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The nonprofit sector is mission-driven. If you’re in this field, that probably means you are, too. While you may not be in it for the money, you do need to keep your mission funded. The challenge is how to stay in the green–especially if you rely heavily on fundraising to pay the bills. Without a clear digital strategy, raising funds can feel a bit like running in place. That’s why it’s a good idea to implement a well-planned nonprofit content marketing strategy in the interest of a happy, healthy bottom line.
In this Slam guide, we’ll cover:
- Nonprofit Content Marketing 101: Understanding the Basics
- How to create a nonprofit marketing strategy
- Crafting SEO-friendly nonprofit content
- Measuring and analyzing content marketing success
- Nonprofit content marketing case studies
- How to partner with Slam for your nonprofit content marketing
In addition walking you through the process of taking your nonprofit content marketing from mission to action, we’ll also introduce you to a few of the resources we’ve created to help your org thrive.
These are a few of the nonprofit products and tools offered by Slam Media Lab:
- Instagram for Nonprofits
- TikTok for Nonprofits
- Nonprofit Website Template
- Nonprofit Marketing Strategy Masterclass
As an award-winning nonprofit branding agency, we love collaborating with passionate leaders working to make the world a better place. If you’d like to learn more about what it takes to accelerate your nonprofit goals, check out our nonprofit masterclass.
Nonprofit Content Marketing 101: Understanding the Basics
Nonprofit content marketing is equal parts art and science. If you want to effectively convey your mission and engage supporters while not wasting your time, you need to understand the basics. Through a strategic approach, you’ll better optimize your limited resources while improving your ability to attract donors.
To get started with your nonprofit content marketing, consider prioritizing these three components:
- Create a nonprofit marketing plan
- Understand your audience
- Choose the right platforms
These days, storytelling and online presence are everything. By mastering the basics, you’ll have a better chance of running a successful nonprofit content marketing campaign.
For a more detailed look at the basic principles of nonprofit content marketing, check out our Nonprofit Marketing Strategy Masterclass.
Create a Nonprofit Marketing Plan
Think of a nonprofit marketing plan as a roadmap that provides clarity on your organization’s mission, target audience, and communication strategies. By establishing clear goals and objectives from the very beginning, you’ll have a better sense of how to ensure your limited resources are used efficiently for maximum impact.
A solid marketing plan also enables your nonprofit to better understand and engage the target audience effectively because it provides a framework for consistent messaging. This in turn reinforces your brand and builds trust over time, leading to a sustainable community of supporters dedicated to your cause.
Understand Your Audience
If your goals are to convey your mission and inspire people to act, you need to understand your target audience. You can accomplish this through methods like demographic research and surveys. It's important to create audience personas and know how to tailor content to specific needs and preferences.
For example, our client Kai XR provides access to dynamic virtual learning through an online platform. To understand our client’s target audience, we started by identifying key stakeholders:
- Current donors
- Potential donors
- Beneficiaries (students and families)
- Educators and school administrators
Through audience research, we gathered extensive insights into our target audience’s values, concerns, and preferred communication channels. Armed with this knowledge, we developed a nonprofit content marketing campaign that spoke directly to the needs and aspirations of Kai XR’s target audience.
Choose the Right Platforms
Different audiences engage with content across different channels. Gen Z loves TikTok while Millennials and Gen X prefer Instagram or a website. By choosing platforms based on the preferences and behaviors of your target audiences, you increase the likelihood of reaching and resonating with them.
As a nonprofit web design agency, we’ve seen the power of storytelling first-hand. Seriously, it can make or break a nonprofit content marketing strategy! When strategically selecting your platforms, we recommend tailoring your content to each site’s unique format. Trust us, it will make your storytelling strategy more effective.
Buy Slam’s TikTok for Nonprofits Masterclass for $99
How to Create a Nonprofit Content Marketing Strategy
Let’s say your nonprofit’s goal is to advocate for environmental responsibility in your region. You’ve collected lots of data, multimedia, and feedback from local community members. Now, you need to turn all those resources into a cohesive nonprofit content marketing strategy that maximizes your organization’s ability to raise awareness, attract donors, and drive positive change.
To create a winning nonprofit content marketing strategy, we recommend following these three steps:
- Define clear objectives and goals
- Plan your content calendar
- Use effective call-to-action strategies
By following these steps, you’ll cover the necessary bases and start your nonprofit content marketing strategy off on the right foot.
