May/June 2005

Micro-Sites Drive Macro Results Online

by Max Bunch, Senior Vice President, The Stratmark Group

Using micro-sites, sometimes called landing pages, can be a highly effective strategy for driving prospects to donate immediately. Micro-sites are, however, vastly underutilized. The concept has only received significant publicity in the last year, so most nonprofit organizations still direct online traffic to their .org Web site as opposed to directing donors to a micro-site.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term "micro-site," this mini Web site provides a potential donor a specific offer or call-to-action that is encapsulated in a concise presentation. Micro-sites are usually emotional, focus on one topic, make a clear pitch and motivate the donor to take action. Most importantly, the donor can take that action immediately from the micro-site.

Following are a few things every organization should consider about micro-sites.

Why not send the donor to the .org site?
In the world of direct response, the fewer obstacles in the way of a donor or volunteer's decision to act, the better the chances of achieving success. If an organization knows the basis of donor interest — for example, that he or she is coming to the organization's micro-site from a poignant television program, compelling email appeal, direct mail piece, or print ad — the organization can and must get to the point quickly and close the "sale." Letting a site visitor ramble around the .org site increases the chance that he or she will get distracted or abandon the process.

Secrets of micro-site success
With 48 percent of American adults now using some form of online banking, the number of donors who are comfortable with Web transactions is rapidly rising. Coordinating micro-sites with television, direct mail, print ads or email offers gives Web-savvy donors an immediate way to make a difference once they have made the decision to give.

Consider the huge online success of disaster-related micro-sites during the December 2004 Asian tsunami, and it is easy to see how micro-sites can expedite the donor process. A significant amount of tsunami giving came through .org sites but during the disaster, many relief-based nonprofits featured the tsunami on their home page with a "give now" button option. In effect, they made their .org site a "tsunami micro-site" during the crisis and as a result, many achieved a more than 500 percent increase in their .org income.

An increasing number of organizations are including streaming video on their micro-sites to more dramatically depict the stories they tell. Some nonprofits experience as much as a 10 percent lift in their micro-site donor conversion rates by featuring streaming video.

What doesn't work? 
While it is important to send prospective donors to a micro-site when they have an apparent intention to give, the converse also is true. If someone's online intent is undetermined (which is more typical) and he or she is just looking for additional information, send him or her to the .org home page, not to a micro-site.

Donors or would-be donors looking for more information need just that — more information. Organizations' sites should be easy to navigate and, most importantly, should make it easy for visitors to give should they be so inclined. The "give now" button or "giving link" should be prominent and the story should include a clear "offer" as to how the nonprofit (and the donor's gift) provides a solution to the problem presented.

How can an organization detect an online visitor's motivation?
Although it is not scientific, considering the source that drove visitors to the Web site increases the odds of matching their needs. If the only way people can find out about a micro-site is from published material on a specific topic, offer or call-to-action (from the media or the mail), chances are that when they visit the micro-site, they already have read up on the subject and are motivated and inclined to give.

A more challenging issue is motivating visitors who find an organization's .org site to do their own research, and then feel compelled to give. Organizations should continually ask themselves the question, "Why are the visitors coming, and what do I want them to do?" Conversely, organizations should resist the urge to ask the question, "What do we want them to know?" After all, online marketing is all about them (the visitors) and not about us (the nonprofits).

Conclusion
Although it is a relatively new approach, using micro-sites can boost online giving. By considering carefully when, and when not, to use them, organizations can turn micro-sites into macro results.

Max Bunch serves as senior vice president of client services at Stratmark Group, a strategic marketing company exclusively serving the nonprofit marketplace.

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