The most successful not-for-profit organizations run their non-profits as though they were for profit. They run them like businesses, and they get results like CEOs with sharp business acumen. They keep in mind their bottom line, and they keep focused on the goals at hand – benefiting the cause, whether financially or with donations of goods or manpower.
Just like a normal business, a non-profit has to have a smart marketing strategy. But of course non-profits have special considerations. The marketing budget has to be modest in proportion to the overall budget, to ensure that as high a percentage of funding and donations as possible are going to the actual cause at hand. At the same time, a significant chunk of time and spending simply must be allotted, or else the NFP stands no chance of growing.
Here are some important points to consider as you strive to improve the effectiveness of your non-profit’s marketing efforts.
Create an App That Will Engage the User AND His Friends
Best Friends, a successful NFP whose mission is to pair “unadoptable” dogs with caring owners created a genius app to get potential donors and “adopters” to spread their message like wildfire by 
way of user generated content. The app played on the idea that dogs look like their owners, and used a picture of the potential owner to generate that person’s ideal dog match. Of course the app was a lot of fun, and users were encouraged to share the results of their doggie match-up on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Make it work for you: Apps are all the rage – brainstorm with your team to come up with one that will combine your organization’s message with fun and (virtual) friendship, and you’ll see increased attention and donations in no time.
Get Personal
Digital marketing is key for non-profits, but it isn’t the only way to spread the word. Hand-to-hand, face-to-face contact is still important if you want to get steam and personal appeal behind your efforts to raise awareness and funds. Schedule talks, meetings, get booths at fairs, volunteer to come into schools, etc., and ALWAYS have plenty of printed collaterals on hand. Flyers, brochures, postcards, and business cards are all excellent ways to make sure that your contacts take away more than a little information – they’ll take away a means of contacting you in the future when they are ready to help. Elite Flyers is a resource for low-cost, high-quality printing, perfect for the needs of any 
non-profit organization.
Use Video
With Snapchat and Instagram video storming onto the scene recently, it’s no surprise that video content has become integral in any successful marketing campaign. You can get creative with these new forms of video, creating videos that are only a few seconds in length but that tell a powerful story. Traditional, 2-3 minute videos also work. If possible, create a variety of videos and post them all to your NFP’s YouTube channel. Encourage people to subscribe through Facebook. The more compelling the content, the better. Depending on your cause, you can infuse your videos with humor or with information – you have ultimate freedom.
Encourage User Participation
If you are a non-profit focused on fighting obesity, for example, encourage followers to post before and after pictures on your Facebook page, or to send pictures of their healthy meals to a designated email address where they can be sorted through and posted later.
There are so many ways to engage donors and to generate buzz around your non-profit organization. Your best strategy is to use all of them, as often as possible, in order to maximize your organization’s reach.
About Terrell HammelTerrell is a professional with years of experience in marketing, and management. At EliteFlyers.com he handles content curation among many other responsibilities including customer service, business development and other administrative functions.
