In modern conditions, marketing plays an important role in the development of various companies. Now the sector of non-profit organizations is actively developing, the purpose of which is not to make a profit. Marketing of non-profit companies has social and economic significance, because it helps to improve the efficiency of solving the problems of society.
Non-profit organizations act as implementers of social projects and programs. Therefore, the marketing of non-profit organizations is aimed at solving social problems and problems of the consumer and at social institutions that identify their goals with the goals of non-profit organizations.
Features of marketing activities of non-profit organizations:
- Focus on promoting the organization and its product
- A marketing strategy is developed to promote the non-profit organization and at the same time attract the necessary resources to fulfil its goals
- Marketing goals do not deviate from the goals of the organization
- Marketing management deals directly with the management of the organization
- Nonprofit marketing operates in a disadvantageous area of the economy
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What promotion channels are suitable for non-profits?
A non-profit organization needs a comprehensive promotion strategy that includes working with social networks, websites, media and video content, as well as email newsletters. An integrated approach allows you to develop in several directions at once and rationally distribute efforts.
PR in the media
PR is one of the main tools for building a reputation. A PR strategy involves an integrated approach to working with the image of a non-profit organization. It includes a number of tools that are selected individually for each project. The result of implementing a PR strategy is a natural influx of new customers. Patrons and sponsors also prefer to cooperate only with trusted organizations and foundations.
An important advantage of a PR campaign is a long-term result. If a reputation is built correctly, it will attract clients and sponsors for a long time, even with minimal support.
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Social networks
Social media differ greatly in terms of audience and post types. Different social networks are better suited for different nonprofits.
Instagram is a platform with a young, predominantly female audience. The main format is colorful photos and short videos. It is suitable for projects related to vivid visuals. For example, with art or culture. For other projects, Instagram can become an additional platform for increasing awareness and improving reputation.
If you have several related projects, then it makes sense to create separate pages for each of them. This way, users will only receive information they are interested in.
Facebook’s promotion is similar to Instagram promotion. The main difference between these social networks is the audience. On Facebook, it’s more mature but less active. It will suit all non-profit organizations as an additional communication channel.
TikTok is a new, rapidly gaining popularity social network. Its main audience is teenagers and young people. This is a very active, but unstable audience. The main format of posts on this social network is short music videos. The optimal video length is up to 15 seconds. If you are targeting a youth audience, then TikTok is a good communication channel.
Nowadays, non-profit organizations are just starting to look into this social network, so you can occupy a vacant niche.
Working with video
YouTube is the premier video hosting and powerful tool for promoting non-profit organizations. Videos allow you to simultaneously talk about something important and demonstrate visual material. This has a profound effect on the audience. Unlike articles, videos do not require constant concentration, so users can watch them while doing their own thing. This is a convenient format for an active audience.
YouTube is a good choice for all non-profit organizations. The main criterion is video quality. They must be interesting and useful to the audience. We recommend uploading videos from past events, lecture and webinar materials, interviews, entertainment videos, etc.
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Targeted advertising
We recommend using targeted social media ads to attract followers to your community. It is visible only to those users who have already shown interest in the topic of your project. Thanks to this, it attracts new subscribers as efficiently as possible with minimal costs. This is its main advantage.
There are also disadvantages. This is a short-term effect and the need for professional targeting. As soon as the ad campaign ends, the flow of subscribers stops. And if the targeting settings are set incorrectly, then there are high risks of spending the entire budget and not getting any result.
Email newsletter
This is the perfect way to maintain customer relationships. The newsletter allows you to communicate with them directly and share the news of the organization. Also, make sure to have good communication within the organization. A good employee app will help you with that. Share interesting information and notify about upcoming events. It is much more profitable to maintain relationships with current clients than to attract new ones.
Display advertising
Display advertising is characterized by a wide audience coverage and complex presentation of information. Vivid visuals combined with powerful text have a strong impact. Its main advantage is that it is shown only to an interested audience. This allows you to avoid wasting your budget on users who are not going to use your services.
Conclusion
Scientists-economists have long believed that non-profit organizations can function effectively without marketing. This is due to the fact that such organizations operate in a segment that commercial enterprises consider unprofitable. Therefore, it is not worth using marketing tools. But this opinion did not exist for long, now many non-profit structures are engaged in marketing and are successful in the market precisely because of it.
Morgan Rose Elliott graduated in marketing from The University of Sydney. Her hobbies include yoga, reading, and home renovation. A rookie blogger who loves writing about business and lifestyle equally, Morgan is a happily married, stay-at-home mother of three. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorganRoseElli1.