Define Clear Objectives & Goals
Defining clear objectives and goals for your nonprofit content marketing campaign is crucial for several reasons:
- Strategic direction
- Resource allocation
- Impac measurement
- Stakeholder communication
- …and more!
If you want to move forward, you first need a clear idea of where you’re going. By defining clear objectives and goals, you’ll ensure your content marketing efforts are directly related to the organization’s broader mission.
Plan Your Content Calendar
If you’re wondering How to Get Your Nonprofit on TikTok, we’ve got you covered with our resources and tools. Before you start posting content, you need to come up with a plan. This will make your content creation process much less stressful–guaranteed. As an added bonus, it will also increase your chances of reaching and inspiring your target audience.
Here are a few Slam resources for planning and managing your content:
Also check out our Instagram Nonprofit Guide where you’ll find tons of helpful tips and tricks, or check out our masterclass.
Buy Slam’s Instagram for Nonprofits Masterclass for $99
Use Effective Call-to-Action Strategies
Call-to-action (CTA) strategies aren’t just a tool used in for-profit marketing. In nonprofit content marketing, we use CTAs to inspire engagement and connection.
These are a few of the things that make nonprofit CTAs effective:
- Clarity and simplicity
- Urgency and relevance
- Emotional appeal
- Personalization
By incorporating these approaches to writing call-to-actions into your nonprofit content marketing, you can guide your audience towards specific behaviors like making a donation, volunteering, or spreading awareness.
Crafting SEO-Friendly Nonprofit Content
SEO-friendly nonprofit content marketing is a strategic investment that ensures your content’s online visibility, making it easier to reach your target audience. Optimized content ranks higher in search engines and saves you money by improving your marketing ROI. It’s a win-win!
In this section, we’ll cover three important SEO considerations:
- Keyword research
- Website optimization
- SEO best practices
We’ll be honest–SEO isn’t simple, and there’s definitely a learning curve when it comes to optimizing your content for searchability. While we cover the basics in this article, if mastery is your goal, then a nonprofit marketing course might be worth considering.
Buy Slam’s Nonprofit Marketing Strategy Masterclass
Keyword Research
If you want your nonprofit content marketing plan to result in increased organic traffic, keyword research should be an integral part of your toolkit. Try using tools like Google Keyword Planner to find keywords with a balance of search volume and relevance. It’s also a good idea to prioritize long-tail keywords specific to your cause.
Once you’ve found your keywords, integrate them into your content, titles, meta descriptions, and headers. You should also regularly update your keyword strategy based on analytics and changing trends to ensure ongoing optimization and visibility in search engine results.
Website Optimization
A well-designed and responsive website is critical for SEO health. When planning your nonprofit website design, you should prioritize things like clear navigation, fast load times, and mobile responsiveness. We also recommend optimizing your meta tags and images so that they’re accurately understood and indexed in relevant search results.
To cover all your bases without putting in too much time, check out Slam’s web design products and resources:
- Build a Nonprofit Website [Step-by-Step Guide]
- 2024 Nonprofit Website Best Practices
- Website Launch Checklist
You can schedule a free 30-min audit with a member of the Slam team. And of course, your best chance at minimizing headaches is to use our nonprofit website template!
Buy Slam’s Nonprofit Website Template for $79
SEO Best Practices
SEO is a great way to boost your organic traffic. That way, you’ll connect with potential supporters even if they aren’t familiar with your organization. Without a solid SEO strategy, it’s unlikely your nonprofit content marketing materials will generate the organic traffic you need to achieve success.
SEO best practices include:
- High quality, relevant content
- Mobile optimization
- A well-planned mix of technical and on-page SEO
- Regular content updates
- Link building
For SEO analytics, check out these Slam resources:
By incorporating these best practices into your nonprofit content marketing strategy, you’ll improve your online visibility and reach a broader audience–guaranteed.
Measuring & Analyzing Nonprofit Content Marketing Success
Once you’ve launched your nonprofit content marketing strategy, it’s time to measure and analyze your results. In this section, we’ll take a look at some key performance indicators we use at Slam to help our nonprofit clients stay on track towards accomplishing their goals. We’ll also discuss some of our favorite analytical tools for nonprofit content marketing.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Nonprofits
Here are a few common key performance indicators used by nonprofits to measure the success of their nonprofit content marketing approach:
- Engagement metrics like click-through rates, shares, and comments
- Website analytics like traffic sources and bounce rates
- Conversion rates and donation metrics
- Follower growth and email subscriber growth
- Social media engagement rates
Regularly monitoring these KPIs will allow your nonprofit to assess the performance of your content marketing initiatives and refine your strategies for maximum impact.
