|
NPA’s Home Page has been Hijacked Maybe yours should be, too. Hijacking your home page is a very effective tool for major disasters and even major special events. What is hijacking? Instead of the normal home page that describes your entire organization, the hijacked home page focuses most of its energy on the crisis (or opportunity) du jour. The hijacked home page has a bold headline that captures the visitor’s attention and directs it to fresh content about the crisis and your organization’s response to that crisis. When should I hijack my site’s home page? When the vast majority of your organization’s energies are directed at one crisis or event for a period of several days or more, consider hijacking the home page. This is a time when many new visitors will be driven to your site because of this event, and you want them to see, within the first few tenths of a second, that your organization is “the right place” to learn more about this event. We saw several organizations do it effectively during Hurricane Katrina response, but it doesn’t have to be an event of global importance to warrant a hijack. A local disaster, or even one that’s internal to your organization (your founder dies, or your office burns down) would qualify. Your annual gala or college homecoming may qualify. The hijacked home page is like a section page that hosts links to all of the relevant information on the crisis. Why hijack the home page? For most nonprofits, the home page is the most visited page on their site, accounting for 20% to 25% of all page views. In a disaster, many other web pages may link to your organization, but they’ll probably just list your home page. Visitors who haven’t been to your site in months or years will come back to see what you’re doing, and they’ll start at the home page. With your home page hijacked for the disaster, all of those visitors will be directed into your most timely, relevant content. Read 14 more tips on disaster fundraising and crisis communication. Today is the official start of hurricane season. If your organization needs an online disaster fundraising plan, NPAdvisors.com will produce a customized plan for you for $5000. Call or email for more information. May 2006 | |
|
|
|
