AUCTION MARKETING
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is an important medium for promoting your event fundraiser.
If your organization hasn’t created accounts on social media yet, you may be missing out on a lot of engagement with your supporters.
At the very least, your nonprofit should set up a Facebook page for itself and a Facebook event page for your auction. Why? A Facebook event page makes it easy for your organization to communicate about your event. Plus, the event pages are shareable so your supporters can quickly get the word out for you!
Include your auction registration link on your registration page on your Facebook event page to make it easy for those who find your auction to join in the fun and help with fundraising. On your Facebook event page, include your auction QR code in your banner image.
Instagram is an image-based platform. You can easily share auction item updates directly to your nonprofit's page. Instagram Story is also a great place to post past-event highlights and even communicate about your event to get supporters interested.
Creating Social Graphics
Canva.com is a fantastic platform for creating graphics. By filling out a quick form you can get a free account and create your graphics.
When you design your social post, remember to include:
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Your logo
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Name of the event
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Your brand colors
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Auction QR code/text-to-register
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Link to register (include in your post's Facebook description)
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Images of auction items or images of your organization
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Date and time
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Call-to-action
CANVA SOCIAL GRAPHIC TEMPLATE:
Once you have a Canva account, you may click on the images below to access our customizable templates.
Video: How to Create an Instagram Post In Canva
Note: ZGIVE was formally named ZOOMGIVE as referenced in this webinar excerpt.
Canva Premium is free for registered nonprofits. In order to use the templates ZGIVE has featured on this site, you will need a Premium account.
Visit: https://www.canva.com/canva-for-nonprofits/ to sign up for your free account.
Note that it may take up to 10 days to get approved.
EMAIL MARKETING
Getting the word out about your event is key to its success. Email offers the best return on investment according to Campaign Monitor. If you’re not using an email service provider to make sending email communications a streamlined and efficient process now’s the time to consider adding an email service provider to your toolkit. Here are our top recommendations for email service providers.
Mailchimp
One of our top choices for email service providers is Mailchimp. They’re an email marketing solution that offers a free plan that smaller nonprofits can use at no cost.
Their free plan includes a contact list of up to 2,000 individuals and one email audience. That said, if you use segmented lists or have multiple audiences you may need to opt for a higher-tiered plan.
With Mailchimp, you not only gain access to an intuitive, drag-and-drop email builder, you also get a custom Mailchimp domain for professional emails, a website builder tool, landing pages and forms, and access to their Creative Assistant. That’s all included in the free plan. At higher plans, you also gain email testing tools, real-time analytics, access to a wider collection of email templates, and more.
Constant Contact
Another great option is Constant Contact. Constant Contact offers a lot of similar features to Mailchimp. They offer a free 60-day trial of their email marketing tools and have plans starting at $20/month.
With the basic email plan, three users from your organization can use the software to create and send emails about your fundraising events. The size of your contact list isn’t limited, which is great for larger religious organizations. Plus, they’ve got real-time email analytics as well, so you can gauge the performance of your email sends from the moment they get sent out.
EMAIL INVITE TEMPLATE:
Dear Donor,
You Are Invited to Join Us for a (insert if Silent or Live or both) Auction Benefiting (Insert your organization).
We so appreciate your past support of our nonprofit! Because of your donations, we have been able to (insert what you have been able to do with donations).
We invite you to join us for our upcoming virtual (insert if silent, live, or both) auction on (insert date and time). The proceeds from this event will help (insert how this will help your cause). And the best part is you can participate in this auction from your mobile device or desktop computer in the comfort of your own home!
How to Participate:
Click HERE (insert the link campaign link) to register.
Auction Items Will Include: (insert relevant categories)
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Jewelry
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Vacations & Experiences
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Sign Memorabilia (Sports, Movies, Music)
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Handbags
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MORE!
AUCTION DATE:
TIME:
Please feel free to share this invite with your family and friends.
Thank you again for your support. and we look forward to having you at the auction!
10 Tips for Promoting Your Event
Here are a few key pieces of advice for promoting and marketing your digital auction:
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Make the auction registration easy for donors. Include the digital link, text-to-register, and QR code to register on all promotional collateral.
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Promote your auction fundraiser through your website, blogs, social networks, email, radio, printed material - anywhere you can get the message out.
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Let donors know they can preview the auction items before the event. This will get them engaged, excited, and motivated to get registered.
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Plan to market your auction well ahead of time. People need to time plan and put the event on their calendar. Start inviting your donor base about 1-2 months before the actual event.
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Post social graphics and email your donor base not just once, but several times before the event. It can take several reminders to get people committed and registered.
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Be creative in how you promote. Don't just post the same graphic or send the same email over and over. Think about creating fun, engaging social graphics that perhaps countdown to the event day, tease auction items, and tell people how this event will support your cause.
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Ask your donors to invite their friends and family. Your donors support you already and will likely be very willing to share the message out on their social platforms etc.
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Ask your board members and staff to share the invite with their family and friends as well.
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Make a short video that you can feature on your socials that shares your heart and why you need their support at this auction. Video storytelling is powerful and will have a powerful effect on generating support for your fundraiser.
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Treat this auction like a party! Make sure that your excitement and enthusiasm are conveyed in your messaging. Create graphics that attract and stand out on social media. Remember, excitement is infectious and if you are excited about it, others will be as well.