Just this week we were talking with a nonprofit organization about helping them tidy up some of their communications pieces and strategy. Then we visited their website. This active, vibrant organization had a stagnant website, promoting upcoming events that had passed more than a few years ago.
We at Nonprofit Media Solutions are firm believers in a couple of things: 1) that trying to be all things to all people makes you a master of none, and 2) if you’re going to do something, really do it well.
And all nonprofits need to be able to do their online presence very well.
If you’re having a tough time keeping things up to date, here are the things we suggest to our clients:
- If you know you can’t manage all the social media platforms your organization is currently on, figure out on which one your audience is and just focus on that one. Hide your profile or page on other social media platforms if possible.
- If you’re running a blog on your organization’s website, make sure it stays up to date. That means at least one post each week, and two or three is even better. It will turn off your website visitors to see that your last blog post was made months before.
- When you’re promoting events on your website, when they’ve passed, make sure those events are no longer listed as upcoming events. Even better, write a blog post and include some pictures about that event’s success.
- Keep your website or blog’s photos current. Styles in clothing, eyeglasses and hairstyles change. Be sure to keep photos changed out so they don’t look dated.
Here’s a great article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy about the importance of an updated website to young donors. Three out of four millenials are turned off by an nonprofit’s out-of-date website. Sixty percent wanted to see success stories and specific information about the causes supported.
The bottom line: keep your online presence up to date to reflect the good work your organization is currently doing.