You are passionate about your nonprofit’s mission; but, are you struggling to put that passion into words? In a world inundated with information, it can be challenging to capture the attention and support your cause deserves. Despite your hard work, your message might be getting lost in the noise. To overcome this, you must create better marketing content.
Effective content marketing connects you with people who feel passionate about your mission, turning passive supporters into active advocates. That means you can grow awareness, raise more money, and achieve greater mission outcomes.
If you’ve been struggling to create inspiring content, you’ve come to the right place! This article will share actionable digital marketing advice, ensuring your nonprofit’s message cuts through the noise. In no time, you’ll create content that not only informs but also motivates readers to take action.
Know Your Audience.
Before you can create better marketing content, you need to consider who will read it. This allows you to create materials relevant to their interests, increasing the likelihood of engagement. Different segments of your audience may respond better to different tones and messages. Plus, knowing which platforms your audience prefers allows you to focus on the most effective channels.
Here’s how to better understand your audience:
- Conduct audience research. Collect supporter data via forms, surveys, and marketing platforms. Then, review your audience’s demographics, giving history, communication preferences, and interests within your CRM. Understanding who typically interacts with your cause will help tailor your content.
- Create audience personas. Develop detailed personas representing key audience segments, like volunteers, beneficiaries, major donors, and recurring donors. These personas should include information such as age, gender, job title, and giving motivations. Use these personas to determine which types of content will be most useful and compelling.
Ultimately, a deep knowledge of your audience lays the foundation for a successful content marketing strategy, helping your nonprofit build stronger connections and create impactful messages.
Share Impact Stories.
Add a human element to your content by sharing real-life stories of those who have benefitted from your organization’s work. You can also share behind-the-scenes stories of your staff and volunteers to humanize your organization. Highlight their dedication, skills, and experiences to build trust and connect with your audience.
eCardWidget’s donor retention guide explains that sharing stories filled with concrete and tangible details helps people envision their impact and understand why their support matters. Strengthen your case for support with quotes, photos, and videos that bring these stories to life and demonstrate your nonprofit’s tangible impact. Just be sure to obtain permission to use those types of resources for promotional purposes.
You can also present these stories in different formats, such as blog posts, social media updates, videos, and podcasts. This approach helps cater to varying content consumption preferences and forge deeper connections with supporters.
Develop A Strong Brand.
Create brand standards to develop a recognizable, trustworthy identity that resonates with your audience. Defining your brand allows you to be consistent across all your content. It can also differentiate your nonprofit from others, enhancing its credibility and appeal to supporters.
To build a strong brand, focus on these key elements:
- Brand Voice: Establish an authentic brand voice that reflects your organization’s values and mission. Will you be uplifting and motivational, friendly and approachable, or authoritative and knowledgeable? After picking your desired tone, use this voice across all content to create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity.
- Consistent Visuals: Create visual guidelines that include color schemes, fonts, and logo usage. Ensure all your content, from social media graphics to newsletters, adheres to these guidelines for a unified look.
- Compelling Brand Story: Craft a narrative that explains your organization’s history, mission, and impact. Share this story throughout your content to reinforce your brand and inspire your audience.
Document all of these details in an official brand guide. Clear standards will ensure everyone in your organization produces content that aligns with your established voice, visuals, and narrative.
Optimize Your Content For Search Engines.
Your nonprofit’s website is one of the best places to post your content. It’s where most prospects learn about your mission and where long-term supporters go to explore your latest projects.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of enhancing your nonprofit website’s visibility on search engines through organic search results. Optimizing content for SEO is important because it makes your website more visible on search engines like Google, making it easier for beneficiaries, donors, and volunteers to find your mission.
While search engines don’t outright disclose the factors they use to rank content, SEO experts have identified common elements that influence a site’s rankings, such as keyword usage, backlinks, site speed, and mobile-friendliness.
Getting Attention’s nonprofit marketing guide explains that you can optimize your content by following best practices, such as:
- Focus each page on a topic related to your cause and pick relevant keywords for each one.
- Comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to make your content accessible to users with impairments.
- Use call-to-action buttons to drive users to your popular landing pages.
- Prioritize user experience (UX) by making important content easy to find, leveraging a mobile-friendly content management system (CMS), eliminating broken links, and ensuring your website is easy to use.
- Make sure tools, like your donation form and CMS, are updated and function properly.
You can use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, or Moz to pick your keywords and research what content will best target each term. Then, analyze how well your web pages are performing. Above all, the best piece of advice we can give is to create high-quality content that your audience will find useful.
Promote Your Content.
When you’ve spent the time to create better marketing content filled with powerful impact stories and branding, you’ll naturally want people to read it. If optimized for certain keywords, your content may rank organically, but there’s more you can do to deliver your content to people.
Here are some channels you can use to promote your content:
Google Ads
Google Ads can help your nonprofit reach a larger audience by promoting content through targeted advertising. You’ll spend money to appear at the top of search results for relevant keywords, which helps attract users actively searching for information related to your mission.
Here’s an example of a Google Ad that promotes ACT International’s educational resources related to starting a ministry:
Your nonprofit may even be eligible for the Google Ad Grants program, which allows you to advertise your content for free. If eligible, you can receive up to $10,000 in Google Ads credits each month, helping you get your content in front of supporters.
Just like with SEO, you’ll want to research keywords to determine what your donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries are searching for on Google. Then, bid on those keywords. From here, monitor your performance. Pay attention to conversions, which indicate that your content is reaching the right people and inspiring them to donate or take another action.
Social Media
Social media platforms are powerful tools for promoting your nonprofit’s content. To increase visibility, share your blog posts, videos, and other content on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Use engaging captions, relevant hashtags, and eye-catching visuals to capture attention and encourage sharing. The best part about this channel is you can foster a sense of community by responding to comments.
Email marketing can promote your content directly to your audience. Send regular newsletters featuring your latest blog posts, updates, and other content to keep subscribers informed and engaged.
Be sure to segment your list based on interests to ensure the content is relevant and compelling to recipients. Also, include clear calls to action to encourage readers to visit your website, donate, or get involved once they’re inspired by the content you share.
Start to Create Better Marketing Content For Your Nonprofit
Effective content marketing will drive awareness, engagement, and support. To begin, work with your team to develop a content marketing plan that outlines your goals, target audience, and key messages. Then, start creating and sharing marketing content. With a thoughtful distribution strategy, you will amplify your nonprofit’s impact and build a community of loyal supporters quickly.