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Rethink your nonprofit marketing efforts
December 29th, 2009 by Mike Knutson
A few weeks ago, the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science made headlines in South Dakota (look here) when it was announced that a $300,000 fundraising shortfall had placed the non-profit’s future on tenuous ground. I read this announcement on the heels of a conversation with a friend who serves on a much smaller non-profit board (they have a part-time director). Her organization is facing a much smaller but still daunting budget deficit, causing the organization to rethink how they raise money and do business in this down economy.
There’s no doubt that both organizations should emerge from the crisis with refocused efforts. But it’s caused me to question how non-profits in small, rural communities are doing? The organizations I’m talking about (i.e. -libraries and museums) often operate on volunteer staff and probably don’t have a website, let alone a marketing plan.
And that’s where the problem begins. Nonprofit organizations in rural places play a critical role in the economic and social health of their communities. But it’s been my experience that few operate with any type of plan, marketing or otherwise. This leads to fragmented, unsustainable marketing efforts that hinder the organization’s performance.
If this description meets your non-profit’s practice, I’d encourage you to consider the following ideas for rethinking your marketing efforts.
5 Ways to Jazz Up your Marketing Efforts
First, and most importantly, write down your goals and then match them to your marketing efforts. Goals will vary, but might include: fundraising, promoting organizational events, or building general awareness of your organization to name a few. If your goals are written down you can use it to examine your marketing efforts and ask the question: “Are the marketing strategies I’m spending time and money on helping me achieve our goals?” This is the start of a marketing plan, which doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, I have always advocated the simpler the better. Just writing down your goals is a huge first step.
Second, get online with a blog… it’ll be better than a website. Everyone knows how important it is for non-profits to build relationships. Large non-profits often seek to hobnob with finance bankers and philanthropists, while small non-profits probably look more to the average citizen in their community; like the retired carpenter who can volunteer a little time for a construction project.
Regardless of whom your nonprofit targets for relationship building, blogs are a great place to start because they make it so easy to share stories about your non-profit’s work. I think this is particularly important in rural areas where distance makes communications more difficult.
But I can hear it already; “We don’t even have a website. Don’t tell me about a blog!” I understand. But you need to understand that blogs are generally inexpensive and easy enough to use that most non-techies can manage them.
Perhaps the key to nonprofit blogging is to get personal and let others know what you are passionate about. Even if your goal is to promote your organization’s events, you can make it personal, so that readers get a feel for you as well as the organization. And if you post regularly - that might mean once a day, once a week, or once a month - people will be more likely to come back to your site and stay connected to what you are doing.
Third, think of Facebook as a place to create a sense of community. Just over a year ago, I would have frowned on any recommendation for a non-profit in a small, rural community to create a Facebook Page because I didn’t see many older rural residents using Facebook. That’s changed dramatically with Baby Boomers making up the fastest growing segment of Facebook users.
Many non-profits have looked to Facebook as a fundraising tool, choosing to develop a strategy around a Facebook “fundraising” application. These tools make it easy for people to donate online. That’s great for some organizations that have an emotional cause that transcends geography and reaches a wide audience. Most non-profits in our small, rural communities, however, are probably focusing fundraising on a smaller group of people who already have a connection to the community.
Instead of asking for donations online, think about how you can use Facebook as a place where people can chat about how your organization is making a difference. “Make meaning before money” is a common phrase used to describe online marketing efforts today, and it definitely applies to small non-profits using Facebook.
When thinking about Facebook, you should also consider the following two recommendations. First, chose either a Facebook page or a blog. I say that only because most small non-profits don’t have time for both. (But if you do chose Facebook, make sure you have a link to your Facebook page on your website.) Second, think of your goals before deciding if and how you are going to use Facebook. Although I suspect you can find a way to use Facebook effectively to meet most any goal, only you can decide that.
