Responsive design gives your website the cool ability to display an optimized user experience based on the size of each site visitor’s screen. Come see how these sites look on your iPad compared to your desktop and smartphone:
“there’s nothing like good old-fashioned networking”
Passion is important. So is attitude. When it comes to promoting brand awareness, a passion for the product and a positive attitude make all the difference. People will perceive your true attitude to the detriment or benefit of your brand so it’s important to find someone who actually cares and is personally and deeply invested in your product.
Katie Laird shared about becoming a brand ambassador for Nintendo. It was an “organic connection” she says. She bumped into one of the Nintendo higher-ups and a causal conversation became a job opportunity. It was not who she knew, it was her passion: who she is.
Transparency
“there are things about you that you can share!”
All three panelists stressed the need to be transparent. When you communicate with a brand ambassador it is imperative to be up front about needs and expectations. In other words, honesty is the best policy. Potential disasters could occur due to simple miscommunication.
Even if it isn’t a simple mis-communication it’s best to be realistic (transparent) and up front during any business transaction and it saves all parties involved a lot of heartache.
This happened to Kashi recently after it was released that they were using genetically engineered soy in their cereals. Fans of the Kashi brand confused the labels “organic” (which is an FDA regulated label for foods), with “natural” (the label Kashi used and is *technically* correct). You can read the full story about Kashi’s brand mis-communication in this story by USA Today.
Influence vs. Popularity
know the difference –> increasing conversion to sales (influence) vs. increasing product brand/reputation (popularity).
It’s important to note the subtle difference between the two. Popularity does bring influence, but not necessarily to a target audience ready to buy. When selecting your digital influencers, you want to focus on your ultimate goal for the campaign. Ask yourself: are you looking to increase lead conversions with this campaign, or are you seeking to expand your brand’s recognition?
Influence: A writer who runs a successful blog that has an engaged audience of readers might not be nationally or critically acclaimed but their strong influence over loyal followers can be a marketing gold mine.
Popularity: A pro athlete that is nationally (or even internationally) recognized will reach a large audience, but not necessarily have a direct impact on sales.
Keeping Your Brand Ambassador
make me feel special
Gerome, Katie, and Meredith all expressed gratitude for the brands they represent. Katie remarked that during her ambassadorship she got to tour a national Nintendo facility, all expenses paid. During his multiple endorsement deals as an athlete, Gerome remembers all the “swag” and free shopping trips from brands like Nike, Reebok, or Adidas. Meredith endorses BCBG and gets 75% off of clothes and gets to dress in style.
1-Minute Video Wrap-Up of the Lunch!
If you missed the luncheon, here’s a quick inside look at all the fun from HIMA’s June lunch
Here are three ways you can go identify the right digital influencer for your Brand:
Go find those people who exert influence over your target market. Use social media reputation monitoring tools to find out who’s already talking about you. Inc Magazine has a great article on reputation monitoring tools and their use.
Start with the people who are already following you online and engaging with you already. Check your social media accounts to see who is talking about you, following you, and mentioning you. This will give you a better idea how to engage with your audience
Remember, ‘There’s nothing like good old-fashioned networkingâ€. You never know when you’ll meet your next big fan!
Please! Leave your comments. Tell us how you found your brand ambassador or how you became a successful one.
Houston’s Google Field Team joined our NetSquared Meetup Tuesday night for our June event. Nimi West and Sade Ayodele spent the evening answering questions about the Google for NonProfits Program. Google for NonProfits helps nonprofit organizations increase your fundraising efforts, optimize your organization’s operations, and expand your reach to grow your list of supporters.
Google Apps You Wonder About
During the introductions at the meetup, I asked everyone to share either the Google Application they had the most questions about or their favorite Google App to use. I was actually a little surprised by some of the answers.
Top Google Apps Folks Had Questions On (in no particular order):
Google Hangouts – Many members wanted to know how to use them to improve communications with remote staff and volunteers. Google Hangouts is free web, voice, and video conferencing in one package. Recently, Google rolled out Hangouts on Air as an added bonus to allow free live broadcasting to an unlimited online audience.
Google Alerts – Many people haven’t heard of Google’s secret weapon that lets you monitor the internet in almost real time and receive alerts about any topic(s) you are interested in. I personally use Google Alerts to receive notifications whenever anyone is talking about Tendenci and Brand-related topics so I can know who is interested and sharing our Brand online.
