How Nonprofits Can Expand Into New Marketing Channels Without Wasting Resources

Nonprofits regularly rely on email, direct mail and social media, but times are changing — as are your audiences' habits. Your supporters are experimenting with new platforms while you're giving it your all, trying to work with an outdated strategy.

If this sounds familiar, consider expanding into new marketing channels. The key is not to chase trends for their own sake, but to focus on channels that connect directly to your mission and audience.

That shift requires rethinking how donor engagement actually happens today and recognizing that different supporter segments prefer different touch points. Here's how to approach channel expansion without spreading yourself too thin or wasting precious resources on vanity metrics.

1. Ground Channel Expansion in Mission-Driven Goals

Before you create a new TikTok account or launch a podcast, define what success actually looks like given your nonprofit’s unique context. For each nonprofit channel, ensure your nonprofit:

• Guarantees mission alignment. Clearly state the mission outcome, the channel's role in achieving it, and the primary key performance indicator you'll track.
• Use specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals to clearly identify objectives. For instance, instead of "increase awareness through short-form video," use "increase young donor email opt-ins by 20% in 90 days through short-form videos featuring program impact stories."
• Conduct a resource audit before committing. This is especially important if you lack a dedicated marketing team or budget. Evaluate staff bandwidth, approval workflows, content-creation capacity, and long-term sustainability. A channel that requires daily posts when you can only commit to weekly content is more likely to fail, regardless of platform potential.
• Establish ethical and accessibility guidelines upfront. Every channel should include captioning, alt text, tone guidelines, and inclusion practices from day one. 

The question shouldn’t be whether you can launch a new channel — it should be whether you can maintain a consistent, high-quality presence that serves your mission and audience. This planning process helps you gauge your ability to do just that.

2. Let Audience Research Drive Your Channel Selection

Understanding your audience should guide every marketing decision, especially channel expansion. Don’t guess where your supporters spend time online — use advanced donor profiling and audience modeling to highlight unexpected opportunities. Get started by:

• Using nonprofit benchmarks to inform decisions about generational platform habits. Keep in mind that your specific audience might behave differently from broad industry trends. For example, a youth-focused nonprofit might find its supporters prefer Facebook groups over Instagram, despite general assumptions about social media preferences.
• Building a decision matrix that evaluates channel alignment across key factors. These include audience presence, content format fit, discoverability potential and moderation needs.
• Considering underserved or low-bandwidth audiences. Explore alternative channels like WhatsApp groups for community organizing, SMS for time-sensitive updates or even local radio partnerships to reach supporters who aren't active online.

Watch out for preconceived assumptions. The most effective new channel may not be the obvious one. Let the data — not personal bias — guide your next move. 

3. Start with a Lean Pilot Before Scaling

Run a focused, time-bound pilot (six to eight weeks) on your selected channel using one consistent content format. This lets you test audience response, content creation workflows and resource requirements without major investment.

Repurpose Existing Assets

Conserve resources by transforming existing content rather than starting from scratch. For instance, turn annual report statistics into an infographic series, program stories into podcast interviews and event imagery into short-form videos.

Build Accessibility from Day No. 1

Prioritize accessibility from the start. Captions, alt text and clear language should be standard practice to ensure inclusive habits that serve supporters with different accessibility needs.

Define Success Metrics

Establish both leading indicators (reach, engagement, content performance) and lagging indicators (donations, email sign-ups, volunteer applications) to measure pilot success. Track metrics that connect to your original goals, not just platform-specific metrics.

Set Clear Decision Criteria

Determine upfront what results will justify channel expansion, modification or discontinuation. This helps prevent attachment to channels that aren't effectively serving your mission.

Document Everything

Record content creation time, approval workflows, engagement patterns, technical challenges and resource requirements. This documentation becomes crucial for scaling decisions, collecting data and refining processes before full implementation.

Test and Evaluate

When the pilot is over, evaluate results honestly against your original goals. Understanding how your content performs naturally provides a better foundation for future decisions. 

Moving Forward Strategically

New channels can expand your impact — but only when they’re chosen and managed with intention. Start small by piloting one channel this quarter. Define your goals at the outset, track results carefully and be ready to refine or walk away based on the data.

By staying nimble, you’ll protect your resources, strengthen supporter relationships and keep your organization relevant in a constantly shifting digital landscape. The goal isn’t to be everywhere — it’s to show up where your supporters are most willing to connect with your mission.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.