Today's guest post is written by Mason Herron, President of The Avoyer Group. Mason is a certified NationBuilder Expert; you can follow The Avoyer Group on Facebook or Twitter.
What makes NationBuilder great is the fact that the platform comes ready with dozens of tools to create websites that can help users organize. These tools are easy to use, but they’re also powerful—two qualities that are usually mutually exclusive.
Those who use NationBuilder are already familiar with these tools—petitions, surveys, feedback, a suggestion box, social media integration, and all the other cool things NationBuilder can do. Most of these features are fairly self-explanatory and they deliver at providing users new ways to interact with their site’s visitors and communities.
Aside from the typical use of these tools, there are also plenty of opportunities to think outside the box to implement these features in new, innovative, and exciting ways.
Here are two examples of page types in NationBuilder that can be used in multiple creative ways.
The Survey
One of our past clients was an elected official who, although running for re-election himself, also wanted to emerge as a regional leader and work to get other candidates elected that shared his political vision.
Initially, the idea was to create a single page with a simple list of candidates he supported and links that provided more information, along with a headshot for each candidate. This would have let site visitors know who he supported, but wouldn’t have done much beyond that.
After thinking beyond that initial mindset, we realized that the “Survey” feature might help us do more. Instead of simply linking to the candidate’s website, we created a link that said “Do you support this candidate?” When they clicked the link, they were taken to a mini-survey page with just that question.
Using the survey, they could indicated their preference for the candidate. We established a tag for each answer: “Candidate X – Support” or “Candidate X – Oppose” or “Candidate X – More Information Needed.” Our client now had additional data on his supporters that could be used to mobilize support for his preferred candidates.
Sure, it was a bit of work to create multiple surveys, but it was well worth the effort.
The Suggestion Box
Another feature with multiple possible applications is the “Suggestion Box”—another powerful NationBuilder tool. Most people use the suggestion box to vet new ideas. But what if you could turn it into its own mini community?
In this example, imagine you are working on a site dedicated to writing and writers. You want to create a warm environment where writers can engage with their peers. So you create a “Suggestion Box,” but instead of asking a question, you ask writers to submit their short stories (in the form of suggestions).
Other visitors then have the opportunity to categorize those stories—you could establish tags that allowed readers to rate stories numerically or descriptively—and even comment on them, providing praise or constructive criticism. Visitors would even have the opportunity to share a story they really liked on Facebook or Twitter.
Of course, these are just a couple of examples of how features can be used in unique ways. While these specific examples might not apply to your site, they show how many of NationBuilder’s features are more than one layer deep.
In general, always try to be thinking of ways you can achieve your goals using the tools that NationBuilder provides. While the point from A to B might not always be obvious, a little creative thinking can show you the way.
