Regardless of industry, online audiences are constantly in search of meaningful content—content that’s deemed relevant, engaging, educational, entertaining, and inspiring. And while it’s perfectly acceptable for nonprofits to serve up useful content from secondary sources, let’s also recognize that no content will impact your community more than fresh, original content that speaks directly to your cause and the needs of your constituents.
Original content isn’t just for big for-profit brands with supple budgets. Understandably, original content creation can sometimes feel like a tall order for organizations with limited budgets and resources. But nonprofits should resist bowing down to intimidation when it comes to creating content that is unique to their brand and cause. Below are 3 reasons why your nonprofit should create original content for your audience.
- Generate brand & cause awareness: Original content offers your nonprofit a tremendous opportunity to reinforce brand awareness and shape public perception for both your brand and cause. Through a variety of digital platforms and content formats (e.g., website, social media, video, photography, blog, infographic, newsletter, etc.), you can create valuable content that allows you to tell your nonprofit’s story in a way that connects with your audience.
- Establish credibility: If your nonprofit is among “the” leading authorities in your cause area, wouldn’t it be great to share your depth of knowledge with new constituents, prospective donors, volunteers, and cause influencers? As your nonprofit begins to produce and distribute original content on a consistent basis, it’s only a matter of time before you see positive gains in thought leadership, trust, and influence within your community.
- Increase website traffic & search ranking: Assuming prospect generation is a goal for your nonprofit, original content can assist in your efforts to drive community growth and loyalty. Including inbound links within your content will automatically drive prospects back to your website where you can offer additional relevant content as well as incentives to join your cause. Higher search ranking can also be a byproduct of original content if you make SEO and keyword research a part of your content strategy.
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