Websites Can be Fun

In the world of websites often designers and developers are faced with the reality that functionality and usability are the two most important factors in a website. While there is room for creativity, when building a website it is important to put functionality first.

While building GoodTube, a team of developers said it was “too pretty”. There are rotating backgrounds for each region represented and a lot of color.  Often time pretty elements like photos and elaborate backgrounds increase the load time and are discouraged by developers. GoodTube however, has a simple layout on the informational pages that are focused on text. The design of GoodTube works for a video site that is ment to be visual.   An organizational site however, will have be centered around text and providing information. I was reading a white paper from Marketbirght the other day which essential said that lengthy flash intros are out and simple fast loading html is in.

Does this mean that your organization can’t ever let loose and create a beautiful masterpiece online? No! In fact I was delighted to find the perfect example of beauty and functionality from one of my favorite organizations – The Nature Conservancy.

Take a look at their website below. It’s a great site with straight forward navigation. All of the search and browse items are located in the top left with relevant links close by.  Their promotional items are placed further down the page and use more graphics to get people attention. It’s functional,clean and has a great heirarchy of information but it isn’t pretty.

On the other hand The Nature Conservancy built a microsite to promote their Plant a Billion campaign- www.plantabillion.org.  This page is visually striking, with an image as a background and flash elements. The great thing about this promotional site is that the information is easy to find and the purpose of the site is simple and straight forward. A users can clearly see what the creators wanted them to do- learn about why more trees need to be planted and how to help.  The donation link is easy to find  and one can learn more without leaving the page.

For the next promotional campaign try creating a site like this that is fun and functional.  The plant a billion site is exciting and made me excited about giving my money to the organization. Here some tips to creating a visually stunning, promotional microsite:

- Use imagery that sums up the campaign. Think outside the box.  Instead of using a photo of acres of tress The Nature Conservancy choose a close up image showing the soil and roots.

- Select two or three main tasks you want users to do while on the site. Place links on the first page, above the fold near the left side of the site.  The Nature Conservancy selected has three goals: educate about the problem,introduce the solution and donate.

- Once you have determined the tasks , order them that is logical to how users will make a decision. With the first task closest to the left. (people read left to right) For instance, on the plantabillion.org the first peice of information is called the facts, this introduces users to the problem. Second is a tab called the solution, the user knows that there is a problem and now they see the solution.  Finally, the act now tab encourages users to help solve the problem by helping with the solution.

- Select a url that sums up the campaign and is easy for a person to remember after visiting your site.  The Nature Conservancy set out to plant a billion trees thus the url is www.plantabillion.org.

- Place a share option prominently on the page, after the final task. If you place a share link after users have read about your cause they are more likely to share the page because they are now invested in the cause. People are more likely to share sites that are fun and visually interesting make it easy for people to share.

- Include a tally of the success of the campaign.

- Place promos on the right of the page. Promos are ment to peak the interest of users that are already interested in the cause. Placing the promos to the right gives users the next step after they have leared about what your organization is trying to accomplish. Remember people read from left to right, top to bottom. Organization your information this way, with the most important near the top left corner.

- Don’t clutter the page, focus on a primary design and don’t overdo it with to many elements.

- Finally, make the site fun. Plantabillion.org has a fun feature in the lower right hand corner. When you roll over the markers they pop up and you can learn more about the trees you are helping plant. Remember this is a fun element not the primary purpose so put elements like this on the right toward the bottom.

Have you stumbled across a get website promoting a cause that demonstrates the topics I covered? Tell me about it.

Have you stumbled across a horrible website attempting to promote a cause? Tell me about it.

Web 2.0 Badges

It seems that almost everyone today has a blog, MySpace account or website. These pages are easily customizable and offer internet users a place to express themselves. Why not give your supporters something to decorate their space with?

If I had one piece of advice for all non profit organizations that want to increase their online presence, it would be to design and create a Web 2.0 badge. Now some of you may be reading this and have a blank stare…what is a web 2.0 badge?

A web 2.0 badge is simply a graphic people put on their website, blog or social networking site to express themselves. Web badges are generally small and come in all shapes and sizes.  Organizations post the badges on their website, usually as a .PNG, .GIF or .JPG, which visitors can download or copy from the site.  Then post the badges on their blog, social site or web page.  A couple of badges I came across ask visitors to link the badge back to their website or include their web address in the badge (see below).

Recently, I found a website called GreenJobsNow that incorporated web 2.0 badges into their marketing plan.  The website promotes this idea of building a sustainable economy from green jobs. For instance, erecting wind turbines, installing solar panels and planting gardens.   To show support for the idea they created the following badges that anyone can download and post on their various pages to show support.

