20 Nonprofit Marketing Terms to Know in 2018
1. A/B Testing
A/B testing refers to the process of comparing two variations of an offer or creative treatment to gauge which produces better results. Marketers use A/B testing to test the same Facebook ad with two different images, the same blog post with two different headlines, or the same call to action with two different image options. These are just a few examples. To improve nonprofit marketing, accurate A/B testing must always compare only one variable at a time.
2. Bounce Rate
Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors to a specific web page who leave the site after only viewing one page. A high bounce rate can indicate issues with site load speed, navigation, poor targeting of paid ads, or ineffective web page design. That’s why bounce rate is an important data point for nonprofit marketing.
3. Call-to-Action
Often abbreviated as “CTA,” a call to action is literally that: an image or text that prompts the viewer to act. In the world of nonprofit marketing, that action might entail downloading a whitepaper, filling out a volunteering form, or donating.
4. Capital Campaign
A capital campaign is any campaign focused on raising a specific sum of money within a specified time frame. These campaigns usually focus on a distinct, often intense, need—for example, temporary housing for a large group of people displaced after a natural disaster.
5. Cause-Related Marketing
In cause-related marketing, or simply cause marketing, nonprofit and for-profit businesses work together on a single campaign. The goal of the campaign is to boost sales for the for-profit business by dedicating a portion of the proceeds as nonprofit donations. For this reason, cause-related marketing is one of the important nonprofit marketing terms even for-profit marketers should know.
6. Clickthrough Rate
Often abbreviated as CTR, clickthrough rate is a measure of the percentage of people who clicked on an ad after viewing it. As an equation, CTR=clicks/impressions. The higher the clickthrough rate of an ad, or call to action, the more engaging and relevant the campaign is to its target audience.
7. Conversion Path
The conversion path is the journey a website visitor takes from the moment they visit your webpage until they become a “known lead.” In terms of nonprofit marketing, a “known lead” could be someone who donates, signs up for a newsletter, or completes another micro or macro conversion.
8. Digital Asset Management
Digital Asset Management, or “DAM” software provides cloud storage and organization of digital files for nonprofits and other organizations. These files can include things like logos, videos, and volunteer training manuals. Quality DAM software is a critical tool for maintaining brand consistency while providing access to assets for marketing execution on the local level.
9. Direct Mail
Direct mail campaigns are physical (not digital) messages sent to current and prospective donors, volunteers, or consumers. Thanks to variable data printing, nonprofit marketers can now send thousands of personalized direct mail messages within the same direct mail campaign. As more direct marketing features digital elements, it’s become increasingly necessary for direct mail marketers to familiarize themselves with digital nonprofit marketing terms as well.
10. Engagement Rate
When nonprofit marketers discuss engagement rate, they’re talking about the effectiveness of created content in eliciting a response. That content can be a blog post on annual giving or a social media ad for a holiday fundraising campaign. Engagement rate is a measure of interaction including clicks, comments, shares, and likes. A/B testing can help uncover why certain pieces have a higher engagement rate so their success can be replicated for even more interaction in the future.
11. Inbound Link
These links live on other websites but link back to yours. Inbound links on high-ranked third-party websites tell Google, Bing, and other search engines that your website is a reputable resource. This helps to raise search engine rankings and leads to more traffic over time. A site’s inbound links also help potential supporters learn about your cause and organization.
12. Indicia
In general terms, the word indicia simply means a sign or distinguishing mark. In nonprofit marketing, the indicia refers specifically to the mark used on direct mail pieces in place of a stamp. Indicias mark nonprofit mailings and allow them to be sorted and delivered in bulk at reduced rates.
13. Key Performance Indicator
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are metrics used to gauge nonprofit marketing success. KPIs are always specific and compared across time. For example, an organization’s goal might be broad: “to write more engaging blog posts.” One KPI they can use to track their success is time on page. If web visitors spend three minutes reading their newest blog post, but only spent an average of one minute reading their previous post, it tells them this
14. LAI Principle
The LAI Principle stands for Linkage, Ability, and Interest. The concept is used to qualify which potential donors are most likely to give based on:
- Linkage: their connection to the organization or cause.
