As nonprofit marketers, we want to make smart use of analytics to evaluate our activities and make better decisions. But where do we begin? To help demystify the world of Google Analytics, I spoke with Jason Shim, Digital Media Manager at Pathways to Education Canada in this video interview.

Jason is very passionate about helping nonprofits to use tech and data wisely and he shared a number of tips and resources (see below for links) in this video interview. For example, Jason talks about:

  • Google Analytics 101: what are analytics?
  • What we can track with analytics including demographics, visitor behaviour, the technology visitors are using and predictions about their interests.
  • How the data we glean can help nonprofit marketers to make better decisions: when we know how people are engaging, we know what is working

 

 

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure. If you want to improve your website and outreach online, you need to make sure you’re properly measuring it and interpreting the data.” – Jason Shim

 

In the interview, Jason suggests how to get started/oriented with Google Analytics:

  • Jump in and look around!
  • Read as much as possible – and not just resources targeted to nonprofits.
  • Start small by looking at basic information about your visitors and their behaviours, then move on to more advanced information.
  • Beware of focusing on ‘vanity metrics’ such as email open rates. Focus instead on more useful information, such as behaviours.

 

Jason shared a number of resources to further your knowledge:

 

And to learn more from Jason himself:

  • Check out the Do Good Data 2014 event on May 12-13 in Chicago, where Jason will be presenting!

 

Marlene Oliveira

Marlene Oliveira

Communications advisor and copywriter at moflow
Marlene Oliveira is communications consultant and copywriter at moflow and founder of the Nonprofit MarCommunity blog. Having worked in the nonprofit sector since 1999, Marlene specializes in working with capacity building and grant-making organizations, advising on communications strategy, and writing stories and other content.
Marlene Oliveira

@mo_flow

Marlene Oliveira