The Whys of your Web Presence

A recent study about why people use the internet says a ton about how you should be developing your organization’s web presence. Ruder Finn’s Intent Index asked 500 internet users why they go on line, providing them with a list of 295 possible reasons.

And the results? 100% - everyone - uses the internet to pass time. Some of the others in the top ten - educate, connect, share, research, be entertained, be informed. And those reasons that you might think are most related to fundraising? Join a cause - 26%, sign up for e-mail list for causes/organizations - 23% and get this - donate money to a cause - 12%.

So what does that tell you? People clearly aren’t going on line to make a donation. If you want to attract people to your cause, you’re going to have to satisfy their needs and provide opportunities to educate, connect, share and maybe even entertain.

For many of us this study simply corroborates what we have been saying for a long time. To have a successful web presence you need to:

• Create community - provide forums for people to share information and experiences, to tell their stories, to meet other people, to help other people. This can be done directly on your site or through the use of Facebook or other social media applications.

• Create value - give people a reason to come to your site. Provide useful information, an opportunity to ask questions, photos, videos and maybe even a little humour.

In the end it’s all about taking a customer (prospective donor)-centred perspective and thinking about the whys before the whats.