For charities, the marketing team must be capable and able to adapt to the ever-changing and advancing technologies. After all, it is in marketing that the charity depends on to get the support it needs to keep its programs and advocacies going, may it be in terms of donations or volunteers.
In this day and age, traditional marketing efforts are mostly obsolete and ineffective. Gone are the days when charities could rely on non-digital methods to get their message across effectively. Digital marketing is, by far, the most effective way to go now for charities and organisations alike. With digital marketing, the reach and scope of efforts are much bigger and can reach target audiences faster than ever before. The potential for engagement and response is also much bigger.
For your charity to be effective at digital marketing, your goals should be crystal clear from the very beginning. Say maybe you want to involve more people and increase the number of volunteers you would like to tap, or maybe your charity needs a boost in the donations it is receiving? It is very important that your charity is clear with the marketing goals it has in mind. Should you have more than one goal, try to create a list so you know what marketing strategy to do with which.
Once you are clear on your goals, the second task to do is to take note of what marketing strategies or programs are already in place and what resources are available to you. Try to see what systems are already in place and if they are effective. If not, maybe it is time to make an effort to update or upgrade systems to adapt to the changing times.
Lastly, create content that will do three very important things:
- Teach – create content that will help the audience know about you and what you are all about.
- Talk – content should encourage conversation. It is great when your audience engages and is paying attention
- Touch – the goal of your content is to touch people and make them want to take action.
At the end of the day, the goal of digital marketing for charities is to increase both awareness and action.
Moving on to another equally important factor to successful digital marketing for charities is the tools and programs used. They should be able to handle the needs of the charity and be able to deliver. As marketing is constantly changing, it is important that the charity’s digital tools adapt as well to the advancements of technology. A lot of thought must be made with regards to what tools to use, especially since there are many marketing tools that offer great deals (sometimes even free use!) to charities.
Let’s take a look at some of them that are widely used by charities:
- Canva – Using this, it is easy to create an array of graphics and social media easily. What is even better is that Canva offers Canva for Non Profits so that Charities can use the premium version free of charge.
- Slack – This is a great tool for digital marketing companies to always be on the same page. This communication platform allows teams to coordinate and collaborate on projects easily. This is a must-have for any digital marketing team as it also integrates with other tools like Google Drive, Trello, Google Calendar, Dropbox and many more. An even bigger advantage is that Slack is free to use. The paid version is also inexpensive, and they offer discounts for eligible organisations and non-profits.
- Hootsuite – This is a social media management tool for both scheduling and getting data and analysis on the performance. It is a great tool for teams and Hootsuite offers discounts for eligible non-profits.
- Mailchimp – this is a great email marketing tool that charities can use. The great thing about it too is capability-wise, the free version can accommodate the email marketing needs of small charities.
Digital Marketing is a must for charities now. You need the right strategies and you need the right tools to be effective at it. Having both at hand and having a well-equipped marketing team can really help the digital marketing efforts of charities.
-This article was written by Abby Villarica from Green Box