Google +Most people just want to understand the value of adding another social network to their already overwhelmed content marketing to-do list. We learned more about the differences between Google+ and other social media platforms and the reasons why Google+ was part of an overall market strategy focused on earning money for your organization, not just making new online friends. (I’ll pit Facebook against Google+ below and explain the differences.)
Most favorite Google App:
Google Search – I was surprised by how many of our group mentioned Google search as their most favorite tool at Google and something most admitted to using multiple times a day. I wasn’t surprised that they all listed it as their preferred search engine. The fact that so many people like to use search and use it multiple times a day should tell you to keep tackling your website’s search engine optimization as part of your web marketing efforts.
The Unheard of Google App (sadly, this app was cancelled):
The Google Wonder Wheel – Here’s a great post on The SEM Blog explaining what the Wonder Wheel, (in case you never had a chance to use the Wonder Wheel). The reason it was cancelled? According to this article on Search Engine Land, this Google tool was taken down due to being an enormous pain for Google to maintain the application.
Google For NonProfits
Nimi and Sade gave the Houston Netsquared members the inside scoop on the Google for NonProfits Program and how to apply, who’s eligible, and what you get once you’re accepted. Google’s tools are developed to help nonprofit organizations be more successful at increasing your funding.
You have to first apply for membership with the Google for NonProfits Program. You can learn more about the eligibility requirements on the program’s website and here’s a quick rundown to help you figure out if your organization is eligible:
There are a few exceptions to the program: Government organizations, hospitals and health care organizations, and schools do not qualify for the Google for NonProfits Program. Google does have a Google in Education program specifically for schools, universities, and other academic institutions, however.
What You Get Once You’re Accepted:
Free (if you have less than 3,000 users) or discounted version of Google Apps for your organization.
Eligible to Apply for Google Grants and a chance to receive Free Adwords advertising
Once you are accepted into the Google for NonProfits Program, you can apply for the Google Grants program to receive free, online advertising and give your nonprofit organization more advertising dollars each month.
Google Grants is Google’s in-kind donation program that awards free Google AdWords advertising to nonprofit organizations that are accepted to the program. If you apply and are accepted, you can receive free AdWords advertising credits and the amount given can range from around $300/month to $10,000 a month. The amount depends on the performance of your selected keywords.
Google Grant Awardees can use their free online ads for a variety of online advertising activities including targeted fundraising campaigns, recruiting volunteers and/or staff, increase cause awareness, and expand your reach online. Google has more information here: Getting Started with Online Advertising using Google AdWords.
In order to qualify for Google Grants, you must meet a few requirements, in addition to also being a member of the Google for NonProfits Program.
You must have a website, and your ads must link to a page on your website.
The keywords you target must be relevant to your programs and services.
Your website cannot display revenue generating ads, such as Google AdSense or affiliate advertising links, while participating in Google Grants.
The on-going, active management of your advertising campaign is your organization’s responsibility once your account is active.
Managing AdWords campaigns can be daunting, so I recommend you check out The SEM Blog’s recent AdWords Post. If you have any questions about how to apply for Google Grants, figure out your keywords for your AdWords campaigns, or how to use AdWords, contact us and check out Schipul – The Web Marketing Company’s NonProfit Marketing Resources page for additional help with nonprofit web marketing.
Facebook versus Google +
Until about a month ago, I was in the same place most digital marketers are – asking what’s the big reason why Google+ is relevant to my online marketing strategy? I started doing more research and talking to Nimi and Sade and I changed my mind.
Check out my blog post on the Schipul Blog with the results of my research and how Google+ helps businesses increase their lead to sales conversions to learn how I came to my conclusion on the value of Google+.
Since I’m also a volunteer for a number of nonprofit organizations, (including Houston NetSquared), I wanted to find out from other nonprofit marketers how they felt social media platforms compared. So I did a little informal survey at NetSquared about how they felt about the value of content being shared by their networks on Facebook.
Here are the results:
Pretty much everyone agreed that Facebook presents you with socially relevant content – content that is directly about your friends and family.
The group majority also agreed that Facebook content isn’t necessarily content that is useful information – most people wouldn’t share the majority of the content from their Facebook network on their organization’s Facebook page or with people in their professional network who aren’t in your personal network.
Compare this to the content being shared on Google+ which is both socially relevant and enables targeted content sharing using Google+ Circles. With Google+ Circles, you can segment your social and professional contacts and selectively share content to the people that will find it most useful, instead of sharing all your content with everyone in your network.
Here’s a great article on the Business2Community blog on how to Hide Your Google Plus Circles that explains how to protect your different Google+ Circles from the public.
