Marketing is an essential part of running a nonprofit business. You need your business to be visible to get volunteers and donations, without which you wouldn’t be able to run. However, as a nonprofit, your top priority is to help your cause. Spending even $50 on extra marketing is difficult when you can easily name 10 better ways $50 could affect your clients.

Marketing can be done inexpensively, or it could cost tens of thousands of dollars. For this reason, smaller nonprofits may struggle with or overlook their marketing needs and go with the cheapest option. However, that can diminish a potential return on investment and lack of awareness can cost you the donations you need. Here are some ways nonprofits can be smart about marketing, making sure to get proper techniques while not spending too much.

Visual Presentation Matters

The first thing you need to take into account is visual presentation. This is important on your website in a few ways. A cluttered or unappealing site can drive away traffic, and your blog audience needs to be captivated in order to read your posts.

It is best to hire a graphic designer to help at least get this started, but if you don’t have the money for one, you can consider asking volunteers for help or making an intern position for this area.

Make sure that whoever you ask is proficient in their skills already and is either willing to help or needs the professional experience. It is best if the person you choose has taken or is willing to take a graphic design class so they can provide the best work possible.

You can have the person working on your website or blog look at business websites that look great for inspiration. You can also look for a few sites that you like before assigning out the designing tasks. Be specific about what you like and what you don’t like. Do not be shy about giving your opinion; their work will represent your company to the world, so give a lot of feedback.

Articulate Your Goals

The opportunity to post on social media is broad. You could come up with a million different ideas for each different social media platform and your blog, but this can confuse your audience and deter followers. In order to have a clear intention that will draw your visitors, you should write down your goals and articulate them frequently.

For nonprofit social media, the best posts you should be making are the ones that show how your organization has a good impact on the community. If you help refugees, you should make posts about your events that your clients attend or how your donations help them directly.

Similarly, you can use your blog to go more into depth about the positive effect that your organization has on your clients. You can also use it to educate people about your cause, citing statistics, reports, and national news. This can give a concrete meaning to potential donors and volunteers, and is a great way to document your company’s success for quarterly reports.

Come Up with a Strategy

If you have more than one person handling social media, it is likely that everyone will get their lines crossed at one point or another. For this reason, it is important to have one designated person to make posts. If you need, you can have one person handling social media and someone else handling the blog, as each are pretty big responsibilities.

You can have others provide assistance by having them gather photos, quotes, and information to post, but it will run more smoothly if only one person can post. If you don’t have a long-term employee to handle social media and blog posts, then it is important that you have a detailed strategy that others can abide by. This will make it appear seamless when you transition from one person to another.

In the strategy, you should include detailed, step-by-step processes and a structured schedule. For example, you should post consistently so that your followers stay interested and your information is up to date.

Managing social media accounts and a blog can be difficult, but you can find ways to manage it as a nonprofit. It is important to get as much interest as possible from the social media world, as it can make up a huge part of protecting your organization’s income; it can help educate others about your cause and help you get more funding for your business. It is a great way to give a voice to your clients, share their story, and continue in your efforts to make your community a better place to live.

Categories: Digital