Five Ways to Use Digital Marketing to Grow Your Nonprofit in 2021 and Beyond
Wouldn’t it be amazing if your non-profit site just started growing just because the idea behind it is so great? That the phrase, “Build it and they will come” actually worked?
Trying to grow your non-profit site is a daunting task, especially in highly competitive markets.
It is all about getting the message out and bringing eager donors to you.
Here are a few ways digital marketing can help!
1. Create a Community of Ambassadors
Early adoption is a beautiful thing but also a harder one to nail down. People are often a little leery about investing their money in a non-profit that has only recently gotten up off the ground. They expect bugs and quirks and a learning process as the company grows.
Let’s be honest, they may be right about that. You are going to change your website and even basic messages several times before you find what works best.
So reward your early adopters. Feature them on your site, reach out with personal thanks, include them in the process of building your website by sharing your plans and inviting them to submit their feedback and ideas.
Another related idea is to invite volunteers to participate in your project. Changing The Present offers a lot of volunteering options to high-school students and active users.
Effective collaboration is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy. And it is not even just about collaborating with someone outside your organization. A consistent collaboration routine inside your nonprofit is fundamental to its success.
Encourage idea sharing, cross-team brainstorming sessions, feedback collection, etc. There’s a wide range of collaboration tools (even including WordPress) that will allow you to set up a consistent collaborative routine inside your organization as well as with part-time volunteers and ambassadors.
2. Use Lead Generation
Building hype is a big part of this process, and not just for pro-profit companies. Even if you aren’t new, you can revamp and rerelease.
One of my favorite ways to exploit either method is to use a (pre-launch) landing page as a stand-in for at least a month to three months prior to release. Direct people to it and get their email addresses by incentivizing signing up for your email list. You would be amazed at how many you can build and how many will convert.
To optimize your landing pages, use a semantic research tool called Text Optimizer. It will help you better optimize your page copy for search intent, i.e. match your landing page to searchable topics and concepts:
Text Optimizer helps you create a more optimized context to match your copy to the searchers’ expectations.
3. Start a Blog
Many non-profits shy away from starting a blog because they deem it time-consuming and technical. Yet, non-profits always have a lot to tell, and if they tell their stories on their own sites instead of elsewhere, they invest in their own assets.
To help you out, here are a few great examples of non-profits using their blog to build online visibility.
Clairification is a great blog teaching you what real philanthropy is.
Your non-profit digital marketing strategy should include a diverse, yet consistent content strategy. This will attract both traffic and press coverage.
Be open about your struggles, plans, and challenges. This will build empathy and turn some of the earlier donors into your project ambassadors.
Publishing useful or entertaining content gives you the ability to use more marketing and organic growth channels. For example, you can have your blog content shared using Viral Content Bee, a free platform that facilitates social media sharing of non-promotional content.
4. Pair Up With Other Companies
This used to be a lot harder to do than it is now. There are so many non-profits out there these days that you can find at least a couple that adds to your product without actually competing with it.
It is quite possible to partner with for-profit companies as well as social media influencers, so explore any opportunities you come across.
5. Push Heavy On Social Media
Covid-19 has changed social media marketing in a very positive way (surprisingly). It is much more popular these days and much more empathic.
More and more people are learning about non-profits and causes from social media ads. In fact, you can catch more by advertising there than ever before, especially on sites like Facebook that allow such heavy targeting and customization.
The price is budget-friendly, as well. You really want to take advantage of that, so you can reach your audience right where they browse.
Conclusion
At the end of the day what really matters here is to be able to tell your story to be heard. If your message is powerful, any of the above methods (or a combination of many) will help you bring in early believers who will help you spread your message further. Good luck!
