Special aspects of Service Marketing
How to Create
a Non-profit Marketing Plan
Just like any
other organization, a nonprofit also needs to plan ahead to effectively execute
its marketing strategy and achieve its goals.
The best way
to do that is by creating a
solid marketing plan for your
nonprofit marketing.
A nonprofit
marketing plan is a document that outlines an organization’s marketing goals,
strategies, target audience, budget and more for a specified period of time.
It acts as a
guiding hand for your marketing team so they don't end up spending money in the
wrong places and are able to help your organization achieve its goals.
Here is a
nonprofit marketing plan template that you can edit for your own use.
A
good nonprofit marketing plan is simple, straightforward and comprehensive.
1. Set goals and objectives.
The
first step is to define SMART goals for your nonprofit’s marketing plan. Here’s
an infographic to help you better understand what SMART goals are.
Using
the SMART methodology, you can translate bigger organizational goals into
actionable and strategic marketing objectives.
For
example, here’s how an animal shelter that wants to encourage the adoption of
rescue pets could define a SMART goal for its marketing plan.
·
Specific: Encourage rescue pet adoption by
sharing a rescue story on Facebook once a week.
·
Measurable: Increase adoption form conversions
by 5%.
·
Attainable: Last year, the conversion rate for
rescue pet adoption was 10%. Increasing that rate to 15% by investing more time
and resources is realistic.
·
Relevant: Sharing rescue stories can help the
audience build emotional connections with the animals and encourage adoption.
This ultimately aligns with the organization’s mission to help all animals live
a happy life.
·
Time-bound: Start posting weekly stories on
Facebook e.g., from May 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020.
Setting
goals and objectives early on lays the foundation for the rest of your
marketing plan and strategy. It helps explain the “why” behind your actions,
and keeps you motivated and focused towards achieving the end result.
2. Understand your target audience.
Before
jumping into the marketing strategy for your nonprofit, you need to identify
the key audience for your campaigns.
Defining
your audience helps guide every aspect of your marketing campaigns, from the
channels you choose to the language, design and tone of messaging you use.
For
example, your nonprofit may want to attract
volunteers, donors and business partners. Since
these are three different types of audiences, you’d want to tailor your
marketing campaigns for each segment.
3. Outline your marketing strategy.
Now
that you have a clear idea of your goals and target audience, it’s time to
create a comprehensive marketing strategy that details:
·
What to do
·
How to do
it
·
What
channels to use
This
is the part where you focus on crafting key messages for each audience segment,
and then decide on the best way to communicate those messages.
Make
sure your marketing strategy is clear and actionable so it can easily be
understood and executed by your marketing team.
4. Define budget and timeline.
Once
you have a well-defined marketing strategy for your nonprofit, it’s time to
plan out its execution.
This
involves allocating a pre-determined budget to each channel or activity, as
well as creating a timeline or calendar to help your team stay on track.
Defining
the budget and timeline is key to ensuring that your marketing strategy is
executed smoothly and cost-effectively.
Nonprofit Marketing Strategies
If
you want to raise funds and support for your nonprofit, you need to show people
how your organization can make a difference and why it matters.
This
is best done with the right marketing strategies that can help you effectively
communicate your mission, services and passion to the people who truly care
about your cause.
1. Email marketing.
Email
marketing is still one of the most effective
marketing channels out there—especially for nonprofits.
The
biggest advantage of using email is it feels more personal than other channels,
which is ideal for building long-term relationships with your audience.
Build an email list.
The
first step is to build a healthy email list of people who are part of your
target audience, and so, will be more likely to engage with your emails.
A
good strategy to build your email list is by offering lead magnets, or
incentives, to convince people to leave their contact details with you.
For
example, if your target audience is business owners, you can get them to sign
up by offering an eBook on CSR initiatives or social marketing ideas.
Offer value.
Once
you have a growing email list, you can start sending emails that offer value to
your subscribers.
Avoid
asking for donations immediately after sign up.
Start
by building a relationship by welcoming new subscribers, sending updates and
telling stories about your volunteers, donors and beneficiaries.
This
will help your audience feel more emotionally connected to your nonprofit and
its cause, and they’ll be more likely to respond when you ask them for a
donation.
Timing is everything.
To
make the most of your email campaigns, try to send the right message at the
right time.
For
example, you can invite subscribers during the holidays to share the charitable
spirit and donate to your cause.
Along
with helping you get more donations, it will show contacts how dedicated you
are towards your cause.
Plus,
ensuring your emails are relevant and timely is always great for engagement and
building a good sender reputation.
2. Social media marketing.
Social
media is an incredibly useful avenue for nonprofits looking to build a brand,
and engage with followers and community members.
Reasons
nonprofits use social media.
·
Sharing
news about their organization and cause
·
Improving
brand recognition and awareness
·
Raising
funds
·
Recruiting
volunteers and employees
·
Showing
recognition to donors and volunteers
The
key to building a powerful nonprofit brand is to keep your messaging consistent
across all social platforms.
If
you’re still wondering how to use social media for your nonprofit marketing,
here are some ideas to get you started.
Post user-generated content.
Sharing
relatable content is the secret to high engagement rates on social media.
And
there’s really no better way to relate to your audience than by involving them
in the content creation process itself.
For
example, you can ask donors and volunteers to share their stories related to
your cause, and then repost these stories on your pages.
