NationBuilder is software that helps leaders build, maintain, and expand human relationships. A community can achieve goals faster than a single individual. It’s important to know who your audience is and how you want them to interact with you. This could be geared towards learning the basics and identifying the objectives you want to achieve before you start attracting people to your site. Using techniques to engage people inside of your network as well as outside of your network is key to building long lasting relationships with your community.
Table of Contents
- Consider posting any articles about you or your organization on social media
- Consider buying ads to get your name out there
- Not in the US? Grab a voter file from your district and find those people on social media to reach out to them
- Look into SEO and improve yours so that you are searchable
- Look into an analytics tracker
Consider posting any articles about you or your organization on social media
Posting on social media reaches people within your direct network. These people have heard of you before and have already taken some sort of action with your social media page (added you as a friend, followed you, etc.). By reaching out to these people on a regular basis, you can re-engage them to push them towards your website to RSVP for an upcoming event, sign up to volunteer or even ask for donations. Since these folks have already heard from you before, there is less friction when going for higher level asks (such as donating).
Consider buying ads to get your name out there
Advertisements are a great way to spread the word about your nation to people who are outside of your network. By targeting people outside of your direct network (people who you have talked to, people on social media that have heard of you before, etc.), can help to trigger an "out of network" effect which can help you reach people who may have not heard of your website before. These asks are best to be low friction, like asking for an email signup or signing a petition. The main point about reaching outside of your network with ads is to push as much traffic to your website as possible.
Not in the US? Grab a voter file from your district and find those people on social media to reach out to them
This may be a good way to engage people in your community to let them know what you're about. You don't want to email blast the entire voter file once its in your nation. You're going to want to get people to opt in, as consent is the single most important element in setting yourself up for email deliverability success. Consent means that a person has explicitly opted-in to your email list.The recipient must have a reasonable expectation that they are going to hear from you, how often they will, and about what content. Recipients who give consent are much less likely to unsubscribe or mark the email as spam. Over time, this increases your email deliverability.
So, find people from the voter files you've obtained on social media and start following them. They are likely in your area and this could create an instant connection. Another thing to do is follow other people or organizations with similar alignments to your mission so that you can possibly attract new people to your nation. It's also a good idea to create a sign up page that you can repeatedly post on your social media accounts get more people to opt in to communication. Once they are opted in you can start your email blast outreach.
Look into SEO and improve yours so that you are searchable
Search engine optimization is an essential part of getting your website out into the world. Take advantage of your nation’s website features to optimize your site’s search rankings on search engines such as Google!
Look into an analytics tracker
You might find it helpful to add an analytics tracker to your site settings so you can report on the traction you are receiving. This will show you when your audience is engaging most with your nation so that you have a better idea of the best times to reach out to them. It will also show you where they are located. This will help you better understand who your audience is and maybe provide you with some ideas as to how to engage them.