Analytics Tools for Nonprofits
In the nonprofit sector, “free” is a magical word promising endless possibilities. What could be better than meeting your needs without manifesting financial resources out of thin air? Fortunately, when it comes to nonprofit content marketing, there are a few excellent free tools you can use to stay competitive without affecting your operating budget.
Here are a few of our favorite tools for gathering data and optimizing our digital strategies:
For example, check out how we integrated these tools with our marketing agency report template to visualize the results of our SEO strategy for nonprofit client Global Internships:
You can read more about the work we did for Global Internships here.
These tools are great for gaining insights into user behavior, site performance, and searchability. They also streamline data collection for more informed decision-making, making it easier to ensure your digital marketing efforts are as effective as possible.
Nonprofit Content Marketing Case Studies
Here at Slam, we’re proud to have helped several 501c3 nonprofit agencies launch winning content marketing strategies. If you’re looking for nonprofit marketing ideas, these clients’ experiences are a great source of inspiration!
In this section, we’ll check out three Slam Media Lab case studies:
We’re proud of the work we did for these clients, and we’re excited to share the results of our efforts with you!
Fresh Approach
Nonprofit leaders sell passion and purpose–not products. That’s why the first step to getting people on board with your cause is to make them care. To accomplish this, we recommend centering your content marketing strategy around nonprofit storytelling.
Showcasing your organization’s unique story and community is a great way to present your process and outcomes to social media followers and website subscribers.
Our client Fresh Approach has been on the frontlines of the fight against food inequality since 2008. A lot has changed in terms of branding and marketing expectations since they started out, and their brand was way overdue for a makeover.
To capture Fresh Approach’s strong connection with food, land, and community, we focused on creating a strong visual identity that captures the energy and identity of the diverse residents they serve across California.
Click here to learn more about the strategy we used for this project–it’s one we’re very proud of!
LTX
It’s no secret that social media marketing is critical in 2024–no exceptions. Whether through TikTok or Instagram, if you want your content to go viral, then you need a well-planned strategy with tailored content that takes into account each platform’s algorithms and trends.
LTX is a leading Latinx professional network with a specific target audience. The organization partnered with Slam on nonprofit content marketing strategy to boost registration numbers for its inaugural virtual conference LTX Quest. As the nation’s leading Hispanic marketing agency, we were a great fit for this assignment and we did not disappoint!
To help LTX connect with its audience, we employed a collaborative and community-focused approach that leveraged tailored content and influencer-aligned branding. Our strategy was a resounding success! We’re proud to report that it led to off-the-charts registration and participation outcomes for LTX Quest.
Check out our winning nonprofit content marketing strategy here.
Peer Health Exchange
Brand identity is an important aspect of nonprofit content marketing. In fact, research has proven a relationship between brand strategy and identity and the extent to which a campaign resonates with a particular target audience.
When working with nonprofit clients, one of the first things we consider is the synergistic relationship between their branding and their mission. Many of our clients opt for a brand refresh as part of their nonprofit content marketing strategy.
Our client Peer Health Exchange is an innovative nonprofit dedicated to providing youth-focused health and wellness resources. They partnered with us because they needed to revamp their brand and develop strategies for making their content more accessible to a Gen Z audience.
At Slam, we understood the assignment. We showed up with a maximalist, colorful brand makeover that resonated with their target demographic. We also employed our understanding of social media content marketing to connect with Gen Z on their preferred platforms for maximum reach.
Read more about how we did it here.
Let's Slam Your Nonprofit Content Marketing Goals
At Slam Media Lab,there’s nothing we love more than helping mission-driven people achieve their nonprofit content marketing goals.
And we have the receipts to prove it–we’ve won several awards for our next-level ability to craft compelling campaigns on behalf of our amazing clients.
We’ve also designed an entire catalog of products and resources to help nonprofits succeed. From nonprofit advertising to nonprofit SEO, we’ve got your back.
Here are a few of the many services offered by Slam:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Webflow Design & Development
- Content Writing & Strategy
- Brand Strategy & Identity
As an award-winning web design agency, we’d love to work with you on developing customized strategies to streamline your nonprofit content marketing strategy and build the community connections you need to thrive.
Contact us today to learn more about our professional nonprofit content marketing services. Let’s work together to change the world!
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