7 Tips to Consider When Establishing a Mobilized Website for Nonprofits

Earlier this week, I wrote about 4 Key Reasons to Incorporate Mobile Marketing into Overall Nonprofit Fundraising and Outreach Plans due to technological advancements and new mobile marketing channels. These new channels make developing an online presence, engaging through social media and email/text marketing programs critical mobile marketing strategies. Incorporating these new elements into a supporting mobilized website can be intimidating and overwhelming but it does not have to be. There are many benefits which I touched on in my previous post but proper preparation and execution is paramount in reaping the benefits of this as with any marketing plan.

It’s important to start with determining the purpose of your organization going mobile, what the overall strategy is and what results you expect. Some great ideas to integrate into a mobilized website include:

• Send an urgent appeal
• Fundraising event invite
• Email/text opt-ins
• Provide an informative message
• Announce interesting news
• Thank donors and supporters
• Provide location based content

Regardless of the type of strategy you choose, keep these 7 tips in mind when developing and implementing your mobilized website:

1. Focus on Content. Mobile content has to be different than regular web content for several reasons. Generally, mobile web visitors are looking for quick answers to some very specific questions and then make a decision on whether to support your organization or cause. When generally you have to catch a visitor’s attention on a regular website within three-seconds, it’s even much faster on a mobilized website. Also use a font that is legible enough for your mobile visitor to read.
2. Number of Pages. It’s important to minimize the number of pages on your mobilized site. Only include the most basic and relevant pages to your organization. Some of these include: a ‘Home’ landing page, a ‘Contact Us’ page, an ‘About’ page, ‘Services’ and/or ‘Mission’ page. Try limiting the depth of pages to a maximum of three-in to the mobilized site. Your mobile visitor wants information fast and as such is less likely to click through too many pages to find the information that they want.
3. Call to Action. Make sure to add ‘Click to Donate’ on each and every page of your mobilized site, as this can often be the most overlooked. You want to ensure that it’s easy to find and readily accessible. A successful site always includes clear action words, whether it’s to make a donation or to opt-in to receive your newsletter or texts, or even RSVP for an event, you want to ensure you are giving your visitor a call to action.
4. Social Media Links. As indicated in my last post, more and more people are accessing social media platforms through their mobile device(s). Including links to your Facebook Fan Page, Twitter page, your organizations blog, options to opt-in to emails and SMS texts and other platforms, will not only complete your marketing strategies but give visitors additional channels in which to engage and interact with your organization.
5. Program Recognition Codes. Always ensure that the proper recognition codes are embedded on your main website. This will help recognize the type of device and browser your web visitor is using, whether a mobile device or PC. This is not usually required if plug-ins are being used. It’s also not critical to have a .mobi or .info site address as long as the programming on the site directs to the correct page type and displays the right content. This will also help in strengthening the SEO of your main site by not splitting your web traffic into different websites.
6. Test Your Site. As with all new initiatives that are implemented, it’s important to test that your mobile site is ready, all links land properly and can be seen across different types of mobile devices and browsers. By entering the site address at mobiReady, it will test the mobile-readiness of your site across different mobile devices.
7. Multimedia/Videos. Consider adding a multimedia video in MP4 format. Ensure that any videos produced can be viewed in different types of mobile devices. For example iPhones, Blackberry’s etc can be tested by using Amazon S3, where you can upload your videos and can be accessible across all mobile devices.

Ultimately, you want to improve the online experience of your visitors so they will remain on your site and learn more about your cause and support your organization. Fully customizing your own mobilized website from scratch is an option but you may want to consider some cost-effective tools and templates that are readily available to help you along:

• WordPress
• WPTouch
• Mofuse
• Wapple
• Mobi Site Galore

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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.