What this means to Organizations, both for profit and not for profits, is that when you share content on Google+ , it has a higher chance of being shared to a targeted audience that is more likely to find it relevant and useful, and thus increase your engagement with new people online.
Want More Google?
Here are some upcoming events and additional resources to get your organization up and running successfully on Google’s online tools:
Join Schipul – The Web Marketing Company and the Houston Google Team for this FREE, hands-on workshop at the Houston Technology Center next Tuesday, June 19th. The workshop includes lunch, followed by an hour with these Google experts at computer workstations to guide you through your biggest Google set-up questions. Space is limited so register online today: https://www.tendenci.com/events/878/. (nonprofits and businesses are both invited!)
We’re Thrilled to Launch Susan G. Komen Houston’s New Tendenci Website!
The Houston Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has granted over $9 million in grants nationally & $28 million in the 7 local counties it serves for breast cancer support & research. We are honored to work with this fantastic organization and are proud to showcase their newly launched website! The new site will further Komen Houston’s efforts and help organize the many volunteers, survivors, researchers, & event participants they touch!
The website is built on the Tendenci CMS & incorporates a new design from the Schipul team, including a Race for the Cure landing page design (Save the date! The Komen Houston Race for the Cure will be October 6, 2012). Other site features include:
We were privileged to attend the Susan G. Komen Houston Impact Awards Tuesday to honor individuals, corporations, community partners, & volunteers what have made an impact on Komen’s mission to end breast cancer.
In addition to honoring the great organizations who received grant money from Komen Houston this year ($3.04 million in total!), Komen also showcased the new website!
Last week, I attended SURGE Day 2012, a day-long graduation celebration for 10 new Technology Start-ups that just graduated from the SURGE Accelerator incubator program.
Jason Dorsey, noted author of “My Reality Check Bounced” and expert on communicating across generations, was the morning keynote speaker. Jason shared his advice on how to gain a better perspective on how each of the other generations view the world.
Jason Dorsey, Keynote Speaker at SURGE Day 2012
StartUps and NonProfits
I often think that startups and nonprofits have a lot in common. In both cases, the founders are incredibly passionate about their ideas and missions, incredibly overworked, and spend a lot of time asking people to give them money for their organization.
At the heart of both startups and nonprofits, funding and passion are the keys to success.
As Jason talked about the best ways managers and executives in older generations could support and get along with the younger Gen Y crowd, I saw correlations beyond just the workplace.
A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation shared that more than 54% of Gen Y’s are either already entrepreneurs or plan to start their own company and one thing Gen Y definitely has in abundance is passion!
Gen Y’s Spending Power Now and in the Future
On the other hand, most Gen Y’s don’t have an abundance of money – something that’s been true for all generations when they’re still in their 20’s. Gen Y startups often seek outside funding from angel investors and VCs before seeking to bootstrap their ideas. As Jason explained this trait: “Most Gen Y’s are willing to take a substantial paycut just to get their idea off the ground – after all, their parents are still supporting them.”
Gen Y’s Catching Up Fast
Jason Dorsey’s company, The Center for Generational Kinetics has done a number of studies across generations to identify the key traits that distinguish each generation from the others. Gen Y is the fastest growing demographic in the energy, software, and marketplace and by 2017, Gen Y will be outspending Baby Boomers.
Until now, no other generation has matched Boomer spending. Boomer spending accounts for 94% of spending on consumer packaged goods, 80% of luxury travel spending, 62.5% of annual new car sales, and they even account for the majority of online spending according to a report by boomer marketing expert Nancy Padberg
Gen Y is going to have a significant economic impact in the U.S. in the coming years. There are some absolutely great tips on Jason’s blog “What the Gen” about Gen Y’s consumer purchasing habits and I encourage anyone selling something to check out the blog.
Capture Gen Y’s Attention
The key to reaching Gen Y’s to grab their attention and motivate them to spend money with your organization is to communicate with them in their space. Jason Dorsey shared Gen Y’s most preferred ways to communicate:
Gen Y’s most preferred method of communicating is text messaging
Gen Y’s 2nd most preferred method of communicating is email
Gen Y’s LEAST preferred method of communication is talking on the phone
A really interesting fact about the my generation is that 51% of Gen Y’s are more likely to trust the opinions of a stranger who shares a review on a social media network than if their friends and family verbally make a suggestion. This is a significant difference from other generations, who tend to be more skeptical of the people they run into on the Web.
