When fundraising for nonprofits, it is okay if the first campaign does’t drive stellar donations. Marketing is your game plan. It helps you position yourself, communicate and determine success parameters. It is really important to take marketing seriously to make the most out of the opportunities that arise, even if you don’t have the fancy budget for a show stopper campaign. Marketing is a method to reach out to your potential donors and to convince them to donate to your campaign by making them feel positive and good about it. Optimize you campaign strategy based on the audience at hand so that they feel passionately about it and don’t shy away from giving. That is why marketing is critical for nonprofit fundraising.
Here are a few things that you need to keep in mind for an effective marketing strategy:
A self-check for your organization
To begin with your marketing plan, it is important to do a self-assessment of your organization. You need to define your audience and make a list of donors or potential donors that your organization comes in touch with. You need to evaluate the communication strategy adopted by you, so far. Check if your messages and your channels of communication have been effective and consistent, or not.
Focus on branding
Some nonprofit organizations have built great brands. And their campaigns and goals have seen a huge success as a result of this. For Example: The American Red Cross, the March of Dimes, the Salvation Army. Some campaigns like Movember have gone on to become international movement around their cause. Such large scale involvement of people was possible due to branding apart from the other factors. People should be able to relate with your mission. Branding helps you in achieving that, if done smartly.
Select the channels for marketing your cause
There are different ways of reaching out to your audience. After assessing your audience, you need to devise an effective strategy for each platform. You should have a perfect mix of online and offline marketing. Social media and SEO tools could help you to reach a long way in achieving your desired goals. Involve your volunteers and existing supporters too and ask them to share your message online, on social media.
Craft your message effectively
Keep your audience in mind while crafting your message and make efforts to put them at the centre. If you could convey your message in such a way that it connects with things that your audience cares about or feels passionately for, you could not only convert them into donors but you could add them to your community as long term supporters. Announcing a reward for taking an action could boost your campaign. Your actions should be specific, feasible and easy to relate with, in your message. Give your audience an opportunity to tell a story of how them made a difference and this should reflect in your message. Make the experience of being a part of your campaign a memorable one for them.
Once you are ready with your marketing strategy and start the process, it is extremely important to continuously analyse and evaluate your progress to turn your efforts towards successful fundraising. If things don’t go as per your plans you should be ready to make the necessary adjustments. Our next blog post tells you on how to Analyze from data and Learn.
