Online Gifts to Nonprofits Leap Upward

Online gifts to U.S. nonprofits are growing far faster than other types of donations, according to new studies reported by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Donations rose 14% in 2012 from the prior year, to $2.1-billion, according to a study of 115,000 nonprofits whose giving totals were tracked by online-fundraising processors Blackbaud, Network for Good, and PayPal. Contributions to the nation’s biggest charities also grew 14%, to $785 million, according to The Chronicle's own survey of 149 large nonprofits. That vigorous growth can be contrasted with the anemic 1.5% post-inflation rise in 2012 contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations as reported by Giving USA. Despite the robust growth of online giving, online gifts still account for a small portion of most charitable fundraising, with a median share of just 2.1% of all donations from private sources, per The Chronicle's survey of large nonprofits. Still the survey also found many groups bullish about online's potential. Nearly three-quarters of the groups surveyed said their goal is to have online donations account for more than 10% of overall fundraising efforts in the next few years. About one in five expect Internet gifts to reach up to 20% of their overall donations by then. For more detail on online giving trends, see The Chronicle of Philanthropy story at http://philanthropy.com/article/The-Big-Boom-in-Online-Giving/139965/

These Facebook Invites Came Courtesy of the USPS

It's assumed that, in today's digitally connected world, tech market leaders will snub old-fashioned snail mail. So Facebook generated a media buzz when it sent out invitations to a June media event courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service. Facebook, which holds frequent media events, doesn't normally send out its invitations via direct mail. Like others in the industry, Facebook typically uses e-mail for event invitations. The surprise use of mailed invites generated speculation that Facebook was working on some print-relevant project. Actually, Facebook unveiled the launch of 15-second videos via Instagram at the event. Here's an idea: Maybe Facebook used traditional direct mail because it gets a higher response than e-mail! See the Target Marketing magazine story at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/aggregatedcontent/facebook-sends-out-invitations-by-snail-mail

E-mail Sees Jump in Average Order Value

The average order value from e-mail marketing jumped 14.4% in the first quarter to $182.92, up from $159.93 in the same quarter last year, according to Experian Marketing Services. The findings are based on all e-mails sent by Experian CheetahMail clients. The total volume of e-mail sent also increased 11.6% year over year in the first quarter, with multi-channel retailers and consumer products and goods companies leading the growth. Another sign of the growing power of mobile: Experian found that more than half of all e-mail opens in the first quarter took place on mobile devices. For more on the study, see the internetretailer.com report at http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/06/06/e-mail-average-order-values-increase-14-q1

Psychographics Differ for iPad vs iPhone Users

When you invest in mobile marketing, your quandaries include whether to focus on apps for iOS devices (60% of the market) or Android, and then, within the iOS market, whether to develop iPad apps, iPhone apps, or both. The answers depend on the customer segments you want to reach, so take a look at a recent e-commerce blog post sharing Flurry mobile analytics on smartphone and tablet usage. Drawing from app usage by nearly 400 million iOS devices, the Flurry data shows why mobile apps and site features need to match different device usage patterns. For example, data shows that a store locator is a more important call-to-action for a smartphone user on the go, as opposed to a tablet user. The psychographic segmentation also differs between iPhone and iPad. If you are seeking "value shoppers" with mobile coupons or showrooms, you should skew toward iPhone apps. If you are targeting parenting and education activities, small business services, moms, or pet owners, iPad apps are more effective. Plus, Android users and iOS users have different psychographic profiles; for example, the "mommy market" is more likely to use an iOS device rather than an Android (77% vs. 23%). The data creates more interest in our lists of iPhone and Android users with demographic data. For more detail on mobile app customer segments, see the getelastic.com article at http://www.getelastic.com/iphone-vs-ipad-app-use-across-psychographic-segments/.

Social Media Lags Further As Online Sales Driver

Social media is lagging as a direct traffic source to e-commerce websites and as a driver of online retail purchases, despite despite brand investment, according to research by Monetate, an online customer experience engine. Monetate's data from online shoppers in the first quarter of 2013 found that social media represented just 1.55% of all e-commerce traffic, way behind search (31.43%) and trailing e-mail (2.82%). Even more disappointing for marketers, social media traffic numbers in the first quarter of 2013 were actually down from the same quarter of 2012, when they were at 2.36%. The data leads researchers to question brand retailers' approach to social marketing. "We know that social media plays an important role in influencing social purchases. To what degree brands are able to leverage social to build loyalty is the next big question," stated Blair Lyon, vice president of marketing for Monetate, in a PRNewswire release. For more research findings, see the Multichannel Merchant report at http://multichannelmerchant.com/crosschannel/social-media-declining-for-online-purchases-22052013/#_

Mobile App Targets by Social Media Data, Location

Summer is when advertisers must catch folks on the move, so it's no surprise to see a surge in mobile app debuts. UberMedia , for one, unveiled its UberAds product that targets app users based on their social media data and location. “So if you follow Tom Cruise on Twitter and are near a theater, you could see an ad for movie tickets,” explained Bill Gross, UberMedia CEO, in an Adweek article. NBCUniversal tested the UberAds' mobile apps network to promote Tom Cruise's sci-fi movie Oblivion and earned a 4% click-through rate that was significantly higher than the industry average of 1%. Doug Neil, senior vice president of digital marketing at NBCUniversal, told Adweek that the Oblivion ads created 2 million mobile impressions while homing in on Cruise’s 3.9 million Twitter followers and other mobile app users. For more on summer mobile initiatives, see the story at http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/summer-could-be-breakthrough-mobile-advertising-149632

Celebrating 30 Years As a List Professional

Today marks my 30th consecutive year as a list professional. I began my apprenticeship at Mike Wilson List Council, Inc. on August 22, 1983. Now, as CEO and president of AccuList, Inc., parent company of AccuList USA and Beyond Voter Lists, I can look back on a career that has grown with the direct marketing industry, expanding from traditional direct mail list and insert media brokerage and management to include e-mail marketing, online advertising, mobile marketing and social media. Today the Direct Marketing Association refers to me and a few others as "Data Innovators" or "List Leaders." My thanks to the thousands of clients and direct marketing industry colleagues who have made my 30-year journey so rewarding! For a synopsis of my career highlights, see my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/dkanter