The keyword you choose when you set up a new GiveSmart Fundraise form can have a vital impact on the overall success of your campaign. This document will cover keyword best practices, common mistakes, and help you determine the extent to which your keyword selection will impact your campaign.
For the method to create a keyword, click here.
What makes a good keyword?
Keywords cannot contain spaces or special characters. They can only use numbers and letters. A good keyword is ideally:
- One word
- Example: "GIVE", "HELP", "IMPACT", "WATER", "ELEPHANT", etc.
- Easy to Spell
- Easy to Remember
- Not likely to auto-correct
Examples: "run4change", "give2kids", "help4homes", "give2018:, etc.
- If you are creating a Crowdfunding and Peer-to-Peer Fundraising activity, do not end the keyword with a number. See below.
What is a bad keyword?
We have seen too many organizations' keywords fail because of simple guidelines not followed. To avoid most potential keyword issues avoid the following:
- When two words are used together, without the use of a number
- Why? Because your phone will auto-correct to add a space to separate the words. If this happens, the GiveSmart Fundraise system will only read the first word in the sequence as the keyword. In the example above, our system will only read the word "give" and exclude the word "now". If the first keyword in the sequence ("give") happens to be owned by another organization, your donor will be directed to their donation page! We know you don’t want this, so please be sure to avoid two word keywords -- unless a number is included -- to prevent auto-correct from separating the sequence into multiple (key)words.
- Examples: "givenow", "runforchange", "givetokids"
- Acronyms are not ideal keywords.
- Why? Because they are likely to auto-correct.
- Example: The keyword "rdn" auto-corrects to "run" or "ran"
- A keyword with a number at the end is not a good keyword for crowdfunding/peer-to-peer campaigns.
- Why? GiveSmart Fundraise will create a unique keyword for every fundraiser in your campaign. We do this by adding a number to the end of your campaign keyword. If your keyword ends in a number, another number will be added to identify the fundraiser. It makes the fundraiser’s individual keyword a little clunky.
- Example: "give2018" becomes "give20181", "give201821" etc. for individual fundraisers and teams.
Determining the relevance of a keyword in your campaign
First, a GiveSmart Fundraise form can be shared or accessed three ways:
- It can be embedded on any web page
- It can be accessed by sharing its unique link
- It can be accessed by texting your chosen keyword to a shortcode
For any campaign, the extent to which the keyword you select matters depends entirely on how you intend to promote your campaign.
Examples:
- If you are intending to simply embed a donation form on your website, the keyword will not matter to your end-user, because they will never text the keyword to access the form. They can simply go on your website and access the form there.
- If you are doing an email campaign and plan to only promote the form through emails, the keyword will not be relevant because your email recipient can simply click on a link in an email to access the form.
- Facebook or Social Media campaign? Again, the keyword will not be relevant if you are planning to solely share the link within your posts.
When does the keyword matter?
The keyword matters most when you are:
- Designing a donation form for an in-person ask at an event
- Example: "Please pull out your phones and text GIVE to 41444"
- Promoting a keyword on print materials
- Example: Table tents, banners, posters, direct mail, etc.
- Doing a video call-to-action with the keyword displayed on screen
Case Sensitivities
Keywords are not case-sensitive. No matter how you show them in printed materials, presentations, social media, videos, and more, they will work if the person types them differently ("Give" can be typed as "give", "Give", and "GIVE" and work)
Need help getting a desired keyword?
If you are looking for a specific keyword but it is showing already in use within the GiveSmart Fundraise application, please contact Customer Support and a team member will do some investigation to see if we can release the keyword or establish a similar keyword for you.