How to promote your non-profit organisation

With the expansion of technology almost every organisation has set up their own websites for easier access to information and gaining more attention. And it may be discouraging to find your website isn't generating as much traffic compared with other organisation, this may indicate it’s time for you to expand to other social media platforms.

Before you do that, it is important to choose the right platform to target on your audience segment. To do this, careful deliberation on the type of message you would like to deliver and match this with suitable platforms to utilise and centre your content in cooperation to what the platform stands for. Here are the most popular platforms online:

Facebook

Facebook is the place for posting images and videos, these are the ones that generate more engagement. Make videos about what cause you are supporting or images with phrases or elements that identify your organization; whenever possible, introduce an interrogative sentence in the description to increase the possibility of interaction with your audience. Here are some tips for the content in Facebook:

• Publish 1-3 times per day

• Answer the questions and opinions of your audience

• Involve with your active audience

• Share and comment any publication related to your organization

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a more formal and professional platform. Content here requires a more formal, professional and objective approach. It can be used for presenting projects, share articles or events in which your organization, or members of it, have participated in; basically anything that has to do with your business and its culture. Some tips for LinkedIn are:

• Update daily

• Welcome connections

• Utilize groups

• Find new prospects

• Demo your expertise

Instagram

Instagram is all about images and stories. Is about creating content that stimulates the imagination and identification of users. Stories and IGTV are a great way of transmitting more extent content, it can be used for sharing events or interviews. Here are some Instagram content tips:

• Public 3-5 images per week

• Answer to photo commentaries when necessary

• Search for relevant profiles to follow

• Comment 1-2 times per week in similar profiles

In addition to that, the organisation can also consider email marketing, which is a common approach where companies send out commercial messages to its subscribers that aims to increase sales, maintain customer awareness or to update them with latest news. However, organisations should be aware that with the millions emails set out each day on average only 21.33% are opened. So what can non-profits do to better utilise this cost-effective method to increase their presence?

Step 1

The organisation should set up goals, where they determine what should be achieved using emails.

Step 2

Then several email lists need to be built up to address different target segments either import a list of known contacts or build a new list from scratch. This could range from:

• Compelling content

If the organisation has a blog or produce contents on its websites, then offering to send out the best content to subscribers via email is a strong attraction for them to join your list

• First order discounts

If goods or services are offered via an online store, then offering people a discount when they make their first purchase if they are subscribers of your website is a great incentive to increase the email list.

• Free or express shipping upgrade

Not only is this method highly relevant, which is being offered during the checkout process, but also allowing customers to receive their desirable goods earlier creates a powerful motivation for them to subscribe.

Step 3

Select the type of campaign to send, as different organisations have different focus using the correct campaign will make it more relevant. Here are a few common types of campaigns to choose from:

• Newsletter

This is a method used to advertise or communicate new and events to your subscribers to update them with what is going on

• Marketing offer

This could be:

- Campaign showcasing some of the latest stock and encouraging people to purchase

- Campaign offering a discount or special promotion on products or services

• Announcement

Where emails are sent out to subscribers to announce new projects, features or services provided by the organisation.

Step 4

Create the first campaign, send out the emails and achieve the goals. Here are a few tips to follow to create better results

• Structure it for easy reading

• Use image of visuals to boost engagement

• Personalize your email campaigns

• Ensure the campaign is relevant to every ubscriber

• Ensure campaign are on brand and build trust

• Timing

• Send more than promotional content

Not for profit organisations should thus utilise social media platforms and email marketing to gain a more extensive level of interaction with consumers. It enables them to provide up to date and easily accessible information and an opportunity to deepen customer relationships.