5 Brilliant Nonprofit Marketing Ideas Your Organization Is Not Doing

Never before has marketing been more necessary. There was a time way back when, when marketing was straightforward. For example, you printed letters, paid for advertising in a magazine or attended an event. Now you can do all of those things, but you also have to make sure you're engaging on social media platforms.

Gone are the days when you drove the marketing discussion. In today's environment, you have to be ready for public engagement with prospects, donors and, yes, even trolls, who will comment for better or worse. So, with all of those things in mind, I've got five brilliant marketing ideas that you want to consider for your group.

As you know, we're entering into the season of giving. Giving Tuesday is right around the corner, so let's explore some of the top marketing ideas you can do — today — to make sure you have the most successful fundraising season!

The Top Brilliant Marketing Idea

Our team always seeks to think about prospects, and this should be your top marketing idea. You need donors to support your cause, but before they contribute, they are prospects. In other words, you have to think about your prospects as much as you do about your current donors! Meaning, you've got to meet your prospects wherever they are. So what that means is that you must have a multichannel strategy. Therefore, you have to attend conferences and events, work on social media daily and keep a careful eye as to how to reach your target prospects.

Optimizing Your Content Is a Must

We live in a digital world, and optimizing content is absolute. As an example, let's say you developed an excellent digital book about your mission and cause. You post it on social media, a unique landing page and your website. But if your website, landing page, or keywords on social media are not optimized, few people will see it.

Therefore, another brilliant marketing idea you must do is to optimize all of your digital content. Learn about search engine optimization (SEO). In fact, everyone on your marketing and fundraising teams should train on SEO.

Clean Data Is Definitely the Way to Go

You wouldn't think that clean data is a remarkable marketing idea, but it is. Here's the short of it. The adage is true: garbage in, garbage out. In fact, if you don't consistently audit and ensure that your data is clean, you can harm your marketing efforts. Marketing today is all about information, as well as telling your fundraising story well.

But if your data is skewing things because it's not accurate, then your marketing efforts can target the wrong audience or marketing channels. So, make it a point to treat data in your nonprofit with priority. Make sure there are checks and audits regularly.

Use Content Marketing to Promote Your Cause

For whatever it's worth, one of the smartest marketing ideas you can execute is content marketing. As I've been saying in this article, we work and live in a digital world. Data is everything, but so is information.

One of the best things you can do to keep people coming back to you is showing you're the expert for your mission. Content marketing should be a part of your overall strategy. For instance, a few ideas you can use would be to hold virtual events, put out free ebooks or develop a podcast. Whatever you do, think about how to continually provide your supporters and the public with free, relevant and engaging content.

The Most Strategic Brilliant Idea

Finally, one of the best marketing ideas you can implement is to create partnerships. Good partnerships can have long-lasting benefits for your nonprofit. For example, think about aligning with like-minded charities and other groups putting out content. Then, figure out how you can both market and promote your groups. For instance, you can livestream a joint event. Or you can publish valuable content for your supporters.

When you partner with other brands, you leverage and increase the visibility of your own. And you also send a message to your prospects and supporters that you explore opportunities for collaboration. Donors and the public want nonprofits to collaborate with others in the community.

In sum, if you follow these marketing ideas consistently, you'll improve your marketing and fundraising performances. All of these ideas are things you can start doing today.