If you work for a nonprofit, I’m betting you have a limited budget and staff but still need to get the word out about your mission and activities. I have good news! Free strategies can help you achieve your goal. Here are three to get you started:
Find Your “Sweet Spot”
The “sweet spot” is the overlap of your competition’s weaknesses, the customers’ interests and desires, and your company’s strengths and opportunities. This market position guides messaging, message placement and target audiences. Finding your nonprofit’s sweet spot will make you more efficient because you’ll be targeting the right people at the right time using the right vehicles.
Get on Social Media
Developing or enhancing your social media strategy should be at the top of your to-do list. The first step is to know the social channels your audiences frequent. Pick one, complete your business profile and develop a schedule for posting. At minimum, you should consider posting one quality message per day. Don’t worry, tools like HootSuite can help you schedule posts months in advance.
Leverage Google’s Tools
Google Analytics is a free tool that provides a wealth of information about how someone arrives at your website (social media, organic search, advertising, another website), the demographics of who is visiting your site, and their behavior on your site (i.e., what pages they are visiting, how long they stay on the site, if they download or sign up for something) Use this information for more efficient targeting and more specific messaging. Learn more at analytics.google.com. Additionally, Google AdWords Grants provide grants for nonprofits up to $10,000 per month in online advertising. More information can be found at https://www.google.com/grants.
To learn more, consider attend Marketing Planning, PR Bootcamp, Intro to Social Media or Advanced Social Media at the Manufacturer & Business Association. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/MarketingClassesMBA.
Meghan Waskiewicz is an instructor at the Manufacturer & Business Association and partner at the Waskey Group. She has worked in the areas of marketing, communication and leadership within a variety of industries including health care, government, politics and education.
