4 Promotion Strategies to Boost Your Peer-to-Peer Virtual Event
As any nonprofit team that has executed an on-the-ground peer-to-peer (P2P) event knows, they can require a lot of planning and logistics. In this time of unprecedented change, large gatherings aren’t possible, nonprofits have to find new ways to fundraise in a 100% virtual world.
This isn’t new for peer-to-peer, much of the fundraising occurs online before the event anyway! But when it comes to virtual fundraising, your team must rely even more on promotion and social networks to create reach and hit goals.
Another big advantage peer-to-peer virtual fundraising is that the fundraising is done by your supporters, meaning it takes the direct ask and lift off of your nonprofit.
That means getting the word out on your virtual fundraising is critical to success! If done right, it can give your nonprofit the chance to try creative and innovative strategies to find new donors and hit big goals.
Don’t worry promoting your virtual peer-to-peer event need not be daunting. In fact, it can be fun!
Let’s get started.
1. Outbound Promotion
Outbound promotion campaigns include most of your traditional marketing channels to help you “push out” organization generated communications.
Having a good outbound campaign is the first step to launching your virtual peer-to-peer event and hitting fundraising goals.
Just remember, P2P fundraising success lies in your ability to harness social networks and attract new donors, so outbound promotion is key. These include:
- Email – email blasts, newsletters, help spread the word and bring your virtual event directly to your supporter’s inbox.
- Direct mail – if you have budget, direct mail (postcards, flyers) can grab attention! With so many people at home these days, mail is a creative way to stand out.
- Print advertisements – find opportunities to get in local print pieces, to generate and maximize impressions.
- Social Media – social is the easiest and widest way to push out communications. Be sure to tailor you message and posts to fit the different channels and demographics. Try to stay away from a “one size fits all” social media strategy.
While these channels might seem basic, they’re highly effective in garnering exposure, attracting supporters and bringing in new fundraisers for your cause.
A broad outbound strategy will help you reach new donors and foster strong relationships with current audiences. It also enables you to create positive awareness for your virtual event – and let’s face it, with so many distractions these days, every cause needs ways to stand out!
2. Online Promotion
To drive online engagement, peer-to-peer campaigns rely on socially optimized participant giving pages that allow supporters to bring in donations, share updates, and attract new participants via their social networks.
With the right peer-to-peer software, you can minimize the time and effort needed to virtual fundraiser. Once you have your software in place, it’s time to start planning your online promotion strategy.
This means ensuring your participants have the content and resources they need to succeed. Make sure to arm your participants with the following fundraising tools:
- Mission and impact messaging
- Space to create personal impact statements
- Easy to use personal fundraising pages
- Fundraising Tips & FAQs
- Links to the larger campaign
- Virtual event hashtags, links to social media pages
- Matching gift details and dates
- Deadlines, important dates, contests and challenges (if applicable)
As new donations and registrations come in through your participants, make sure you’re encouraging and promoting a bit of competition through online leaderboards and social updates. Getting the competitive juices flowing can help sustain momentum and fun in a virtual world!
3. Social Media Promotion
Social media is a huge part of peer-to-peer virtual fundraising. When it comes to promoting your virtual fundraiser, involve your supporters as much as possible in your social channels.
Follow as many influencers as you can, as well as passionate donors who have a strong connection with your organization. Additionally, tap into ambassadors, especially those with large networks and social clout to help you extend the campaign to new, untapped audiences.
As participants and registrants post on social as part of their individual peer fundraising, like their posts as much as possible and use your event hashtag to continue cross-promotion.
Here are a few tips to use social media to your advantage:
- Try to post daily
- Reply to daily social messages
- Highlight top fundraisers and tag them in posts
- Use video and encourage participants to post videos
- Regularly check your activity streams and donor walls to highlight successes
- Think outside of the box (tag a friend, create a poll, share old pictures)
- Ask supporters to share your content with their networks a increase visibility
4. Share Mission, Impact and Connection
In a virtual world, making supporters feel connected is key. Think about it, when we feel connected to things, people and causes, we are more likely to take action, to do something – and actively fundraise for your cause.
The best part is – it’s easy to create connection. You just have to think about your organization, your mission, what makes your nonprofit unique and then communicate it. And not just once! Make mission messaging a regular part of your virtual fundraising.
Why? Because today’s Social Fundraisers want exposure to your mission; they want to understand the impact of their fundraising and donations, and they want to hear and see the human stories of how your cause builds a better tomorrow.
Here’s a few quick tips to getting the right message out there and motivating your supporters:
- Connect all communications to mission & impact. Tell donors what their input does. Share video of your cause in action. Take a peek at our eBook, Driving Your Mission With Social Media for more ideas.
- Share the mission in the days and weeks leading up to the event to create impressions on your donor time and again.
- Let your social media army loose. Be sure to embed mission messaging, impact statements, and the “why it’s important” in your posts to connect with supporters.
- Tell your story, share impact, and drive participation on social. By adding your social media profiles to your virtual site, you can share your story with your supporters wherever they are!
- Bring your mission to life with video messaging. Create compelling messages from those you’ve served and connect your online auction to your mission. Embed your video to your homepage for maximum views and engagement.
Bonus Content! Your On-the-Ground P2P Event Campaign Checklist
Don’t forget these critical steps when building promotional campaigns for your virtual peer-to-peer event!
- Keep your goals – both financial and non-financial – in mind while building your campaigns
- Think of your target audience and create campaigns targeted to these people
- Build comprehensive outbound campaigns that welcome new supporters
- Provide enough details and resources on your online giving site so participants can easily set up their own P2P campaigns
- Assign a dedicated resources to maintain a robust social media presence
- Include your event hashtag on all outbound, P2P, and social campaign assets for maximum exposure
Not done? Keep learning with OneCause!
If you’re ready to dive into the world of fundraising, we’ve got your back. Check out these resources to dive even deeper!