- Ability: their financial ability to make a gift at a specific level.
- Interest: their understanding and excitement about the nonprofit’s mission and goals.
15. LYBUNT
This acronym stands for donors who made gifts “Last Year But Unfortunately Not This Year.”
16. Marketing Automation
Automated marketing, or “trigger marketing” campaigns allow marketers to deliver collateral to segmented audiences without having to manually control each action. With automated marketing, nonprofits can send repeatable, consistent campaigns across all channels and platforms. These campaigns can be highly targeted thanks to variable printing. This allows for a high degree of targeting without risking brand consistency or wasting time and money executing each effort separately.
17. Standard of Giving
Different nonprofit marketing campaigns often target different segments of prospective donors. The “standard of giving” is an estimate of the potential giving power of each individual in a targeted group. Several data points establish the standard including past giving, market research, and other industry insights.
18. SYBUNT
This acronym is similar to LYBUNT but stands for donors who gave “Some Year But Unfortunately Not This Year.”
19. Unrestricted Gift
The monetary donation of an unrestricted gift can be used as the fundraising organization sees fit. This means that in addition to funding charity efforts, unrestricted gifts help offset rent and utilities or pay employees’ salaries.
20. Workflow
Hubspot does a great job of explaining what a workflow is in the world of nonprofit marketing. “A workflow is a series of automated actions that you can trigger to occur based on a person’s behaviors or contact information. With workflows, you can send emails, update contact information, add or remove contacts from lists, and trigger email notifications.”
How Many of These Nonprofit Marketing Terms Did You Know?
How many of these nonprofit marketing terms did you know? While these definitions provide a great foundation, they certainly aren’t the only terms nonprofit marketers should be familiar with. Which items would you add to this list? Tell us by posting a comment, then share this list with your colleagues so they can test their knowledge and improve their vocabulary.
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Thanks Alayna for such a wonderful list. Learned lots of new stuff. I appreciate your efforts.
These are good tips. I didn’t know some of these.They are very helpful.
I’m assuming nonprofit marketers have the training and background to know these terms or they are in the wrong business. I hope they do!
As a blogger, we need to learn day by day. I’m used to some of the terms and I will also keep others in mind.
I recognize many of these terms from my years an email marketer. I just took over social media management for my local American Legion Post, so the new terms were definitely appreciated.
Some of the terms like bounce rate and click through rate are familiar to me. The rest are new information!
This link is actually fantastic! I’ll have to save it for my own business purposes!
wow, what a cool list. thank you for all this very useful and helpful info! i have learned a lot through blogging and it is nice trying to start little by little.
this is such an awesome list. i knew some of these but still it is great to learn new tips all the time. thanks for this great post!
This is a great list! I have never heard of any of these, but I feel like I should know about them!
I knew some of these, but certainly not all. Thanks for the helpful info!
I have learned a lot on the journey as a blogger and trying to build a little business of my own. I have bookmarked this page as a reference page to go back to and learn from. Thank you for a great post!
These are terms many online businesses should understand, non-profit and for-profit. Great post.
I agree, knowing these terms can definitely help you in more ways than one especially when you’re building a brand or a business. This is such a helpful post!
I hear these terms all the time and kinda felt a little left out of conversations. Not anymore, thanks.
I totally bookmarked this page as a reference guide! Thank you so much for writing it!
I learned some new terms! Particularly the word indicia and SYBUNT. I dont have a lot of knowledge on no-profits so this was educational.
There is a lot of information here that would be helpful to anyone doing marketing or to influencers. Probably half of this info is completely new to me. Thank you for the information!
I love that unrestricted gifts can go towards rent. Learned some new things today.
I didn’t know a bunch of these. The only one I really knew about was bounce rate. I think these terms could even help me out as a blogger.