In the nonprofit world marketing is often the LAST thing management thinks about spending money on. Yet there is no nonprofit on the planet, except perhaps those with Bill Gates on the board, that shouldn’t consider how to go about getting their message out to the public. Without a marketing plan, nonprofit boards and management are failing in one of their key missions: Financial sustainability.. Grants can only go so far. Donor campaigns that plumb the same database year after year inevitably show less and less return. T
That’s why I believe almost every nonprofits can use the cost-effective solution presented by Content Marketing to increase the visibility of their organization, engage new volunteers and used properly, generate ongoing and substantial donations..
What is Content Marketing? In a nutshell it’s finding the truth at the heart of a nonprofit’s mission, some have called this the story kernel. For now let’s just call it the underlying dynamic that sets your mission apart, the why of what you do. Then look at the core competencies that your organization has in that reflect your organizations why. All too often nonprofits describe their programs, their how, but leave out the why, the underlying reason these programs are connected and the solutions that all their programs are striving to achieve.
I worked with one nonprofit with a multitude of programs, supervised visitation, alternatives to incarceration, jobs programs for individuals reentering society after incarceration and other services. While these are all great programs, without a common thread, a common story if you will, to describe the agency’s efforts fundraising is per program, and piecemeal is never as strong as a coordinated effort.
Taking this non-profit’s story to it’s logical conclusion, they are selling second chances. Every program they offer has that theme at it’s heart. The idea that good people can make bad decisions and then can overcome them with help.
Content marketing is not as simple as developing a print ad, a brochure or a Pay Per Click campaign. For this kind of marketing needs, as the name implies, interesting, useful and informative content drives individuals to your sight to download said content. Having content worthy of a download takes time and effort but this strategy builds email databases, provides points of contact for new prospective donors and volunteers. All good nonprofit fundraisers know that building a great donor starts with conversation, hopefully leading to the first step of volunteering or some other engagement, before any real ask for money should be made.
Engagement. That’s the key to content marketing. The nonprofit provides information, gets email lists, provides more information and offers opportunities for the individual to get more involved. All without that overt ask for money. Sure, keep your donation button on every email, but the ask, the overt plea to fund your organization should only come after prospective donors have seen enough to understand the nonprofit’s purpose, its story, and develop a sense of commitment to your organizations programs and goals.
So what’s the first step in developing content? Make a list of your organization’s strengths and goals and competencies. Ask your staff what they love about the agency, what they feel the story is. Develop your story, your agency’s touchstone idea. Then come up with a short paper on a subject that directly relates to that idea. In the case of the nonprofit I mentioned above, providing job training to individuals reentering society after incarceration is the embodiment of a second chance, so the first content I’d develop for them would be about the idea of jobs as crucial to a reentering individual’s second chance. And I’d include a strong resources section in the paper listing where perspective clients can go within the area for help with training and/or securing employment.
Once it’s developed trumpet that paper on your site, in emails and in your social media feeds. When people download this free resource make sure you capture their email AND what they are interested in that your organization does. This way you can target your contact to them with news about their topic, with further content you develop, or with volunteering opportunities. Later on, once they have engaged with your agency and have developed that sense of belonging to the community your agency fosters, start asking for money.
Does content marketing take effort? Yes. Is it a long term approach to moving an agency’s message forward? Yes this form of branding is a long term strategy. Should this be your only advertising for your agency? Hell no. Content marketing is a tactic that should fit into your agency’s overall marketing plan, hopefully one of the pillars of your agency’s marketing efforts, but certainly not the only one.