Pillar page content and 4 other things you need to read this week

Pillar page content and 4 other things you need to read this week

1. The important difference between personal content 👍 and personalized content.

Spoiler: one is more effective than the other. Personalized content is content unique to the user. Personal content is content that uses info about their user to address a need and create an experience. Your name on an email is personalized. A restaurant preparing your favorite cake for your birthday meal is personal. Can you guess which content keeps your donors coming back for more? 

Personal content experiences matter more than personalized content. [via Content Marketing Institute]

2. Choose the best pillar page content. 📈

Pillar pages are huge drivers of web traffic. Full of long-form content that uses links to guide users to more info about a topic, pillar pages help you up your impact by grouping topics to attract Google searches. Want to create pillar pages that bring the clicks? Become the master of your web topic and drive users to your page with this easy guide on pillar page strategy.

How to choose pillar page topics. [via MOZ]

3. Get noticed on Google Discover—the tool other sites are overlooking. 👀

Try Google searching something on your phone—do you see a list labeled “Interesting Finds” at the bottom? Those personalized articles you didn’t search for? Those are your Google Discover results, tailored to your online habits and search trends. Think of it like Google’s version of Facebook’s feed. Not a bad place for your website to be featured—and now you can learn how to get there.

Find out how to make your mark in Google Discover. [via MOZ]

4. The 11 principles of design 🎨 everyone can learn.

It doesn’t take a designer to look at a digital product and notice something’s a bit off. When the text is too large, the colors are too loud, or the page is too crowded, your user will notice—even if they’re not designers either. The good news is that you can use easy principles of design to guide you as you create something new. (Yes, even if you aren’t a designer.)

Get the 11 principles of design (and learn how to use them). [via dribble]

5. Instagram is retiring the 📱 swipe up. 

Listen up, nonprofits: Your Insta stories are about to get a makeover! Instagram announced recently that it will be launching a new feature to replace the swipe-up method of navigating to external sites. Get ready for link stickers—and keep using social media to drive traffic back to your website. 

Instagram is retiring the swipe up. [via The Verge]

Lead generation and 4 other things you need to read this week

Lead generation and 4 other things you need to read this week

1. Don’t miss out on this library of free content 📚 marketing resources.

The Content Marketing Hub 2.0 is jam-packed with everything you need to know about content marketing, including instructive articles and professionally designed charts, visuals, and templates. Brush up on your content marketing fundamentals, including content production, promotion and distribution, and so much more!

Dive into the Content Marketing Hub 2.0. [via Backlinko]

2. What is lead generation? 🧐

Well, to get started, what’s a lead? If donors are the people who are actively giving you money, leads are the people who might give you money one day. Think: your newsletter list, your prospect list, or your social media followers. Want to learn how to boost your list of leads? It’s time to get great at lead generation.

How to be a pro at lead generation. [via Neil Patel]

3. Make your project 💅 icon-ic.

Digital icons make everything better. They make your website more user-friendly, your text more visualize-able, and your avatars more fun. But you no longer have to pay to get the top-tier icons — lots of sites now share their collections for free! 

Get free open-source icons. [via Smashing Magazine]

4. Secrets 🔎 to a great capital campaign. 

Have a major initiative, new building, or enormous expansion in your future? It just might be time for a capital campaign. But how do you begin? And how do you get your donors on board? Capital campaigns operate differently than traditional month-to-month fundraising, but luckily there a few simple secrets that will help you succeed. 

Become a capital campaign pro. [via Gail Perry Group]

5. Do what is right 💪 for your team. 

It’s easy to feel trapped by budget restrictions or your donors’ preferences. But here’s the deal: You are leading an organization, and you need to do what is right for your team. That means that you get to define your priorities — and use the resources at hand accordingly. Stop waiting for permission. You already have it.

Break the scarcity thinking habit. [via Social Velocity]

QR codes and 4 other things you need to read this week

QR codes and 4 other things you need to read this week

1. Why video 🎥 is leading the content marketing revolution.

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, how many are videos worth? 🤔 Here’s what we’ve learned recently about visual content marketing: 1) Successful media is getting more video-centered, and 2) one-size-fits-all content making isn’t cutting it anymore. That means personalized videos are the new frontier of cutting-edge marketing! 

The what, why, and how of using personalized video. [via the Content Marketing Institute]

2. I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll boost your page. 🎵

Any other T-Swift fans out there? Just us? But seriously, sometimes less is more. And one of the best ways to dial up your site’s landing page quality is learning how to get the most out of your (limited) real estate—including fighting to keep as much white space on a page as possible. 

How white space can boost your landing page conversions. [via unbounce]

3. The magic ✨ is in the experience.

There’s a reason kids’ birthday parties are even more awesome with paintball or a piñata—because the best events are designed around experiences! This is especially true for your nonprofit events. Experiences can transform a fundraising event from a box to a check to an exciting memory for your guests. Need help taking your event to the next level? Let us know! We’d love to help!