Generation Y trusts technology more than previous generations, and we trust the people who are using technology the same way that we are more than past generations would. Organizations that recognize this and customize their messages to Gen Y differently from their other constituents and donors will see better results from the next generation.
Here’s 5 Tips to Increase Donations from Gen Y
Capture Gen Y’s Attention and Their Passion for Your NonProfit
Even though NonProfit organizations aren’t specifically selling something, you are asking for money in exchange for the benefits you offer your donors and members. Give your fundraising a boost by using these tips to talk to Gen Y’s in their language this year.
1) Keep Donation Amounts Small and Flexible
Gen Y is cash-poor and we aren’t known to save money typically. A donation of even $50 is daunting to Gen Y’s so offer smaller donation amounts. You can also include a “Suggest a Donation” field and let us decide how much we want to give.
That’s one of the reasons that we included the option to allow your donors to suggest the payment amount on Custom donation forms in Tendenci.
2) Accept Credit Card Donations on Your Website
Most Gen Y’s have credit cards and a debit card. Most of us do not have a check handy and we really aren’t fans of having to pay with cash. Make it simple for us to give you money when we are ready and accept online donations via credit cards. The easier you make it for us to donate, the more likely we are to do so.
3) Share Your NonProfit’s Stories on Social Media
Studies show that people don’t like to go to their Facebook Wall or Twitter feed and see organizations asking them to donate. The most successful social media campaigns for nonprofits revolve around storytelling and sharing what you are doing to make the world a better place. Use your social media channels to highlight the kids you fed, the puppies you rescued, and the people who have a better life now because of your work.
Then, make it easy for them to find your website so they can donate and support your cause. Once they’ve donated, let your Gen Y supporter tweet or +1 or “Like” your organization and share that they donated to their network. Talk about others, and let others talk about you for greater results.
4) Don’t call Gen Y’s – Use Text and Email
Remember Jason Dorsey’s report saying Gen Y’s preferred text messaging, followed by email for communicating and save the personal phone calls for your boomer supporters. You’ll need to get permission before you text and email, and then you’ll have a far better chance of getting your message through to Gen Y’s.
In fact- give them a way to donate via text like Mobile Loaves and Fishes did in their campaign to fight homelessness.
5) Give Gen Y’s Non-Monetary Ways to Donate
Gen Y’s often just don’t have the financial resources to give money to a cause. Many of us are still finding our talents and way in life and if you believe one of your Gen Y supporters has skills that could help your organization, ask them to volunteer. We are always surprised and honored by requests to help and our time is something we usually have more of to give than our cash.
Gen Y’s are also more familiar with technology and can help with your email marketing, website, social media, and with text messaging. NonProfits often struggle to find the resources and funds to manage their technology, so find some Gen Y’s who are passionate about your cause and ask if they’ll donate tech and web support!
Tendenci Announcements
We have some exciting things happening over here. First, come check out this past week’s software updates for Version 5.0.78 and find out the latest features and functionality added to make it easier for you to manage your website.
Here’s the highlights from this week’s updates:
1) Sortable Fields for Reports – Reports now have sort options using the field headers.
2) Tendenci first will check if an email address is associated with an existing user before it creates a username using the available email address during a membership import
3) WYSIWYG Rich Text Editors have been added for Organizer, Location, and Speakers on the Event Add form
New Summer Training and Events
We are adding several new training webinars, workshops, and events to our Tendenci Training Calendar. We are always looking for suggestions so if you don’t see a topic on the calendar, leave a comment below or contact us with your suggestions!
Beginning this week, Schipul will be starting a spotlight series for our amazing clients. The series will highlight a different client each week on Facebook, and will include a monthly blog post dedicated to showing off one amazing client! This post is dedicated to Reliant Park and all the great things they’ve done for the Houston community.
The Contest!
Schipul will be giving away 2 free tickets to a Houston Texans preseason game! To be considered eligible, simply comment on this blog post or on this post on our Facebook page with your favorite story about Reliant Park. You can write an entire novel, or just 2-3 sentences, but either way Schipul wants to hear about it!
Don’t wait too late because the contest ends at noon CST on June 15. All participants before this date will be entered into a random drawing for the tickets. Read on for some examples of Reliant Park stories from the Schipulites. Good luck!
Let’s take a trip to Reliant Park
So much History
Reliant Park needs no introduction to the Houston community, but for the rest of the world: it’s Houston’s largest entertainment venue. Reliant Park holds 5 large venues including Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL Houston Texans, and the Astrodome, the old home of the Houston Astros and Houston Oilers. The park is famous for hosting the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Houston, Wrestlemania, and countless concerts from the world’s biggest musical artists.
