Unlike privately-owned companies, non-profit organizations run on donated or raised funds, requiring them to be extremely cautious in every action they make, especially in creating their messaging and building fundraising campaigns.
For a non-profit organization to remain effective and valuable, one of the most integral aspects is marketing. However, putting together a successful marketing strategy can be a daunting task.
As the years go by, more and more organizations learned from their mistakes and decided to focus on their strengths in establishing a strong presence to attract potential donors.
We’ve highlighted five non-profit marketing mistakes many non-profit organizations are making and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1. Not Having a Clear Brand Mission
Many organizations out there aren’t gaining a lot of attention because they do not explicitly state their advocacy and brand mission. It is to their detriment since most people prefer to donate to an organization with a clear brand mission.
People yearn for compelling stories that are impacted by your cause. Therefore, you should convey to people what you do and how they can take part and become involved in your campaigns. Your message should be understandable and clear. Otherwise, if it’s confusing and poorly written, you might lose credibility and even potential donors.
Mistake #2: Not Doing Enough Public Relations
You have to devote a lot of time and effort to advertise if you’re a non-profit. If you’re planning new campaigns or fundraisers, invest part of your budget out in the right message to different channels.
It’s crucial to have great PR to have a successful fundraising campaign. If a potential sponsor comes across your non-profit in a blog, has heard about you on the radio, and read about you through a friend’s post on social media at the same time, they are more likely to take notice. On top of that, if your story resonates with them, they will likely get involved.
Never underestimate the power of PR. Many non-profit owners and leaders are quick to dismiss it, but it can certainly generate donations, attracts donors, and get the support of the government.
Mistake #3. Not Investing in Good Design
Do you know that it only takes 0.05 seconds for a reader to form an opinion about your website? That’s all the time a website visitor needs before they decide if they’re interested to explore your website more on their own or to move on to other sites that may seem more valuable to them. It’s on you whether they stay or leave.
In case you do not know, first impressions do matter. Having a good web design ensures that your organization will have a strong first impression to donors, volunteers, and prospects.
Not only does having a compelling web design draws attention, but it can also evoke an emotional reaction to your readers that encourages them to take action.
Most nonprofits out there make the mistake of not investing enough time and resources to come up with a good design that stands out. As a result, these websites look unprofessional.
Have a donor’s mindset – they always want to support a winner.
Mistake #4. Not Letting Go of Subscribers on Your Mailing List
Growing your email list is essential to create an effective email marketing campaign. However, you have to let go of those who are not interested in reading your emails. Deleting people from your email list may seem a little scary at first, but inactive subscribers on your list could cost money. Therefore, don’t keep them around for too long. After all, it will be easier to see what’s working behind your strategy and make a targeted email campaign if you’re with a community of people who genuinely care for your cause.
Do you find it hard for people to click and open your emails? Here’s a quick guide to get noticed in your audience’s inbox.
Mistake #5. Not Engaging Social Media Followers
Social media can be one of the most powerful marketing strategy tools if you know how to harness it. The mistake most nonprofit organizations make is posting too much information about themselves and not giving enough opportunity for their followers to engage actively.
One great way to always have fresh information popping in your reader’s newsfeed is learning to divide your content evenly into three main parts: the conversational material, your group’s content, and content material of other organizations.
Then, have members of your team research trends and relevant hashtags you can use to draw in traffic. Find out what your top-performing posts are and identify the people who take action on your posts more often. By having an idea of what content your most engaged followers like, you’ll know what kind of content is most effective. Think of ways how you can stir a good discussion among your readers. If you want to make the most out of Twitter’s advertising platform, here’s a helpful guide to marketing on Twitter.
The social media landscape is always constantly changing. You have to learn how to adapt, thrive and stay relevant, much so if you represent a nonprofit.
Final Thoughts
Every nonprofit organization is different. However, you can gain more prominence, expand your audience and reach if you avoid these crucial digital marketing mistakes.
Author Bio:
Erin Feldman is an e-commerce business owner somewhere in California. Her experience as a writer started when she was in college and her career, apart from covering technology, also includes, active lifestyle and social media.
