Many businesses have uncovered the power of digital marketing. They understand just how vital a solid online presence is to their success and how your specialized skills as a digital marketer help them get there.
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Fortunately, your digital marketing magic isn’t just reserved for for-profit businesses. Nonprofit organizations also reap huge benefits from digital marketing. Many non-profits today wouldn’t be as successful as they are without a digital transformation. And they’re thanking digital marketers heavily for that.
Read on for five ways digital marketing helps non-profits and how you can implement these things if you’re working with one.
Connect with More People
We will get to how digital marketing aids your nonprofit’s fundraising efforts. But first, let’s talk about how marketing in digital spaces helps you connect with more people in general.
Often, nonprofit organizations rely heavily on face-to-face interactions and offline marketing to raise awareness about their causes. But this limits them to only reaching those in their location or surrounding areas. Digital marketing helps nonprofits gain attention around the globe.
Not only are you able to connect with more potential donors, but you can also unite with individuals who can be of excellent service to your organization. For example, not-for-profit accountants can be extremely helpful to your organization’s finances. They perform the duties of traditional accountants and specialize in things like the tax-exempt status of nonprofits and drawing up financial reports like a statement of financial position.
So, to connect with more people, first, identify the digital platforms best for your nonprofit organization’s marketing efforts. The best way to do this is to learn more about your target audience and see which platforms they’re engaged on the most.
Social media will most likely be one of the digital platforms you can leverage for your nonprofit.
Spread the Word on Social Media
When you etch your place in the nonprofit world digitally, you get to know which online platforms your audience spends most of their time on. And, naturally, one or two social media platforms will make the cut.
Social media can help you enhance how visible your nonprofit is online. Additionally, you’re required to break down complex information about your nonprofit into educational, entertaining, easy to consume content that resonates with your target audience. And that, in turn, helps build the trust for your charity you need to convert them to donors.
So, spread the word about the next campaign, fundraiser, event, and nonprofit in general on social media. Post high-quality images and videos that depict what your nonprofit is all about. Use lives to answer questions about your nonprofit and stories for behind-the-scenes content. And don’t forget to ensure your supporters can share your content on their pages as well.
In addition to social media, you can use email to nurture current and potential donors.
Engage Donors Through Email
Email marketing is still one of the best digital marketing opportunities for nonprofit organizations, especially when it comes to nurturing current and potential donors.
Most of your supporters and potential donors use email every day. You can use email marketing to let people know about the next event, give them an update on fundraising goals, share who is involved, and so forth. You give people all the information they need to make an informed decision about supporting your nonprofit.
So, consider creating an email newsletter for any nonprofit organization that enlists your digital marketing help. Experts say, “The newsletter is a particularly useful email because it’s not asking for anything: it’s all about building your audience.” So, use your email newsletter as a way to share exclusive information about your nonprofit. Use lots of pictures, videos, easy-to-read content, and clear calls to action.
Reaching a wider audience, spreading the word on social media, and engaging with donors via email all contribute to hosting a successful virtual fundraiser, which is another way digital marketing helps nonprofits.
Host a Virtual Fundraiser
One of the most notable ways digital marketing helps non-profits is through online fundraising. Because there are so many options for fundraising online, hosting a successful virtual fundraiser is dependent on how well you market it. And what better way to show you can rock a virtual event than first rocking how you market to them digitally?
If you don’t have avenues to connect with your audience digitally, chances are your virtual fundraiser won’t garner the support it needs to be successful. So, to host a virtual fundraiser, follow these steps:
- Decide which online fundraising method is best for your virtual fundraiser. This could be a text-to-give donation service or a crowdfunding platform.
- Create a simple donation process.
- Identify your target audience and ensure you’re only spending your energy trying to connect with these high-value leads.
- Market, market, market. Ensure you’re using language across all your digital platforms to establish an emotional connection with your audience and encourage them to support your nonprofit.
- Meaningfully engage with your target audience through high-quality images, videos, and other content that updates them on the campaign and your organization’s mission. Build trust with your audience through transparency about where the money is going and how it’s supporting your cause.
Additionally, you also give people an opportunity to contribute to your nonprofit in other ways besides monetary through digital marketing. And that brings us to our last section.
Give People an Opportunity to Contribute Other Than Monetarily
The beauty of the digital world is that there are so many ways to leverage it to get your nonprofit the support it needs. There have always been people who want to help a nonprofit organization but can’t monetarily. Unfortunately, many nonprofits have yet to use digital marketing to present opportunities for people to support them in other ways.
You have a chance to ensure any nonprofit you work with doesn’t miss out on the power of various forms of support.
So first, ensure you’re creating content that is easily shareable on various social media platforms, via email, live streams, and so forth. Also, ensure your mission is memorable so that it’s more likely to be talked about via word-of-mouth marketing. Then, consistently ask supporters to share and repost your content. As a result, your nonprofit will be talked about in circles that you otherwise wouldn’t have targeted.
Ultimately, digital marketing can better your nonprofit through virtual fundraising and just as much in the other ways we described above.
Conclusion
Digital marketing places a nonprofit right in the thick of the online spaces people use every day. Potential givers, current donors, volunteers, future employees, and other contributors can all be connected through digital platforms. You also have an opportunity to spread the word even further on social media, engage donors through email, and host a virtual fundraiser. But most importantly, digital marketing allows others an opportunity to support your nonprofit even if they can’t monetarily.