A well-crafted nonprofit marketing plan is the key to success. It is a great way to attract and retain donors. Too often, nonprofits avoid marketing due to lack of resources or limited budgets, but this can prevent an organization from reaching its full potential. Follow our five tips listed below to help kick start your nonprofit marketing efforts.
How to Create a Nonprofit Marketing Plan
Determine Your Target Audience
This is the first thing that you should consider before creating a nonprofit marketing plan. Whether you are seeking donors, new staff or fans, you need to establish the specific audience that your organization is trying to reach. Once you figure that out, you will need to consider how to get your message across to them in a relatable way. This means you have to speak to them in their language by creating content that will answer their questions or solve their problems.
Establish Your Goals
Once you have identified your target audience, you will need to develop specific goals that your organization is trying to achieve. Without goals, there is no way to measure the success of your nonprofit marketing plan.
It is important to make sure that your marketing plan aligns with your organization’s goals. Keep in mind that your goals should be realistic, attainable and measurable. Follow the SMART Marketing Goals Template to help you out.
Make Sure Your Website is Responsive
Since all of your online marketing channels should point back to your website, you want to make sure that it represents your nonprofit as best as possible. However, 80 percent of internet searches are done on a smartphone. If your website is not responsive then you risk losing potential supporters, donors and volunteers.
Your website should also provide visitors with a fundraising event calendar and the ability to register or purchase tickets, make online donations and find other information on other ways to get involved with your organization. Also, don’t forget to use call-to-action buttons throughout your site, as this is another way to help reach your marketing goals.
Create Relevant Blog Posts
Your website should include a blog section where you can share news updates, inspiring stories and upcoming events. By sharing valuable information, it will help your organization to become a trusted, authoritative resource. Keep in mind that the content that you share in your blog should always be geared towards your target audience and marketing goals. You will also want to optimize your blog with targeted keywords to help drive more visitors to your website from search engines.
Take Advantage of Social Media
It’s clear that social media is a powerful marketing platform. Every nonprofit organization should take advantage of this cost-effective strategy and use it on a daily basis. This is a great way to share your content with people and engage with them on a personal level. A great benefit of social media is the ability to post creative and informational messages that link users to your website and other online marketing platforms.
