Content Marketing for Nonprofits: The Easy Way!

When it comes to content marketing, nonprofits have an advantage over companies. Meaning, content marketing is the sharing of your materials online, but not in a way that explicitly promotes your work. So, nonprofits can spend a lot of time sharing their stories, capturing emotions and interesting the public in the cause.

Many of the blogs, videos and social networking posts you put out should be focused on the ideas of content marketing for nonprofits. And, if you consistently work those ideas, you'll only increase the support of prospects and current donors.

Content marketing for nonprofits makes a lot of sense. Hubspot reported a few of the following metrics for the success of a content marketing program for organizations:

• In content marketing, the use of video on landing pages increases conversations by 86%.
• On mobile, Google drives more than 96% of the traffic. And that means that you should SEO-optimize your content where possible for content marketing.
• By 2022, 50% of searches will be done by voice search. And that requires different types of optimization for SEO.

Nonprofit Content Marketing With Ease

Nonprofit content marketing does not have to be complicated. In fact, with a little thought, it can be easy. But what is important is consistency. While there are plenty of tools you can use to ensure that you regularly share content, you must use it and share it consistently. So, with that said, let's explore some of the easiest ways to ensure you have a robust content marketing plan.

1. Content Marketing for Nonprofits Begins With Emotion

Even before you create your content marketing plan, you need to understand that the best content marketing has human emotion at its core. And nonprofits have a lot of compelling stories to share.

Although, we always want to be sensitive and respectful of people served, sharing some of the stories is essential. Remember, people make most of their buying or donation decisions based on emotion. They then rationalize it with the facts. So, curate stories of your work, and back them up with the facts.

2. Develop a Plan for Your Online Sharing

Unfortunately, you do have to think through nonprofit content marketing. But, again, it doesn't have to take a long time. In fact, the Content Marketing Institute shared a post about a 30-minute hack to improve content marketing for nonprofit groups.

By checking out the article, you'll understand how to create an excellent plan. It will help you think through the "how and why" of your content marketing. Also, it will help you make the connection between your marketing and fundraising efforts.

And, finally, you'll learn how to communicate with your target audience effectively — all in just 30 minutes.

3. Email Is Still Vital for Content Marketing

Sure, in the digital world, you have to meet your prospects and donors wherever they are in that space. As a result, you have to use multiple social media platforms, texting, chat and other communication channels. But don't forget email. It still works!

A straightforward thing you can do to improve the performance of your nonprofit content marketing is to focus on it a bit. For instance, help your acquisition of donors by having a sign-up form and invite visitors to provide you with their names and emails. And, once you have them, reach out to them with a planned email effort, which includes updates and newsletters of your work.

4. Content Marketing for Nonprofits Requires Segmentation

Think about this for a moment. Today's donor spends a lot of time in the digital world. And everything they do gets much more targeted to their interests because of artificial intelligence and algorithms.

From the shows they watch on Netflix, to their feeds on their Facebook, algorithms work to give people the content they want. That's personalized service. Because people are used to living with personalization, it's vital to segment and target your audience.

Do not make the mistake of treating everyone the same. Thankfully, there are platforms, such as boodleAI or Gravyty, that help nonprofits segment and target audiences with the use of artificial intelligence.

5. Use Visual Content

Finally, one of the most important things for content marketing for nonprofits is to use visuals — plenty of them! But it's not just using it; it has to be consistent and compelling with your brand. However, cut the copy short and move more to visuals.

Did you know that the human brain processes visual images 60,000 times faster than text? And, also, 90% of the information the brain processes is visual? That alone should convey to you the importance of visual imagery in your content marketing.

In conclusion, any nonprofit can master content marketing. And, by doing so, you will increase awareness for your group, and, of course, fundraising dollars. Even starting with a few of the ideas above will get you moving toward having a more effective content marketing strategy.