Social, Email Help Charity: Water Raise Awareness

A combination of social media and email marketing helps charity: water fundraise to bring clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

“We operate within a $0 marketing budget, so we don’t use traditional marketing methods like direct mail or buying ads,” said Sarah Salisbury, digital marketing manager of charity: water, via email. “We use email and social media to get our message out and focus on creating content our supporters will want to share.”

The New York-based nonprofit has about 140,000 email subscribers. It uses email not to push a hard ask for donations, but to encourage engagement with videos and stories about the families it is trying to help.

In social media the strategy is similar, with content that is very image- and story-focused. “We rarely ask for donations on social media. That’s not why people are on Facebook or Twitter,” says Salisbury. “They’re on social media to see beautiful photos and read inspiring stories. That’s what we try to share.”

To read more of Beth Negus Viveiros’s article in Chief Marketer, visit:
http://www.chiefmarketer.com/direct-marketing/social-email-help-charity-water-raise-awareness-07052013