Another
idea is to create a unique, branded hashtag for your campaign with the goal of
making it go viral.
Malala
Yousafzai launched the #WithStrongGirls and #strengthies hashtags to inspire
women to show their support for sexism in poverty. It went viral with plenty of
celebrities joining in and sharing their own #strengthies on social media.
Reposting
user-generated content on your social media pages, like Malala Fund did, shows
your followers that you appreciate them and recognize their support.
Go behind the scenes.
Every
nonprofit needs to establish credibility if it hopes to get massive public
support.
People
don’t want to donate money to shady organizations. They want to be sure that
their contributions are going to the right people.
The
best way to establish credibility is by showing your audience that your
organization is made up of people just like them. People who are truly devoted
to your cause.
Share
behind-the-scenes content with your audience that show your staff and
volunteers hard at work, such as during an event, distribution drive or
fundraiser.
Make
use of tools like Instagram Stories and Live Video to give people real-time
updates on what’s going on. This helps your supporters feel more involved in
your organization’s activities, even if they couldn’t be there in person.
Showing
people a raw, authentic side of your nonprofit helps build trust and empathy.
The more credible your organization is, the more support you’ll be able to get.
Sign up for Facebook’s fundraising tools
Facebook
helps nonprofits raise money by letting them sign up for some exclusive
charitable giving tools.
If
your organization qualifies for these tools, you can add a Donate button to
your Facebook page, and allow your followers and supporters to raise money for
your cause.
3. Content marketing.
The
best way to educate your audience about your nonprofit’s cause is by publishing
high-quality content on your blog.
For
example, an environmental nonprofit working can publish informative content
that explains why planting trees is beneficial for humans and the planet, what
global warming is and how it can be prevented, and other related topics.
Not
only does this create awareness and generates support, but it also helps
improve your visibility in search results. Plus, people love to share great
content about topics they care deeply about, which means free PR for you.
Make
your blog posts even more engaging by adding infographics and colorful
calls-to-action throughout. Here’s an animated CTA template you can edit and
use.
Using
visuals can break up walls of text and make information easier to digest. They
can also help strengthen your nonprofit’s visual brand.
4. Video marketing.
According
to Animoto, video is consumers’ favorite type of content from brands.
Since
your audience loves watching videos so much, use this to your advantage by
creating educational and shareable video content for multiple platforms.
For
example, you can create videos that introduce your organization to the public,
and shed light on your efforts to make a change.
Here’s
a video that Kennedy Krieger Institute has
published on YouTube and on their website. It gives the audience a brief
overview of what this nonprofit does and how.
You
can also share interviews of experts in your nonprofit’s industry, such as
researchers and professors.
Video
content is much more engaging than text, which is why it has higher emotional
value. It can help you leave a stronger impact with your message, build trust
in your organization and drive more support for your cause.
5. Search engine optimization.
While
creating quality educational content is important, you should also make sure it
gets enough visibility.
The
best way to do is by optimizing your content for search engines, and that
process starts way before you even create a piece of content.
Conduct
keyword research in your niche to identify what people are searching for. This
will help you address specific issues and concerns in your content.
Let’s
assume your nonprofit helps people who are experiencing depression. Through
keyword research, you can find out the top search queries in a region related
to depression.
For
example, you could notice a high search volume for the keyword “symptoms of
depression.” You can use this information to create insightful content around
this keyword.
Doing
your homework beforehand lets you create high-ranking content that people would
be more likely to engage with, share with their friends and family, and
generally find useful.
6. Paid advertising.
There’s
so much competition for visibility online, you need to pay to play. That’s why
it’s so important to balance your organic strategy with paid advertising on
select platforms.
Here’s
a Facebook ad template you can use to get more eyeballs on your nonprofit.
If you
want to see more options, browse our extensive library of social media
templates to find an ad that works for your
nonprofit.
7. Print marketing.
Along
with a solid digital marketing strategy, you should also create print material
to promote your nonprofit locally.
Use
this poster template to spread the word about your nonprofit’s cause.
Print
marketing is especially useful if you’re looking for volunteers in your city or
nearby areas, or trying to get people personally involved with your nonprofit.
8. Event marketing.
Event
marketing is one of the most popular ways to spread awareness and raise funds
for nonprofit organizations.
Events
are not just fun, they’re also an excellent way to bring together people who
share the same passion for your cause.
You
can organize events like charity runs, bake sales, auctions and more to raise funds,
get people involved and generate awareness for your nonprofit. Submitting a
press release is another great way to raise
awareness about your events.
9. Webinar marketing.
If
you want to organize events on an international level, you can hold webinars,
or virtual seminars, to educate, inform and train your audience.
To
get more people to register for your webinar, choose a topic that’s relevant to
your nonprofit and interests your target audience.
For
example, you can invite influential speakers in your nonprofit’s field to discuss
issues and present solutions.
Our
library has dozens of templates and themes to choose from, like the one above,
and you can create a compelling presentation for your nonprofit in minutes.
Boost
your webinar’s participation with an automated email campaign that reminds
registrants to attend the event on time, and follows up after the webinar.
10. Influencer marketing.
Working
with influencers, even at the micro- or nano-level, can help build credibility
for your nonprofit, spread awareness and gather support.
Reach
out to influencers who share a passion for your cause, and discuss
opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships.
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