Picture this: A nonprofit supporter is scrolling through social media when they see a post advertising an upcoming event hosted by one of the organizations they follow. The event catches their eye and seems right up their alley, so they head to the nonprofit’s website for more information. But once there, they can’t find more details or a place to register.
This is the danger your nonprofit faces if you don’t have event landing pages on your website. Event landing pages are informational web pages or microsites that offer all the information supporters need to learn about your event (including logistical details and its purpose and impact) and to sign up. They can also provide a valuable hub for marketing your event and increasing donations.
In this post, we’ll highlight four reasons your nonprofit website should include event landing pages. As you read through these benefits, keep in mind that the best nonprofit websites and microsites make it as easy as possible for supporters to engage more deeply. Think about the ways you can streamline your event registration and donation process as much as possible to make participation a breeze. With that, let’s dive in!
Whereas your social media posts and emails might provide scattered event information, your website landing pages can offer all of the details supporters need in one online location. They can browse through all of your upcoming events, note the ones they’re most interested in, and access all the information they need to attend.
Your event landing pages can offer information such as:
Plus, when you create an event landing page, you can showcase your event’s unique branding. Whether you’re hosting a wine auction or a Jingle Jog 5K, you can brand each landing page with the event’s unique logo and colors. This helps enhance your event’s brand awareness.
When your event landing pages are optimized for search engines through search engine optimization (SEO), you can increase traffic from search engine results pages. This can amplify awareness of your event and also increase event registrations.
Ensure your event landing page is SEO optimized by incorporating these best practices:
Use the SEO tools built into your website builder to make sure you’re doing everything you can to optimize your SEO performance. For instance, your meta description should be between 150-160 characters so that it shows up completely on search results pages. Also, view your pages in the mobile view to make sure there aren’t any formatting issues. Mobile-friendliness is one of the factors Google assesses to help determine site rankings.
A modern event marketing strategy requires a multichannel approach. That means you won’t just be marketing your event using your landing pages; you’ll also want to incorporate other channels such as social media, email, and even direct mail.
One of the greatest benefits of having robust event landing pages is that you can have a single place to which you can link all marketing materials.
Share your event landing page or microsite link in your:
Your supporters, staff members, and volunteers can also easily share your optimized URL within their social media posts leading up to your event.
As mentioned, your event landing pages can offer supporters all essential information and a convenient way to register for your event on the spot. Supporters won’t have to spend a long time searching for your registration form — it will be immediately available on your landing page.
You can also equip your event landing pages with a variety of other registration and donation tools, including:
More likely than not, your supporters will access your event landing pages from their phones, so ensure all of your event registration and donation tools are mobile-optimized.
Also, make sure you’re using the right payment processor to support your online transactions, such as ticket sales, donations, and merchandise sales. Morweb’s guide to nonprofit payment processors explains that you want to look for a system that integrates with your content management system, is PCI compliant, and offers tokenization and encryption to keep donor data secure.
When your online payment process is secure and integrated with your website, supporters will feel more comfortable giving you their payment information. This goes a long way toward earning their trust and boosting the chances that they’ll consider donating to your organization again online.
Ambitious nonprofits require ambitious marketing strategies. A well-rounded event marketing strategy, complete with streamlined, informative event landing pages, helps you reach the widest possible audience. And, when supporters have a positive experience registering for and attending your event, you can earn their ongoing support and trust.