When marketing objectives are broad and lofty, it can pay to start specific and small. That’s the micro-campaign concept. Instead of asking for large commitments in a big way, we ask for small commitments in a small way and build momentum.
For a local nonprofit, Housing Opportunities we recently piloted a micro-campaign on Facebook. Housing Opportunities resolves and prevents homelessness in Porter County and LaPorte County, IN. Some Housing Opportunities clients live in emergency housing and need bus tokens to get to work.
The micro-campaign ask was simple: Will you pitch in $5 to buy bus tokens? The goal: $40. The yield? $225.
Tapping into an engaged network of nearly 4,000 followers, we were able to achieve significant reach without paid promotion. Engagement was exactly double that of the existing benchmark for “asks” through Facebook. Quick stats from this six-day, organic campaign:
Of the 12 donors, 8 were new to the donor base. New nonprofit donors are highly prized because they grow the pipeline for future giving—like planting saplings for a future tree farm.
A micro-campaign is a simple, effective tactic for nonprofits. And it works because:
- Donors can take action at a small cost.
- Members of the community amplify the ask.
- Donors understand their immediate impact.
Accountability and gratitude are key to success for a micro-campaign. In addition to thanking individual donors, we posted a video of the bus token purchase as part of the thank-you to an engaged community. Van Gogh could be right: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”