Marketing Strategies for Nonprofits
Marketing is an essential component of business because it’s the vehicle that drives recognition and awareness. Without concrete marketing strategies in place to advertise brands and services, target audiences may not be aware of their existence. In traditional marketing, this awareness is used as leverage to optimize corporate growth and profitability.
Nonprofit marketing works a little differently. The purpose is to create awareness of an organization’s brand or services, but the endgame is not to make money for itself. Rather, nonprofit marketing is a tool that helps an organization move toward its mission of promoting actions for the greater good.
If you’re looking to use your marketing knowledge and skills in a unique fashion, working for a nonprofit may be an excellent fit. Yet because nonprofit marketing is different from traditional for-profit marketing, the marketing strategies for nonprofits operate a little differently. It’s important to understand these differences and how they ultimately relate to a nonprofit’s mission-centric goals.
What Is Nonprofit Marketing?
Nonprofit marketing is a strategic concept designed to promote awareness of a nonprofit organization and the causes it supports. It primarily focuses its energies on spreading the word about the organization’s mission and goals, much like how a for-profit marketing strategy would concentrate on promoting a product or service. It will use similar channels to get this message out, from traditional media channels to social media. Typically, nonprofits are associated with a charity, religious organization, private foundation, or political organization.
Because nonprofits do not operate to generate profitability, their marketing strategies can involve fundraising campaigns designed to encourage people to donate money as a means to support the organization and contribute to its mission. Nonprofit marketing professionals will strive to develop highly targeted strategies that engage targeted individuals that would be most likely to support the organization and its cause.
Because nonprofit marketing’s role is building support for organizations associated with a specific cause, the role can provide a person with a unique sense of satisfaction. This is particularly the case if they work with a nonprofit organization with a mission that aligns with their own interests. Designing a successful nonprofit marketing strategy can be even more gratifying, as greater awareness and support provide the nonprofit greater leverage to carry out its mission and reach its goals.
Nonprofit Marketing vs. For-Profit Marketing
Both nonprofit and for-profit marketing strive toward creating awareness. While this is the most fundamental goal, there are other key elements that make nonprofit marketing and for-profit marketing two distinct entities.
Donations
For instance, part of nonprofit marketing’s mission involves the establishment of recurring donations through donor membership. In a sense, these campaigns are similar to a for-profit organization trying to establish brand loyalty. At the same time, these recurring donations reduce the need to actively fundraise since the money needed to support the cause will come in on a recurring basis. This can also increase the time and energy required to build awareness of the cause.
Donation strategies can involve arranging donor contributions that occur at a fixed time in the calendar. They can also include special events that focus on recruiting new donors, such as giving programs or pledge drives. These strategies typically involve a supplemental activity that encourages donor engagement, such as a social media challenge, a matching gift drive, or a physical activity like a walk-a-thon.
Volunteers
Nonprofit marketing also involves the recruitment of volunteers to help carry out the nonprofit’s mission. Volunteers empower nonprofits in a host of ways, from expanding the reach of the nonprofit’s message through advocacy to bringing new and unique knowledge and skills to an organization. Building marketing strategies that recruit volunteers can also help boost a nonprofit’s efforts financially, as volunteers tend to be better donors than non-volunteers.
The scope of volunteers needed by a nonprofit varies by organization. Some nonprofits may need to recruit volunteers on a daily basis in order to function consistently, while others may need to seek out volunteers periodically to help out with specific large-scale events, such as a charity golf tournament, dance competition, auction, festival, gala, or food drive. An effective volunteer strategy doesn’t stop at merely recruiting people. Marketing professionals must help ensure all volunteers are treated with the same level of respect and direction as paid employees. Failure to achieve this may have a negative impact on a volunteer’s interest in contributing in the future.
Nonprofit Marketing Strategies at a Glance
There are several marketing strategies for nonprofits that professionals can consider to achieve success. These strategies may look similar to strategies deployed by for-profit marketing campaigns, although nonprofits may have to execute the strategies with a smaller, more nimble marketing team. Common strategies include:
- Email marketing
- Event marketing
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Digital marketing
- Public speaking
Whatever style of marketing strategy an organization deploys, there are a few tactics nonprofit marketing professionals can implement to achieve an optimal level of success.
Developing a Campaign
Some of the key steps toward designing a successful campaign happen before the campaign can be built. These steps include:
- Defining the goals of the marketing campaign
- Defining the specific audience
- Building key messages that resonate throughout the campaign
These steps will help an individual determine the approach that they’ll take to execute a specific strategy, which can be critical. A campaign that aims to recruit volunteers for an upcoming event may be different from a strategy to encourage recurring donors to renew their membership.
Creating a Marketing Strategy
Once the goals, audience, and messaging have been defined, it’s important to build out how the campaign is going to look. This involves how you will disseminate the information associated with the campaign as well as some of the other elements surrounding it. These elements would include timing, budget, and internal delegation.
Post-Strategy Analysis
A nonprofit marketing strategy does not necessarily end when the campaign finishes. It’s essential to analyze as much data as possible to gauge the effectiveness of the campaign. This can be done by analyzing performance indicators, which often correspond to the specific type of marketing campaign carried out. For instance, the success of an email marketing campaign can be measured by the number of emails opened, and a successful social media campaign can be measured by the number of shares and comments generated. This analysis can provide crucial feedback on what worked—and what did not work—during a campaign.
Make a Difference for a Noble Cause
While there are many marketing strategies for nonprofits to consider, there is truly just one goal: to raise awareness of something that benefits the greater good. This inherently makes the role of the nonprofit marketing professional an important profession to consider. Because of the goals that can be achieved through a successful nonprofit marketing campaign, it also makes it a satisfying one.
The Marketing Strategy Certificate offered by Suffolk University’s Center for Continuing & Professional Education can help prepare you to take on this dynamic profession with confidence. Our online program gives you the flexibility to further cultivate your knowledge and skills on your schedule, giving you the opportunity to pursue your next career step on your terms.
Learn how we can help you make your next leap forward.
Sources:
Constant Contact, “What Is Nonprofit Marketing?”
Forbes, “32 Types of Nonprofits: The Complete List”
Hubspot, “The Ultimate Guide to Nonprofit Marketing in 2023”
Indeed, “Why Is Marketing Important In Business?”
Investopedia, “What Is Nonprofit Marketing? Definition, How It Works, and Types”
National Council of Nonprofits, Volunteers
Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, “Effective Pledge Fundraising Ideas to Try in 2023”