Fourth, use YouTube to showcase projects you are working on. Just the other day, I learned of how the Anaheim Ballet has been using videos to showcase their students practice and performances. What a great way for interested parties to see what their work is about. There’s nothing fancy about their efforts, and they are definitely not trying to create a viral video, which can be daunting. It reminded me of the efforts of Café au Play, a nonprofit seeking to create a third place coffee house with a place for children. (I wrote about them about a year ago, and embedded their video below.)
My guess is that most small non-profit can rustle up a volunteer who enjoys doing a little video production.
Fifth, get online and learn what others are doing and what the experts recommend. What I’ve identified above is just a starting list. I tried to keep it short because I understand what it’s like to serve on small town non-profit boards, and I know you don’t have the resources to do everything.
Although I understand life in small rural communities better than most, there are people out there who focus solely on non-profit marketing, and they share some of their knowledge for free. You need to turn to these experts for inspiration. Often what they talk about applies more to large non-profits for whom they hope to consult. But I think innovative small town residents should filter through what they say to find new ideas that can be done by their non-profit.
Some of these experts include:
- Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN)
- Marketing for Nonprofits
- Beth Kanter (nonprofit, social media expert)
There’s no doubt that the economy will create challenges for non-profit organizations, regardless of size. But I hope that the non-profits in our small rural communities will do a better job of creating marketing plans and begin to embrace social media. There’s something in it for everyone.
Photo Credit: Annie Mole - Flickr
Tags: marketing, non profit training, social media
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (
8 )
December 29th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Great post, and very practical. I’ve been preaching the blog over website topic as well.
Where did you source the comment that the baby boomers are the fastest growing market on Facebook?
Thanks.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Greg,
My statement about FB was a generalization intended to let people know that FB is not just for kids anymore. When I was writing I meant to go back to some resources to qualify the statement, but I forgot. Opps. Thanks for catching this. I’ll try to get an update on this sometime today.
Thanks. The goal was being practical for small groups in rural communities. You also caught me being lazy.
Also, I see from your site that you work with non-profits. Feel free to share any recommendations you have.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:38 am
I agree with the blog over web site approach too. I don’t have a lot of small town experience yet, but I’ve blogged and I’ve been involved in nonprofits. My experience was that there was much more and much easier community engagement and awareness for much less effort using the blog.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Cat,
The down side to blogs and other “social web” platforms is that the non-profit loses a little control. That can still be scary, but we all need to learn how to deal with it. The Lost Fort Collins you’ve produced is a perfect example of the postive side of taking that plunge. Good luck in Bismark, and welcome to the Dakotas.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Greg,
Here are a couple recent references to the growth on Facebook:
http://mashable.com/2009/07/07/facebook-users-older/ & http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/12/03/november-data-on-facebook’s-us-growth-by-age-and-gender-young-men-following-the-women/
The first shows that 55 & older age group has the fastest percentage of growth, while the second shows the clear dominance of young people. As I admit earlier, I should have been a little tigher with my language. Hope that clarifies matters.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
[...] Posted on December 30, 2009 by gregallbright The following is an excerpt from, “Rethink your nonprofit marketing efforts“, by Mike Knutson on his blog [...]
December 30th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Thanks Mike. What do you mean the nonprofit loses control? Of its message? But of course, with social media you can’t control what people say about you anyway. Which is more reason for nonprofits to participate.
At the same time, I find most nonprofits could use some coaching at writing effectively to start a conversation. Not prove you’re an expert. Not trumpet your successes. Not plead for support. Just engage in a conversation.
By the way, I really, really enjoy your blog and the issues/ideas you talk about.
December 31st, 2009 at 6:39 am
Downside was probably not the right word to use, at least not for people like you who understand that you can’t control what other have to say. People probably never had as much control over their brand as they thought, but by creating a blog a nonprofit has created a vehicle for issues to surface. As you point, that should be a good thing. But too often people are afraid of holding these conversations online for the whole world to see. They perceive it as a loss of control.
If an organization chooses to participate in the social marketing game, they’d better be ready to deal with this, and that means learning one more thing. For an already swamped leader of a nonprofit, that can be tough to do. That’s probably why they could use the “coaching” you mention.