How are your 2018 nonprofit marketing plans shaping up so far? If you’re anything like me, you probably view each New Year as an opportunity to learn and improve from the prior year in ALL areas – including your marketing strategy. Last year I implemented a couple of new ideas into my own marketing mix. Some things worked well, and I plan to continue using them in 2018. However others didn’t quite pan out the way I’d hoped, so I left those behind. My motto: Fail fast and learn from it.
While many marketing trends from 2017 (e.g., storytelling, influencer marketing, live video streaming, personalization, and fundraising automation) are still relevant and in full swing for 2018, there are some fairly new and interesting opportunities for nonprofit marketers to experiment with as a growth strategy. This year I’m all about trying some new things to spice up my approach to marketing, and if you’re feeling motivated to do the same, here are 4 simple ways to step up your nonprofit marketing game in 2018. C’mon, let’s do this together!
1. Ramp up your content creation efforts. As you continue to tell your nonprofit story in 2018, your commitment to creating and distributing original quality content will go a long way in helping you drive cause awareness, as well as audience engagement. And while you’re generating new content this year, be sure to make good use of the existing content you already have on hand. Repurposing your evergreen content will allow you to build a bigger content inventory, reach new audiences, tap into different digital channels, and boost your SEO rankings.
2. Research artificial intelligence. From messaging chatbots to speech/image recognition to intuitive recommendations, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly helping marketers promote and sell consumer products and services including many we use on a daily basis. Brands like Starbucks, Netflix, Amazon, and Whole Foods, are using AI solutions to enhance customer experiences, curate content, and gain valuable customer insights. Now that AI tools are more affordable and more accessible than ever, nonprofits are starting to take advantage of AI technology to improve fundraising and to engage with their audiences on a deeper level. Charity Water was the first nonprofit to accept donations through a Facebook Messenger chatbot.
3. Get on Instagram if you haven’t already. If your nonprofit’s social media strategy doesn’t include Instagram, you might be missing out. Instagram is growing faster than all other social media platforms in the U.S. According to the most recent stats from Statista, Instagram has more than 800 million monthly users and more than 500 million daily active users. Beyond the massive numbers, Instagram offers cool features like Instagram Stories to help brands engage more effectively with their communities through powerful visual content. Of course you always want to carefully consider whether or not your audience is using a particular social media platform before jumping in with both feet. But with 33% of all Internet users on Instagram, you might at least want to consider dipping a toe in the water this year.
4. Focus on your donor’s journey. Establishing a dedicated online community requires that you manage each donor’s experience with your nonprofit starting with the very first interaction and continuing throughout the entire lifespan of the relationship. It means ensuring that each touch point and engagement along the journey satisfies and encourages the donor to remain a loyal member of your community and invite others to join your cause. If you haven’t created audience personas for your nonprofit, doing so will support your efforts to learn where your audience is located, what appeals to them, and what their needs are during each step of their donor path. Having this knowledge allows you to create personalized content to enhance their experience along their journey.
Which new nonprofit marketing ideas are you considering implementing this year? Please tell us in the comment section. Download our free ebook to create audience personas and generate more support for your nonprofit.