A few of Reliant Park’s many notable claims to fame include building the NFL’s first retractable roof stadium with Reliant Stadium, the Astrodome, being the first domed structure of its size, and the city’s METRORail station stop in the park that allows for cheap and easy transportation for site visitors. The park is also known for Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction at the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, and for giving shelter to thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims while they pieced their lives back together.
Our work with Reliant Park
Schipul has been working with Reliant Park since developing their website in 2005. In 2011, Schipul began a new redesign project with Reliant Park to update the website design to reflect the park’s new branding. It was also important to Reliant Park to have a CMS that had content-adding friendly functionality that would include interactive maps with directions for parking, an extensive event calendar with search capability, and an array of rich media addition options to document all of their events.
Knowing that image means everything to an entertainment venue, the Schipul design team submitted multiple designs for the Reliant Park team. With the help of both teams, they were able to produce a functional, media-rich website that truly reflects the new Reliant Park branding. This 6-year business relationship has been maintained through Schipul’s commitment to customer service, and both company’s outstanding communication lines.
Fond Memories of Reliant Park from the Schipulites
After sending out an office email asking my co-workers to send me their favorite memory of Reliant Park, I was surprised to receive a quick response from a large amount of the office. The people of Houston absolutely love Reliant Park and have all had some experience there that they will never forget. Here are some of our stories:
We definitely have a large Aggie following in the Schipul office, starting with our CEO, Ed Schipul. Caitlin is one of the zealous office Aggie alumni. Her favorite memory of Reliant Park is “having a blast” while watching her fighting Texas Aggies in last year’s Meineke Car Care Bowl in Reliant Stadium. The Aggies were able to pull out their first bowl victory since 2001, with a score of 33-22 over Northwestern.
Courtney is one of the few and proud Dallas Cowboys fans in the office. She was able to buy tickets to the Houston Texans’ and Dallas Cowboy’s game in the 2010 NFL season as a birthday gift for her boyfriend who is a Texan fan. Fortunately for Courtney, the Dallas Cowboys managed to defeat the Texans that day with a score of 27-13. “It was glorious”, says Courtney. She also asks that you refrain from looking at her while you look at her picture.
Rachel Schipul, Consultant
Rachel loves the annual Nutcracker Market. She calls it “a little slice of Texas Christmas heaven”. Every year she and a close friend go through all the food and boutique booths. “Somehow my friend always ends up purchasing some very large physical object that we end up lugging all the way back to the car. Last year it was an ottoman!”
Ed is a known Reliant Park fan who has attended countless events: anything from WWF to dog shows. He most frequently visits Reliant Stadium to watch his Houston Texans. One of Ed’s many hobbies is photography. Check out some of his favorite pictures from Reliant Park on Ed’s Flickr account.
Of all the times Forrest has been to Reliant Park, his favorite memory is graduating in the Reliant Stadium. Forrest was amazed walking around the ground level of the stadium and walking through the tunnels. He “wondered who else had walked this same walk”. He still says that it can never replace the AstroDome as his favorite piece of Reliant Park history.
Sarah has been to so many Reliant Park events, from the Houston annual Rodeo to NCAA Championship games and trade shows; she’s done it all. Her best memories of Reliant Park are taking her son the the circus, and to see his pure joy from the train ride to the circus.
Sarah specifically appreciates Reliant Park’s wide array of vendors and the decongested ride into the park on the city’s MetroRail.
Dharol is a season ticket holder to the Houston Texan games, and has also been to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo several times. She enjoys the cleanliness, the cowboy statue, the open dome, and the ability to take the metro there on gamedays. Dharol’s favorite memory is the “unmatched energy” of the Texan fans all the way through the last minutes of fourth quarter last season when they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Katrina visited Reliant Park to see John Legend at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last year. She went with Schipul co-workers Cindi Crigler and Rodney Sabrsula. She loved the carnival, the concert, and how helpful the Reliant staff were. She described it as a “great experience.”
Share Your Favorite Reliant Park Memory & Win!
Now it’s your turn – share your favorite Reliant Park memory in the comments or on this post on our Facebook page to win two tickets (& a parking pass) to the first Houston Texans pre-season game Saturday August 15 vs. the San Francisco 49ers! We will randomly select a winner at noon central time on June 15th.
As summer approaches, my inbox is filling up with event invitations to different organizations I participate in. This time of year is really busy for event marketers as you try and boost participation before your members head out to the beach for summer vacations.
