Balancing time and funds: 6 marketing ideas for nonprofits

Effective marketing increases donations and gets your message out there, but for most nonprofits, it’s difficult to spend the time making low-cost ideas work. But, shelling out money when, ideally, you want everything to go back in to your cause, also seems unrealistic. By being creative with your marketing efforts, you can dramatically increase funding, supporters, and visibility, with a net positive win for the people or cause you’re trying to help.

Add a wishlist to your social media channels

There are three types of givers: those who like to send cash, those who like to volunteer, and those who like to send physical products. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting about that last group; creating an Amazon wishlist and pinning it to your Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages gives people an easy way to help out.

Take advantage of banners

Get your donors and fans to market for you by creating a banner or profile overlay they can add to their social media. There are several free programs you can use to create one; then, just share it with your followers, and they’ll do the rest. Friends and family will quickly get curious as to what the new addition to their neighbor’s or niece’s profile means.

Put your presentations to good use

You probably have plenty of slideshows saved on your nonprofit’s server that have been used to woo and reel in donors. This is shareable content that’s just languishing around until your next presentation. Add these to SlideShare and then link to it on your website and social media accounts, and you’re repurposing old content to engage in a new content marketing campaign.

Use your stories

People don’t want to just hear about who they’re helping by donating time, money, or goods – they want to see it. Tell the stories of the people you’re helping to improve your reputation and give potential donors a real example of where their time and money are going. Setting a schedule for this, like sharing your favorite story once a week or highlighting a story monthly, keeps followers interested and avoids looking like you’re constantly patting yourself on the back.

Team up with local for-profit businesses and organizations

You don’t have the same marketing budget as a for-profit does, but you can appeal to those owners’ sense of charity. Work with business owners to set up donate buttons on their sites or social media pages, or donation buckets in stores to encourage their customers to contribute. For the business, it improves their brand’s relatability and strengthens the trust their customers have in them; for you, it increases donations and gets the word out about your organization at little to no cost.

Ask Google for help

Google AdWords works wonders for marketing, but it can also be costly. However, the tech giant runs a program called the Google Grant that gives nonprofits $10k per month in Google advertising. There is an application process and eligibility requirements, but it opens up a world of doors if you’re approved.

Remember – your marketing efforts don’t have to be flashy, and they don’t have to be a negative draw on your ability to help. Get your community and your followers involved for heartfelt marketing efforts that get results.

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