"Text messaging proved to be just as important as our other marketing channels like direct mail and email marketing. "
Products
Key Features
Text-to-donate
800+
Gifts
200
Gifts made via text
60%
Percentage of gifts made on a mobile device
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) has a passionate alumni base but, like many universities, has struggled to connect with younger graduates, specifically Millennials and Generation X.
When the Virginia Tech team received a mandate from their president to accomplish a 22% alumni participation rate by 2022, they knew they’d need to try new marketing channels. With this goal in mind, the team made a plan to connect with their most extensive alumni base where they are, on their mobile phones.
Challenge & Solution
Virginia Tech’s Director of Annual Giving, Heather Keopec, decided to incorporate GiveSmart’s text-to-donate and mobile messaging into their #GivingTuesday campaign. Initially, her team was hesitant to devote more resources to their #GivingTuesday campaign, but Virginia Tech needed a way to stand out on their alumni’s crowded social media feed. Heather worked with the GiveSmart team to create paid social campaigns specifically for Facebook and Instagram. These ads featured a “Hokie Challenge,” where the university prompted viewers to donate and sign up for text message alerts. After capturing sign-ups from the ads, Heather sent three text message donation requests within a 4-day window before #GivingTuesday. She also segmented the campaign by participants’ time zone, so alumni outside the Eastern Time Zone did not receive the messages too early in the day.
Results
The text-to-donate addition to Virginia Tech’s #GivingTuesday campaign was successful, with over 800 gifts received. Additionally, 60% of the #GivingTuesday donations were made on mobile devices. With mobile giving proving to be a viable marketing channel, the team decided to add text-to-donate to other marketing campaigns. Adding a text-to-donate component to their Annual Giving Day drove 295 clicks and 163 gifts, raising $15,665. These text messages, with an embedded video, were also sent to the Baby Boomer and Silent Generation alums. By reaching younger and older alumni through mobile messaging, the Virginia Tech team increased alumni participation from 10% to 13%, bringing it closer to the university’s goal of 22% by 2022.