15 Jun Top Marketing Tactics for Nonprofits

Nonprofit marketers have the difficult task of communicating the value of their mission, raising brand awareness, gaining supporters, all without it boiling down to “sell something.” While having a purpose is great for storytelling, many nonprofit sectors lack the funds and the staff to create a successful marketing campaign. All hope is not lost.

There are several tactics that can be used to successfully market your nonprofit organization.

Know your Donors

First things first, get to know your donors. Effective marketing can only happen when you know who you are speaking to. Gain a deep understanding of your donors and what inspires them to give. That way, you can deliver personalized content to them. Get started on creating donor personas. Donor personas are hypothetical representations of your ideal donor based on information about your current and potential donor base. This allows for you to reach out, get to know supporters, and improve your communication and engagement tactics.
 

Evoke Emotion

Evoke emotion through visual representation. Hearing about your cause is one thing. When people can see with their own eyes why you are doing what you’re doing, it can be a lot more effective. Photos and videos of those impacted by your mission should be prominent. Infographics relaying statistics should also be presented. Create short form videos to go onto social media platforms like instagram. You can also include testimonials and vlogs of fundraisers, staff or volunteers. Never underestimate the power that video can have on awakening one’s emotions. Emotion is what drives people to react.
 

Get Social

Set aside a small budget to invest into paid social media ads. That in itself can go a long way. Your nonprofit can create target ads based on demographic. You can localize posts to create a huge reach in a designated community. There are many benefits in social media ads. They can be used for market research. You can segment your audience and copy by demographic. Increase your organizations traffic and leads quickly and effectively.
 

The Psychology

Understand fundraising psychology. When you know why and how people behave the way they do, it becomes easier to create content they identify and respond to. Nonprofits should understand the psychology of giving. Why are people more inclined to give to individuals instead of a larger group? Why are people more inclined to donate once they see that a campaign is close to reaching its goal? Understanding the psychological component behind these questions can help you to figure out how to motivate your audience.
 

Facebook Button

Apply for a Facebook Donate Now button. Facebook recently added this feature to allow nonprofit organizations to add this to their profiles. This encourages users to act right on Facebook. With a lot of causes, it’s about being in the right place at the right time, with the right offer. The Donate button pushes for immediate action. Your organization must meet certain requirements that you can find here.
 

Email Campaigns

Create segmented and personal email campaigns. Taking the time to do this can lead to more clicks, less unsubscribes, and create a more personalized experience for targeted audiences. This can also lead to more higher success rates. A few ways to segment email lists include segmenting by volunteer or donation patterns, asking how often your audience wants to hear from you, segmenting by prospective location, and segmenting by what users are most interested in based on specific web patterns.
 

Tell stories

Write more captivating content to tell better stories. Put a focus on the content you are producing. Is it engaging prospects? Is it shareable? Is it unique? These are the kinds of questions you’ll want to ask yourself when reviewing your current marketing strategy. All marketing success starts at the content level. Your organization can increase its exposure with content alone. Drive content across multiple channels. Make sure you write content with purpose. Incorporate visuals for more appeal. Create guest blogging opportunities for leaders and influencers with a purpose and a following.
 

Follow up!

Following up with donors is just as important as drawing them in. Saying “thank you” is part of the job of a nonprofit and the key ingredient to donor retention. Ditch the keyboard. Letters in the mail can make lasting impressions on an unsuspecting donor. Rally your interns, staff and employees to put a pen to paper to boost donor satisfaction and loyalty.