How to design an experience-first event. [via Bizzabo]

4. Jump back into the QR code 🤳 game. 

Remember when QR codes came out and we all tried to put them on…everything? If your experience was anything like ours, they didn’t work—but maybe we were just ahead of our time! Thanks to the pandemic (QR code menus, anyone??) and advances in cell phone technology, these days we are all super familiar with scanning for more info. So maybe it’s time to give them another shot. 

Why (and how) you should try using QR codes. [via Nonprofit Marketing Guide]

5. Get that Google ❤️ love. 

We all want to be at the top of the search engine pile, but raking on SEO without a budget can feel impossible. Lucky for us, there are content tricks you can implement right now to take advantage of Search Engine Result Page (SERP) features—and reach more of your donors and prospects than ever. 

Learn how to hack your SERP. [via Moz]

Picking the right colors and 4 other things you need to read this week

Picking the right colors and 4 other things you need to read this week

1. To start working, embrace what isn’t working. 🤨

If you have a problem acknowledging you have a problem, you’re not alone. But facing your organization’s weak spots is the best way to prepare to solve them! Learn how to compassionately fix what isn’t working so you can focus more of your attention on what is.

Embrace your less-than-perfectness. [via Social Velocity] 

2. What can you learn from the story of the Coca-Cola 🥤 logo?

The success of Coca-Cola is not just the story of a bit of luck behind a good product (or a potentially stolen recipe, but we digress…). It’s one that involves a creative marketing push to merge both the timeless and the modern. We love when history makes our current work better, so dive into the details about how Coca-Cola became the iconic beverage it is today.

The story of the Coca-Cola logo. [via Logo Design Love]

3. How to pick the right 🎨 color.

There’s a reason we don’t usually wear neon to funerals, white after Labor Day, or that one blue tie with that clashing blue blazer. Colors tell stories—and when they’re used thoughtfully, colors can prompt emotions in others. So why not harness that power in your marketing? Dive into a rainbow of color tools to help with color scheme generation, data visualization, historical color palettes, contrast checking, and much more!

Color tools and resources. [via Smashing Magazine]

4. Is your Instagram marketing strategy getting stale? 🤔

We know, it still feels like Instagram is a “new” platform. (Eep, yes. We’re old.) But with Instagram Live, IGTV, and new options for sharing to your story, marketing on Insta is no longer just curated pictures and old filters. Luckily, Social Media Examiner pulled together a list of tips and inspiration to keep your content ✨fresh✨ for modern users. Learn the new strategies that are working in 2021 to keep people engaged with your feed, your stories, your highlights, and your brand!

What’s working on Instagram in 2021. [via Social Media Examiner]

5. How to optimize 💪 your on-page SEO. 

Good SEO helps search engines read content and good writing helps humans read content—so why not do both at the same time! Learn how to implement meta-tags, format your content, and optimize your keywords so that you catch the attention of all of your readers—humans and computers alike! 

3 Powerful on-page optimizations to power up your content. [via MOZ]

Customer journeys and 4 other things you need to read

Customer journeys and 4 other things you need to read

1. Give your customers a 🗺 map.

Sixty-five percent of customers say they’d keep buying from a brand that gives them a great experience during their customer journey—but what the heck is a customer’s journey, anyway? Creating a customer journey map is a simple way to visualize a customer’s (or donor’s) experience, providing a step-by-step guide detailing touch-points, interactions, and asks. Save time mapping with this quick-and-easy template! 

Don’t get lost along the way. [via Unbounce]

2. Get the most out of your Google Ad 💸 grant. 

Google Ads are an important tool for nonprofits looking to increase traffic to their sites and expand their audiences. Still, many organizations lack the time and resources to learn about the program and develop the most effective strategies for leveraging its benefits (the biggest one: free advertising credits for nonprofits on the Google Ads platform). Fortunately, The Fundraising Authority created a guide to Google’s Ad Grant program, outlining eligibility requirements, the application process, and how to make the most of your grant once you’re approved.

Get started with Google Ads. [via the Fundraising Authority]

3. Plan a social media calendar 📅

Thirty days has September, April, June—but how far ahead should we be scheduling social media content? How do we schedule content that has variety but is consistent? And what do we post about to fill empty schedule space? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Learn how to plan your social media and waste less time on last-minute scrambling. 

Start planning. [via Databox]

4. Groovy 👉 new features in Google Workspace.

Do you have a flash of panic *every time* you share your screen in a Google Meeting? (Why does it always feel stressful?!) Google Workspace is here to calm your nerves with the “smart canvas,” a new tool that allows you to instantly share Docs, Sheets, and Slides within meetings without using screen sharing. They also launched an entire suite of updates, including the ability to start meetings within a Google Doc, emoji reacts for paragraphs, or writing assistance for when there are typos in your paragraphphph.

Read more about Google’s new smart chips. [via the Verge]

5. Keep your text readable. 📖

Why are “delete” buttons are always red? What about stop signs and stoplights? Welcome to the visual principle of contrast. How we design things matters—for style, yes, but also for function. A lack of contrast can make text unreadable, so it’s time to brush up on our User Interface skills.

Make your designs sing (instead of being ignored). [via YouTube]