Non Profit Marketing is the practice of promoting the mission and message of a non profit organization. Non profit organizations are committed to presenting their goals and impact to as wide of an audience as they are able to reach to achieve their mission. This process involves inspiring people to get behind the organization’s cause and help the organization reach their goals by donating, volunteering, and ultimately spreading the message to more people. Traditional marketing focuses on spreading a message to make money, non profit marketing aims to spread awareness, build connections, and spur the masses to action. The role of nonprofit marketing is to reach the target audience, encourage them to support the cause, and get participants involved in achieving the mission.
Significance
The importance of non profit marketing is that it is designed to create a greater impact. Most non profit organizations are promoting a worthy cause that helps society in some way, shape, or form, and non profit marketing enables organizations to highlight the problems and solutions needed so others can jump on board. By promoting a non profit message, organizations can attain more resources through donations, advocacy, volunteers, and word of mouth. Doing all of these things increases the visibility of a non profit organization that is actively reaching out to their audiences. This establishes these non profit organizations as reliable and trustworthy campaigns for change. Without non profit marketing efforts, a non profit organization may remain small and reach goals very slowly due to limited exposure.
Non Profit Examples
There are several different types of non profit organizations, some are more heavily involved in non profit marketing than others. The following is a list of examples of non profit organizations:
● Charities
● Churches and religious organization
● Political organizations
● Private foundations
● Public School
● Public Hospitals
● Museums
● Legal aid Societies
● Volunteer Organizations
● Labor Unions
There are many different types of non profit organizations and their fundamental mission is to spread their core beliefs in hopes that members of society will join their mission. This again is done by raising money through donations to further propel the cause forward, spreading and gaining awareness, and volunteer work.
Non Profit Marketing Strategies
There are many different types of non profit marketing strategies that help non profit organizations receive donations and share their mission.
Transactional non profit marketing involves a corporation partnering with a non profit organization to spread the message. These businesses advocate for the non profit by spreading their message through channels like social media to encourage consumers to buy a product from their corporation to support the charity they have partnered with. When a customer makes that purchase, they know they are donating to a good cause supported by the company. This is advantageous for companies that are looking to present a charitable image and increase their visibility and online presence.
Point of Sale non profit marketing includes presenting the potential donor with an option to donate money towards a cause when they are cashing out. This could be a request to help a charity when checking out in a grocery store line.
Message-Centered Marketing is a method of non profit marketing that is typically related to large fundraising campaigns and volunteer efforts involving trending current events. These current events or hot topics are usually known to the public through coverage on the media such as tv, radio, social media and online news sources.
These are not the only methods of non profit marketing, and as more and more people are turning to technology for everything these methods are continuously developing and changing. Many times non profit organizations leverage social media as an avenue to raise awareness and receive donations whether that be partnering with an influencer or building a strong social media presence. Other approaches include email marketing, creating a website, or hosting an event.
Whatever method a non profit organization chooses to use, the approach should align with the mission, message, goals, and be within budget. Many times non profit organizations do not have unlimited resources and so the style of non profit marketing plays a role in the success of spreading a message. The little that these organizations do have usually come from donations.
It is critical that nonprofits choose a method of non profit marketing that appeals to their target audience. An older target audience may not appreciate donating through digital apps that they deem complicated and may instead desire to write a check or give money in person. Whereas, the millennial generation is more willing to try new things online, on their phones, and in person.
Steps to Success
The first step in succeeding in non profit marketing efforts is to create a very clear and convincing mission or message. People need to know exactly what they are advocating for. Not only that, people need to be convinced that the issues presented are important, relatable and matter to society as a whole.
This is where building relationships comes in. Non Profit marketing requires that an organization places an emphasis on people, connections, and building relationships. Creating a convincing story that produces a strong emotional response or pulls on the heart strings of regular everyday citizens is what will attract attention to a cause.
Using social media to an organization’s benefit is a no brainer in this digital age. Connecting to people via social media can spread a message within seconds to the other side of the globe. This can also involve partnering with companies and influencers that have a strong social media presence.
Measure of Success
There are many different metrics that can provide insight into the success of a non profit marketing campaign this includes web traffic, google analytics, social media engagement, number of volunteers, and number of donations received. All of this information can aid an organization in assessing the reach of their message.
Non Profit Marketing plays a significant role in how consumers can change their attitudes and behaviors about certain topics. This in turn can even affect their spending habits, which can further propel the cause of a non profit organization. The preeminent mission of all non profit organizations is to bring awareness and ultimately produce change.
