Nonprofit organizations and companies also need marketing to get their message across to the audience, as well as raise much-needed funds. It’s a challenge for nonprofit organizations to call out volunteers and donors, not forgetting the scrutiny. They require marketing techniques and strategies to communicate their mission and get the public’s attention.
Nonprofit marketing keeps charitable organizations up and running by:
Promoting a Cause – through this people are able to know what the organization is about and what’s working for and doing. Make it personal. People are more likely to respond to stories of individuals than broad groups. This is appealing and hits the right emotional spot.
Recruiting Members – nonprofit organizations need long-term members for their various projects and engagements. This is part and parcel of building relations with the community and boosting funding initiatives.
Awareness – like every other company or brand, nonprofits also need to stand out. It needs to be loud and clear to make its audience aware of the organization, its goals, vision, and objectives.
Nonprofits most often bring about social change. Such organizations draw attention to problems and issues that are being overlooked like food insecurity, girls’ education, medical camps, and much more.
Focus On Branding
Amy Small, EVP of Creative & Brand at Media Cause, says branding is all about associations that a person or people make with a company, product, service, individual, or organization. Branding attempts to leverage controls, and help define the business as a trusted, reliable, and honest service.
By having a solid brand, one can distinguish themselves from the competition. This in turn makes it easier to increase donations, and membership and get the results. Small said it makes it easier to describe how you help other people so that you can continue to raise awareness for your cause, by using your brand to tell a story.
“Nonprofits are eager to see results, and brand is not an immediate return on investment (ROI). Like many other consumer businesses, people want to join brands, not buy them. A big misconception among a lot of people is that brand is a one-way conversation, but it’s not. It’s about telling the world what you believe in and what you want to do as an organization by sharing information such as your mission, goals, beliefs, programming, and strategic plan.”
Small highlighted the broader landscape. This includes thinking about the issue. “For example, what other organizations are there playing in your space? When branding your nonprofit, you want to make sure that you have a message that is different or stands apart in some way to be able to have someone say ‘I want to donate to you vs. the other organization’ or ‘I want to give to you both because you’re both doing something that’s great and different!’”
Trends to Keep Up With
Some trends in the marketing world can also be picked up by nonprofits to boost their reach. One of them is Gen Z. Charitable organizations are witnessing a new generation stepping in – Generation Z is growing up and ready to contribute – and make a difference. Social scientists believe Gen Z to be the most socially conscious generation.
There are new marketing channels, especially social media to keep up with. Facebook remains ever so important, and TikTok, which is Gen Z’s favorite platform. Like Justine Burke, VP of Marketing at Metropolitan Ministries, said – “We need really good storytelling embedded into our organization. It’s not just Marketing’s job anymore, it’s everyone’s.”
Marketers will agree with the use of videos. Videos are used to tell stories. This is a growing trend in nonprofit marketing. But it has to be quality. Quality content matters and hits the right cords.
Also Read: Being Smart at the Exact Moment: Inspire Brands on Customer Loyalty
