Despite COVID-19 spreading across the world and sparking a new way of living where the less contact you have the better, it is still possible for nonprofit organizations to raise funds for their causes. Hosting a charity auction is a common method of fundraising and, luckily, is very easy to do online.
Many businesses and organizations will need to adapt to doing as much as they can online. This is because it will limit physical contact between people and, therefore, mitigate the spread of a disease or virus, like COVID-19.
So, seeing as live events may not be possible for a while, why not host an online charity auction? Here are the best strategies for running a charity auction during COVID-19.
Charity auctions are an old and effective method of raising funds. Nonprofit and charity organizations have been hosting them for years. However, as technology progresses, it has become increasingly easier to host this type of event online.
There are many benefits to hosting your charity auction online. It is more affordable than hosting a live event and allows for a much wider reach as physical location is not a factor. This means that more people could “attend” an online auction and bid on the items, thus, increasing competitive bidding and raising more money for your nonprofit.
Seeing as the coronavirus is now a global concern and many countries are implementing social-distancing or lockdown regulations, online events are more important than ever before.
So, if your charity auction got canceled due to COVID-19, or you want to raise some funds during this pandemic, then hosting an online auction is the way to go.
While hosting an online auction is fairly simple, there are some important things to consider and strategies to implement to ensure its success. Here is a brief guide on how your nonprofit organization can successfully run an online charity auction during COVID-19.
When it comes to hosting online auctions, targeting your audience properly is essential. There is a lot of competition online, so make sure you use effective marketing tactics to promote your auction.
Ensure that the items you are auctioning off appeal to your target audience. This will attract them to your event and make it more likely that they will bid competitively for items.
Marketing to your audience involves discovering which channels or platforms you are more likely to reach your target audience on.
Social media is an incredibly powerful and effective marketing tool. So, finding the right channel and promoting your auction is a sure-fire way of getting some attention from interested parties.
You should also make sure that you market your event for a good amount of time before it actually begins. Start promoting about a month before your online auction takes place to encourage early engagement. You can also garner some excitement by previewing or teasing some of the best items up for auction.
As mentioned in the point above, giving your target audience and potential bidders a preview of the items up for auction is a great way of encouraging attendance. If you have a good selection of items, people will be sure to attend and make a bid.
Creating an item catalog is a useful way for people to view all the items available and decide whether they’re interested in bidding or not. Include descriptions of the items, photos, and starting bids.
Emphasizing your cause can help people feel more comfortable making larger bids. When people know that their money is going toward a good cause, they are more likely to splurge on an item.
So, when marketing your online charity auction, make sure you emphasize what you are raising funds for and where the money will go. This will help make people think more about the charitable aspect of the auction rather than the amount of money they are spending when making a bid.
One of the most important aspects of an online charity auction is the donation process. We cannot emphasize this enough. People want a quick and easy, seamless payment process.
Complex forms and confusing navigation can easily put someone off donating. No one wants to sit and try to figure out how to make a payment. They’ll simply click away and give up.
So, it is crucial that your website, or the online auction software you use, has a clean and efficient interface for the donation process. It should be clear where people need to click in order to make a bid, donate, and fill in their payment details.
If possible, try to use software that does not redirect your visitors. If it takes them to another page where they don’t see your branding, it can be confusing. Then they might not go through with the payment.
Last, but not least, using a good online auction platform can help make the whole process easier. These platforms or auction management systems make hosting and managing an online charity auction a breeze.
For example, with Bidding Owl, you can customize your auction website to suit your nonprofit organization and get access to useful auction management tools. It also helps you to keep track of all your donors and their contact details. So, you can easily thank them for their support and add new donors to your email marketing list.
Since this type of software has been specifically designed for auctions, everything you need to host a successful event is already there.
While the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the world, it doesn’t mean you need to give up on hosting your charity auctions!
Online auctions can be just as effective as live events in raising funds. They are also very easy to do and have a much wider reach. So, you may actually find that they work better than live auctions in the long run.
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