Putting these badges on my blog was simple, all I did was:

- Download the image

- Upload the image to WordPress by selecting insert image

ASPCA is another organizations that uses Web 2.0 badges to promote their cause. From the ASPCA’s MySpace page anyone can copy the code of the banner below then paste it on their MySpace page or into their blog.

Providing the html code on your page is great because all people have to do is copy the code and paste it where they want it- no download no uploading. The downside to only providing a code is some people may not know where to paste the code so that is show up as an image.

While your organization is going into planning mode for the fourth quarter why not incorporate these simple Web 2.0 badges into your marketing plan. Here are a few ideas:

- email the badges to past and present donors and encourage them to add them to their blog or social networking pages
- Post the badges on your website, blog and social networking site with instructions for adding them to a blog, website and social networking page
- create more than one badge, give supporters a variety

- Host a design contest and have supports select the ones they like best

- Give the badges as gifts to donors

- Post a video on GoodTube or YouTube then create a badge that links to the video or your organizations video page

The possibilities are endless.

Tell me about your organizations success or failures using web 2.0 badges and post your favorite badges here and we will all vote on our favorites.

Eyes on Darfur

Darfur has been in a state of emergency for the last 6 years. The U.N estimates the death toll in Darfur to be around 300,000, according to an article in the Associated Press from April of 2008.  Former U.N secretary puts the death toll at no less than 400,000.

The situation in Darfur is unimaginable to most westerners.  The word genocide doesn’t render a mental image for me, 400,000 deaths doesn’t either. I know it’s awful but how can I, a 25 year old from the suburbs of Utah, really understand the horror that is really taking place?  The key to a non profit organizations success is illustrating their cause so that someone like me can connect emotionally to the cause or situation.

I found a website the other day called Eyes on Darfur. This site profoundly illustrated to me the horror that has and continues to go one in Darfur.  The site uses satellites 280 miles above the earth to show the how the government actions are affecting humans in Africa.

In 2005 the government of Zimbabawe forced 700,000 people from their homes. The first image shows the village before. The second shows the village after the government bulldozed  the entire village leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

I thought to myself after looking at these images – how would I feel if it was my house amongst the ruble. What if the before picture was my neighborhood-Sugarhouse and the government destroyed my home, my neighbors home, the grocery store up the street…everything. What would I do, where would I go and how would I get there?

These images shocked me, the images on the Eyes of Darfur illustrated genocide, these images illustrated an entire village being destroyed.  I now feel like I need to help, I need to do something, anything for the people of Darfur.  I encourage non profit marketers to look at this site, then look at their own and ask themselves “Does my organizations website compel me to connect emotionally with my cause?

These images are not only used to gain support of the cause. Amnesty International is using the satellite images to watch over the 12 intact and vulnerable villages in Darfur.  The project is lead by the Crisis Prevention and Response Center, Amnesty Internationals response center for preventing human rights crises around the world. The project is funded by Save Darfur.

Harsh Economy Equals Fewer Donations. How Can Your Non Profit Survive?

The sluggish United States economy is affecting millions of people across the country. We are all searching for areas to cut back and save money. Non profit organizations are feeling the pitch as well, finding it increasingly difficult to raise funds. An estimated 29 percent of individuals say they will decrease their charitable giving this fall, according to a study conducted by the Grizzard Communications Group.

Only 13 percent of the 500 individuals surveyed said that they planed on increasing their giving from the previous year. An important consideration for non profits becomes who are these people and how do I reach them. Respondents between the ages of 25-34 are the most likely to increase their giving the study found. Gizzard’s vice president and senior strategist, Terry Barber, emphasizes the importance of attracting these young philanthropist. Younger people usually don’t have as much invested in the stock market so they are less affected by falling stock prices. People age 25-34 are also less likely to have families and mortgages.

Reaching this younger audience will require non profits to rethink their marketing strategies. Those organizations that take advantage of the new media will be more successful than those organizations that don’t have an online marketing strategy.

Social marketing is key to reaching people between the ages of 25-34. Non profit specific sites like change.org and idealist.org are a great place to get your organizations message out and increase donations. Not only will you introduce your organization but also start a conversation about what your organization can achieve with their support.

Non profit marketers must rethink how they are delivering their message online. A great new technology is online video and web users have responded to this medium in a profound way. YouTube’s non profit program and GoodTube.org are video sites specific to non profit organizations and chartable causes.

Videos allows people to connect more emotionally with your organizations cause. You are no longer limited to text and photographs, you can now take potential donors where you work and introduce them to who they can help.

Blogging is another new technology non profit organizations should take advantage of to start a conversation about their organization.

The best thing about all these new technologies, they are all accessible and affordable. The people you reach with these mediums are not only younger but they are seeking out causes to support.

I would love to here is any success stories of non profit organizations that have incorporated blogging, videos or social networking into their marketing.