Creating a nonprofit marketing plan for fundraising can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Today, we will outline the steps you need to take to create an effective marketing plan that will help you reach your fundraising goals. We will also discuss some of the challenges that nonprofits face when it comes to marketing and fundraising. Let’s get started!
Perform an Audit
Before anything else, you need to take a step back and assess your current situation. This means conducting an audit of your marketing efforts to date. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What marketing activities have we undertaken?
- What has been our most successful marketing activity?
- Who is our target audience?
- What are our key messaging points?
- What works and what doesn’t work?
Whether you plan to work with charity fundraising consultants or go it alone, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your current marketing strategy. This will help you identify any areas that need improvement and make sure you’re on the right page.
Set Targets
What do you want to achieve? This might sound like a simple question but it’s important to have a realistic and achievable goal in mind. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, or generate more donations?
Once you know what your goal is, you can start to think about how you’re going to achieve it. This might involve creating a new marketing campaign, revamping your website, or developing a social media strategy. When setting goals, make sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-specific (SMART).
Focus on Staying Relevant
In 2022, attention spans will continue to shrink and people will consume content in different ways than they do now. As a result, your nonprofit marketing plan must be focused on staying relevant. This means creating content that is interesting and engaging and making sure it’s distributed in the right places.
It also means being open to new ideas and trying new things. For example, if you’ve never used Snapchat before, 2022 might be the year to give it a try. The same goes for new platforms like TikTok; you never know where your next donor might be coming from, so it’s important to embrace different channels this year.
Resonate with Your Audience
Regardless of what content you produce or where you share it, one thing is always true: your nonprofit marketing must resonate with your audience. Think about who you’re trying to reach and what kind of messaging will speak to them.
For example, if you’re raising money for animal shelters, your messaging will be very different than if you’re trying to get people to sign up for a political campaign. Always keep your target audience in mind and craft your content accordingly. If you can get your audience to feel something, they will engage with your campaign and potentially even donate.
So long as you follow this advice and choose the right platforms (in other words, where your audience congregates), you have a chance to succeed. If you want to work with a specialist, research the fundraising consultant fee structure and choose one that matches your goals.