4 High-Performing Nonprofit Marketing Strategies and Examples
Nonprofit marketing, in so many ways, is not much different than any other marketing out there. Except for a few things…
The strategies you need in nonprofit marketing are all boiled down to one thing: getting as much exposure as possible to achieve your goals.
But, when it comes to marketing your nonprofit organization, you must make it stay on top of people’s minds who actually care about your values and missions.
In this case, you have to give them a reason that your organization is worth being a part of their lives.
This is where things can get challenging for you.
Thanks to the internet, though, now you can reach people all over the world and promote their organization online hassle-free and make the world a better place much easier.
To help you out, here are some high-performing nonprofit marketing strategies you can use to promote your organization so that you can reap all the long-term marketing and promotional success.
#1. Invest in Content Marketing
‘Content is king’
I know. You’ve heard it way too often — we all have. But, even in this digital era, that old adage is still relevant.
Content marketing remains one of the most effective ways to grab the attention of donors and make them stick around.
Your nonprofit organization needs to produce valuable content that provides robust information for your target donor.
It could be explainer videos, e-books, case studies, whitepapers, webinars, and more.
The key here is to create content that has a topic related to your nonprofit’s missions. You can use it to deliver your messages in such a concise, engaging way without being too promotional or demanding.
Engaging content can also help the donor to understand more about your missions, making it much easier for them to understand why they should invest in your organization.
To make sure that you create powerful, engaging content for your nonprofit marketing, here are some points to consider:
- You tell stories
- You share your perspectives to tackle a certain issue
- You feature a “hero”
- You answer common questions that the donor might wonder about
Here’s an example from ActionAid UK that nails their campaign promotion using an inspiring, story-driven video:
No script or dialogues are needed. The video relies on the visual to tell the story. It is shot entirely from the perspective of one girl that spends her time growing up in one of the poorest places.
From the video, the viewer understands what challenges people in that place have to tackle in their everyday lives.
This video is intriguing enough to make people convinced to change their lives for good.
Related articles:
- How to Run a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign With Explainer Videos
- Crowdfunding Videos: 4 Ways They Will Help Your Campaign
#2. Leverage Fundraising Platforms
Another best practice you should incorporate into your nonprofit marketing strategy is leveraging fundraising channels or platforms.
Fundraising platforms are specially designed to help you promote and to manage your nonprofit marketing efforts.
It means that you can promote your missions to the right people in the right place and at the right time.
Using online fundraising platforms can also help you to share and communicate your cause on a global scale.
Not to mention it offers an easy way for your donors to invest in your missions.
Here are some of the best online fundraising platforms for nonprofits that you can use to connect with donors:
- OneCause
- Fundly
- Qgiv
- HandBid
- Donately
- Snowball
- Donate Kindly
Meanwhile, no platforms are created the same. Each of them has its own characteristics, demographics, and accessibility.
So, before you decide to use one for your nonprofit organization, make sure you choose a platform that matches your missions and target donors.
For example, suppose you want to make your nonprofit marketing campaign as convenient as possible for donors and can be viewed across multiple platforms. In that case, platforms like Donately and Handbid are ideal for that.
You should keep in mind here that no matter which platform you use, it’s crucial to give details about your missions. You can also incorporate your content there.
Look how United Way of Greater Los Angeles describes its missions in such a concise way. They also include some links that might help donors to understand their organization’s profile better.
#3. Go Social
Other than fundraising platforms, you also need to go social.
Well, the reason is quite simple: almost everyone is now on social media platforms. You have to be there too.
With more than 3.4 billion users worldwide, social media platforms are such a potential place to find donors for your organization.
However, you also need to choose the right social media platform for your campaigns.
Find out where your target donors are hanging out.
For instance, if you target professionals and older generations to be your donors or supporters, social media like Facebook and LinkedIn are such a powerful platform for it.
Meanwhile, if you target younger generations like Millennials or GenZ, Instagram and Twitter seem like a good fit.
Here are some quick best practices for running a nonprofit marketing campaign on social media:
- Use branded hashtags that are unique to your crowdfunding campaign
- Work with influencers to promote your missions
- Include engaging, thought-provoking content to boost shares
- Leverage more than one social media platform to increase awareness
Here’s an example from the ACLU that uses Facebook as one of their channels to raise donations for their cause:
#4. Create Mission-Related Goodies as Incentives
Another powerful way to grab the donor’s attention and make your campaign more memorable is to offer incentives in return for a donation.
In this case, you can create goodies or merchandise such as:
- T-shirts
- Sweaters or sweatshirts
- Hats
- Key chains
- Tote bags
- Mugs
- Notebooks and pens
- Bracelets
Then, you need to get creative with the design and include your logo on it. When your donors or supporters carry items that display your logo or message, it helps spread awareness about your nonprofit mission.
Here’s an example of Foster Angels of Central Texas that create a t-shirt for their nonprofit marketing campaigns and ‘sell’ it on Bonfire, another popular fundraising platform:
That has been a quick guide on nonprofit marketing strategy. Those four strategies below can be your stepping stone in creating a campaign, grab donors’ attention, and raise money for your cause effectively.
If you have any tips or strategies for promoting a nonprofit organization, feel free to leave a comment below!
