The Ultimate Non-profit Marketing Guide
Non-profit marketing is all about doing more with less. No matter how limited your resources are, your marketing strategy deserves some attention. The spectrum of marketing efforts has a huge range, and even some light involvement can have a sizable impact. If your organization’s resources are limited, marketing is the number one way to bring in more value. So, how can you raise awareness for your nonprofit without breaking the bank?
1. Look at the data
Try to understand what has been working for you and what hasn’t. If you currently have a marketing strategy, how has it been going? If you don’t yet have a strategy, no problem - you’ve got to start somewhere!
Compile a list of inspiration sources. How do similar non-profits get their message out there? What social media accounts have a lot of traction, and why? Whose websites do you find impressive, and why?
2. Lay out a plan
Clarify your goals, and make sure they are realistic. One step at a time is usually the best way to sustain steady growth. Get specific with numbers, deadlines, and so on. Obviously, you want to raise awareness, but among whom? Do you want to attract new donors? Bring in new volunteers? How many? What sort of revenue increase do you hope to see by the end of the year?
Identify your target audiences - yes, plural. For most non-profits that includes ideal donors, volunteers, partner organizations, and advocates. What type of person is most likely to support your mission? They are the ones you’ll need to keep in mind. You may want to use a CRM to segment your audience.
Determine what channels are likely to be most effective in reaching those audiences. Since your audiences are likely several distinct groups, the optimal channels to reach them may be different for each one. There is no one size fits all approach here, so make sure to tailor your strategy to fit each unique audience. For example, potential donors may be an older crowd that prefers emails and LinkedIn over Instagram and TikTok. Volunteers are likely activists who rely on Instagram and Twitter to stay in the loop with cultural happenings. Blogs are a great way to boost SEO and get discovered by people with an interest in related topics.
3. Pinpoint your messaging
Present your cause. This may seem obvious, but educating your audience is the first step towards getting their support. Don’t just tell them what you stand for, show them why.
Much like the channels you choose are impacted by your target audiences, so too is your messaging. Needless to say, the message you want to get across to donors is different from that which you’ll promote to potential partners. At the core of it all, your goal is to increase awareness of your cause and drive positive change. Change comes through action, so think about what actions you’re asking your audiences to take. You will want to educate all of your audiences on your mission, vision, and values, but the actions you’re calling for will vary depending on who you’re talking to. Be sure to tailor your messaging to reflect that understanding.
4. Take action
After you’ve done your research, it’s time to start putting your messages out there. This might mean building out an email campaign using a platform like ActiveCampaign or MailChimp, reaching out on LinkedIn, creating a queue of evergreen content on SmarterQueue or Sendible, or any number of other ways to spread the word.
Make sure you have a social media presence and a functioning website. Nowadays, these are the first places people check to learn more information about your cause and how they can get involved. Make sure your account has an informative bio and a clear mission statement. While you should really be posting regularly to stay top-of-mind, it’s okay if all you have is an account with a couple posts. Something is better than nothing at all. However, if social media is the main channel you’ve chosen to rely on, then you’ll want to send out valuable and engaging content weekly.
Utilize CTAs (Calls to Action). Your social media should have a CTA asking visitors to visit your website, because this is where you ultimately want to be driving traffic. Your website should have a CTA on the homepage, such as “donate here” or “sign up to volunteer” or some other way for people to get involved. The last thing you want is for people to leave your website without either taking immediate action, or joining your email list (if you have one) so that you can nurture the lead.
Consider paid advertising. When you’re operating on a tight budget, this may feel counterintuitive, but they have the potential to provide a high ROI. It’s worth looking into whether or not it’s the right move for your organization.
Engage with your audience. Marketing is a two way street! The more you engage with your audience, the better. This gets your name out there and helps establish authenticity. Building relationships is the best way to help drive your nonprofit’s goals. Make sure to comment on posts where potential target audiences may be found and check your messages regularly in case people have questions.
Don’t neglect existing members. They are your strongest asset, and could be your most vocal advocate! Make sure they feel appreciated and connected to the nonprofit “family”.
Encourage your team to help promote the cause. This is a great, low effort way to spread awareness. Ask existing volunteers, donors, and partners to share pictures of them getting involved. Whether they post on social, share via word of mouth, or rock your branded merch, they’re sure to bring in new interests!
5. Look at the data… again (and again)
Data speaks louder than words, and it is the only way for you to accurately measure your marketing success. Google analytics is extremely helpful. There are also platforms like Whatagraph where you can compile your data for easy viewing. That said, sometimes a good old fashioned spreadsheet gets the job done.
Examine monthly, quarterly, and annually and cross compare these data sets. Of course the goal is to see upward trends in terms of website traffic, social media following and engagement, email contacts, clicks, opens and so on. Comparing month over month, quarter over quarter, and year over year is the best way to determine if your strategy is working, and where it needs to be tweaked.
Remember, one step at a time is going to take you a lot further than trying to do everything at once. Pace yourself and understand that you don’t have to do it all. Do what your bandwidth allows for and rest assured that something is better than nothing. At the end of the day, if you have the budget, hiring someone to help meet your marketing needs is always the strongest bet. Feel free to reach out to learn how we can help!
