Nonprofit marketing is the use of marketing tactics by a nonprofit organization. Marketing goals may include promoting the organization and its message, raising funds, encouraging membership, engaging volunteers, and driving political or social change.
Marketing is as important for nonprofit organizations as it is for businesses and uses many of the same marketing strategies to connect with donors and volunteers.
Proper nonprofit marketing is the key to success for any nonprofit organization, but it can be tough to get the word out. People need to know (be sold to) about your cause before they’ll donate or volunteer.
Unfortunately, many nonprofits struggle with growing visibility and achieving exposure. However, with the right marketing techniques, many nonprofits can reach new audiences to increase engagement. Below are a few low-cost ways to get started.
1. Collaborate to Reach a New Audience:
Reaching out to collaborate with another organization is an excellent way to raise awareness of your cause and share your impact with a new audience i.e your partner’s community.
Starting a partnership exposes your work to a new audience. whether it’s the employees of a company, their followers, volunteers, or clients. When proposing a partnership always remember to emphasize the value YOU can provide, then start the conversation with a clear idea of who their audience is and how to reach them. Also, be aware of how the other organization’s or company’s mission and practices align with your cause and values to avoid any conflict of interest.
2. Network (Attend & Showcase At Popular Events):
Exposure is key for any social impact organization. So it is important to be well-represented at local events. International observance days, holidays, celebrations, and other large-scale events are great places to gain attention from potential donors and volunteers. The point here is that attending events is a strategic move that is not going out of style anytime soon.
Check for upcoming events in your city, contact the organizers, and find out what role your organization can play. It is also a good idea to look out for events that attract massive visibility. If your nonprofit is going to stand out from the rest, you will have to plan appealing activities to attract attention.
3. Make Friends With The Media:
One thing nonprofits should know is this; just because you can’t purchase a big-time advert spot, doesn’t mean the media is completely out of your reach.
Explore relationships with media outlets and make your work attractive. Be confident when approaching media outlets; ask them to shed some light on your organization and give them palpable reasons why they should.
Local news networks often cover charity campaigns and events, you just have to be proactive in order to gain attention.
Also, get involved in organizational PR by planning mini-events, and organizing exposure activities such as fundraisers or galas that both draw a crowd and create impact. Here’s another idea, reach out to local reporters. Reporters typically have to seek out opportunities to create a story on a particular event or organization, so they will be grateful that you contacted them first.
4. Practise Differentiation:
With so many non-profits launching nowadays, you wouldn’t want to be seen as just “another one”.
So nonprofits should self-analyze to know what practices make them stand out and what services, and/or programs they can implement differently to ensure great impact.
It is a key visibility strategy to ensure your target community understands how your services (offerings/programs/projects) are different from others, and the scale of impact on the community. This way your nonprofit is positioned differently.
5. Revamp Your Website:
Does your organization have a website?
If yes, then it’s doing better than you imagine. Your website is one of the main avenues for visibility. Your website should be clean, simple, accessible, and informative. Consider using strategies like blog posts and search engine optimization (SEO) to enhance your rank on search engines.
6. Engage with Social Media:
More than ever before, nonprofits have realized that digital presence strategically positions them for success.
An up-to-date social media handle also lends credibility to your organization. According to the 2020 Global Trends in Giving Report, over 60% of youth surveyed in the Africa study identified social media as a go-to resource for development organizations.
A sustained presence on platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc increases brand visibility and also encourages community-building.
Through social media, your nonprofit can carry out advocacy campaigns, spread awareness on causes your nonprofit supports and engage with volunteers, partners, and donors. Being able to cut across varying generations of givers on these different platforms potentially expands your mobilization network.