It is tough for me to decide what to say YES! and RSVP to and what to respond with my regrets to and I’m sure for most event planners, you want to know how to get your core volunteers, sponsors and supporters to say Yes! to your event instead of other events filling up email inboxes.
So, I thought I would share 10 things you can do that will increase the chances that people will click to register for your event instead of one of the other hundred events going on in your community. Then, in honor of our upcoming Google+ for Business webinar and Google+ for Nonprofits Houston NetSquared June Meet-up, there’s +1 more tip to boost your event ticket sales.
10 +1 Tips to Increase RSVPs
1) Send Shorter Invitations
More and more people are reading their emails via their mobile phones. Keep your initial email invitation short and sweet with the basic event details: when, where, what and most importantly include why this event is important to your registrants and how much it will cost.
2) Link to the Event Summary
Instead of sending all the details of your event in the invitation, just include a link to your Tendenci Event page where people can go to click and learn more. Use Campaign Monitor’s reporting tools to track who clicks for more details and measure against your registrations to follow-up on those who read more and don’t register.
3) Include an Obvious Call to Action
In this case, you want intended guests to register for your event so include an obvious clickable button that someone could click from a mobile touchscreen and go to register and pay for your event.
Here is a great article from Smashing Magazine on how to design better Call to Action buttons that you can add to your email invitations.
4) Show Your Sponsors They’re Loved
Include your sponsors logos and a link to their site in your event emails. Then, use the link tracking reporting tools included with Campaign Monitor to measure and generate reports to your sponsors that show them who and how many event attendees are clicking from your email to visit their website. This demonstrates the value of supporting your organization and you can use this data to increase future sponsorship dollars.
5) Segment and Personalize Your Invitations
Segment your subscriber lists to send personalized email invitations and event announcements and post-event summaries.
Customizing event emails increases the chance that the recipient will open and register for your event.
Here are some different suggestions you can use for segmenting your subscriber lists:
Segment Guests who attended from those who didn’t attend the event
Segment by the role each person has in participating for the event: Staff, Volunteers, Attendee, Sponsor, Board Member
Segment by the event type that each guest attends more often
Remember that you can include one person in multiple list segments if they fall into multiple categories
Check guests in at the events and then send separate post-event updates based on those who made it versus those who didn’t make it to the event. Keep track of who has registered leading up to the event and boost last minute registrations by sending those who still haven’t RSVP’d an email with a special discount code.
7) Make Paying Really Easy
Once a recipient has decided to click through your email to register – make sure they can easily pay for and register for the event. Integrate your Tendenci website with one of our online merchant payment gateways to accept credit cards. Use a shorter registration form for them to register and pay that takes the basic details. Then send more information in follow-up emails about your event along with the registration confirmation.
8) Ask Invitees to Bring Their Friends
Make sure you include social sharing links and a “Forward to a Friend” call to action button to make it easy for your guests to share the event invitation with their friends, family and colleagues. Tendenci’s event registration form includes options for people to register guests – let people know when they register in your email invitation to encourage them to bring a friend.
9) Take Photos and Video of Your Events
We can’t say this often enough – take photos and record video at your events and share them on your website to show people what your organization’s events are like. Link to past event wrap-ups with digital media embedded in your email invitations to boost registrations. Send event attendees the photos and videos from events afterwards to increase engagement and build your relationships with your guests so they’ll keep coming back to future events.
10) Optimize Your Event for Search
Add keywords related to your event page on your website and your event will show up to new people who may not know about your event or be on your email or member lists. Here’s an easy 3-step way to figure out the best keywords for search engine optimization:
Think of what your event attendees might use to search for an event like yours
Go to Google’s Free Keyword Tool and enter in your search terms to get even more ideas for keywords related to your event
Then add your keyword phrases to your Tendenci Event on the Edit Meta Page to drive organic traffic to your event registration
+1 Drive Registration from Social Media Networks
Add social share buttons on your event page and share the event on your organization’s social networks. Tweet, post on Facebook, and +1 on your Google Plus Page with calls to action to register for the event.
Don’t forget to share it on your own personal networks and encourage your staff and volunteers to share the event details on their social media sites.
And don’t forget to RSVP for our upcoming Google+ events and other web marketing and website training events on the Tendenci Events Calendar.
Talk to Us!
Do you have any great tips on boosting event registrations? Share your comments and questions below or shoot us an email and tell us how you are using email, social media, and your website for event marketing.
Schipulite 
