Soapbox Engage Blog

Most nonprofits share similar unique marketing challenges; they must use limited resources to raise awareness of their mission to donors and the recipients of their services. Unfortunately, many nonprofits either avoid marketing altogether or lack a good strategy to get the most out of their marketing resources.

No matter what kind of nonprofit organization you work for, quality marketing is essential and quality is better than quantity. There are several fundamental marketing principles and strategies every nonprofit should understand and utilize.

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Some marketing consultants specialize in working with nonprofit agencies. Others offer discounts or special packages for nonprofits, but quality marketing services are not free.

1) Invest resources in good marketing

You've heard the phrase, “you get what you pay for.” Whether you run a for-profit business or nonprofit organization, quality marketing costs money, but it is a worthwhile investment.

The variety of skills required to excel in marketing has increased dramatically. It’s challenging to find people with the right skills and experiences that fit your organization. Forty-four percent of chief marketing officers say they struggle to find the right people with the right skills. When you do find that unicorn marketing expert, unless you're a large, well-resourced organization, you probably won't be able to afford them for very long.

Unless you have a savvy, well-trained marketing expert, it is worth your time, energy, and resources to pay for a quality nonprofit marketing consultant or agency as soon as you can afford the service. Unfortunately, some nonprofits underestimate what investing in quality marketing strategies will do for their organization.

Marketing consultants and agencies make it their full-time job to understand the ever-changing world of marketing technology and strategies and use it to your advantage. The right marketing agency will help you know who is visiting your website, how they are interacting with your content, and even how to increase the number of donations! A marketing consultant or agency will help you optimize each marketing campaign to engage more of the right audience.

Marketing consultants or agencies are also experts at communicating complex messages to the right audience. Many nonprofits require highly nuanced messaging to communicate their story and mission to the right audience. A marketing consultant will help you clarify your story and use the right strategies to attract your ideal audience.

As you look for a marketing agency or consultant, it is essential to find one that specializes or has experience working with nonprofits. Make an honest, specific list of what is working well in your current marketing strategy and what needs help. This will help you choose the right agency or person that is the best fit for your organization.

2) Make storytelling a core value

Storytelling is one of the most effective and easy forms of marketing for nonprofits. It allows you to bring your mission and message to life. Everyone loves a good story, and it can be a powerful way to connect with your audience and invite them into the story. Unfortunately, most nonprofits don't use storytelling as strategically as possible.

Most people don't have the patience to read a long list of statistics, but they can connect with a well-crafted story. Donors and partners want stories and word pictures to help them visualize your work. The Big Brothers Big Sisters program has mastered the art of telling heartwarming stories that inspire, inform, and invite their audience to join their movement.

A good story will ignite passion and excitement in the reader. But, there’s no need to spend hours stressing over learning how to tell a good story. Keep it simple and take your audience on a journey where they learn about the problem and see how your organization is making an impact.

There are many ways to integrate storytelling into your nonprofit marketing. The Big Brothers Big Sisters program makes beautiful videos, but that doesn't have to be your thing. The most important thing is to tell stories in a way that connects with your unique audience. Maybe that’s writing blog posts or making fun, creative infographics. Start a podcast or YouTube channel, use Facebook Live, or post regularly on your social media platforms.

No matter what platform or method you choose to broadcast your stories, communicate regularly, and practice telling your stories. Storytelling is a skill that takes time and practice to master. Set aside time as an organization to practice telling stories with each other.

Storytelling should be a core value at every level of your organization, from the CEO down to your newest volunteer. The culture of your nonprofit should encourage sharing stories at every level, from donors and board members to staff members and volunteers.

3) Go mobile, get branded

In the first quarter of 2019, 40.6% of internet traffic was from mobile phones, and over 60% of searches online now occur on a mobile device. People usually delete emails that don't display or load correctly in under three seconds.

The bottom line? Your online presence must be mobile-friendly if it's going to be effective. The good news is that you have more opportunities to get the attention of mobile users. They check their emails and social media more frequently. The bad news is that 52% of people are less likely to engage with a company if they have a bad mobile experience.

All the excellent marketing content in the world will be lost if your web content and emails aren't mobile-friendly. Soapbox Mailer allows you to send mobile-friendly mass emails easily. This is an easy, cost-effective marketing strategy that every nonprofit should be implementing.

While we're on the subject of web content, let's talk about your donation page. Your entire website should be mobile-friendly, but your donation page especially needs to display correctly on all mobile devices. Make sure your donation page uses a responsive design that dynamically resizes and reorganizes the content to fit the screen.

The branding on your donation page also matters. In one study, nonprofits with branded donation pages received six times more donations than nonprofits with generic donation pages. With services like the Soapbox Engage's Donations app, you can easily create branded, mobile-friendly donation forms!

Whether you need a new primary donation page or a campaign-specific donation form, Soapbox Engage is an easy, user-friendly solution to build pages quickly. You'll be able to match the look and feel of your donation page and your email or online request. This helps your donors have a seamless experience, which prevents them from second-guessing or getting distracted during the giving process.

4) Immediately connect with new subscribers

When someone subscribes to your email list, blog, newsletter, or anything really, they are telling you that they want to hear from you! They are interested in learning more about your organization and potentially getting involved. You should treat every new subscriber as if they personally texted you to say, “please, tell me more about what you do and how I can help!” They are practically inviting you over for coffee!

Email subscribers are the most engaged with your organization within the first 48 hours. Don't miss the opportunity to start building a strong relationship with them by sending a welcome email immediately to introduce yourself, set expectations, and invite them to take another step. Sadly, 41% of organizations don't send a welcome email within the first 48 hours.

People who receive welcome emails are 33% more likely to continue engaging with that company or organization going forward. Don't miss this low-hanging fruit! Set up an automated welcome email that sends immediately to every new subscriber.

5) Segment your marketing lists

You probably share different details of your life with your coworkers than you do with your spouse or parents. And rightfully so! Those are very different types of relationships. The analogy might not be perfect, but hopefully, you get the idea--not every subscriber to your email or newsletter should receive the exact same information. Segmenting your email list will help you share the right information with each group of supporters.

New subscribers need to learn more about your organization. Regular donors already know, like, and trust you. They are probably more interested in receiving updates about your latest project that their donations helped fund.

A system like Soapbox Mailer allows you to segment your mailing list in the best way for your organization. With segmented email lists, you can customize the content, the message, and the invitation to respond. Even better, you'll will be able to connect better with your supporters and keep track of active and inactive members.

Before you hit “send” on your next email campaign, consider whether all your subscribers should receive the same message. Each person is unique and has a different relationship with your organization. You can't write thousands of individual emails, but you can easily segment your subscriber list to communicate more directly (and effectively) with each group.

Are you ready to boost your marketing strategy for your nonprofit? Soapbox Engage has all the tools to take your marketing to the next level. Here are three more resources to get you started.

• How To Ask For Donations In An Email: Speaking of emails, here's a handy tool to improve your email requests for donations (after you make sure it's mobile-friendly and your subscriber list is segmented, of course).
• Powerful Salesforce Training for Nonprofits: Salesforce Trailhead and NPSP Days are excellent resources to help you and your marketing department get the most out of the powerful Salesforce platform. From branded donation pages and petitions to mobile-friendly websites, and volunteer directories, we can do it all.
• 4 Skills Every Development Professional Must Have: Nonprofits depend on excellent marketing and development professionals to bring in the funds needed to accomplish the mission. Here are some of the necessary skills every development professional must-have.