Online Marketing For Nonprofits: How to Be a Content Marketer

Author: Jono Smith on 12 October 2010 | 1 Comments

Tags: social media, online marketing

Today we continue our series on thought leadership by shifting the focus to content marketing. Content marketing (you may also hear it referred to as thought leadership marketing or idea marketing), for those unfamiliar with the term, involves the creation and sharing of text articles, photos, videos, and audio recordings (podcasts) for the purpose of engaging your current or potential event participants, donors, volunteers, etc.. As the impact and the relevance of the content your organization produces increases, the value it creates for your constituents and its propensity to create action increase as well.

Benefits of Effective Content Marketing Include:

• Increased Constituent Loyalty
• Enhanced Message Awareness
• Improved Message Retention 

Now, what does this mean to you?

Well, the first thing to note is that effective content marketing does not always focus on the virtues of your own organization. Instead, content marketing is designed to inform and educate your supporters and advocates about issues key to your organization and its mission. Education is the operative word here! Targeted educational initiatives have a greater long-term impact on brand recognition than traditional marketing techniques, and they create greater opportunities for collaboration and interaction among your organization and its key constituents.

Common Forms of Content Marketing:

• Organization Specific Magazines
• Websites
• Webinars
• Podcasts
• Research & White Papers
• Live Speaker Presentations
• Roundtables

Content marketing is important to your nonprofit organization because these tactics have the power to increase your visibility as a thought leader. Educating your constituents, rather than merely bombarding them with marketing messages, increases positive brand recognition and enhances your own reputation as a knowledgeable and insightful industry participant.

Goals of Content Marketing:

• Increased constituent awareness
• Increased event participation
• Increased donations and funding
• Improved donor retention

As with thought leadership as a whole, effective content marketing requires careful planning and execution. The content your organization creates should address big issues in your niche and be created thoughtfully using insights from your target customers and data analysis. The next segment in this series will focus on highly visible nonprofit organizations that have become effective at content marketing, and thus positioned themselves as thought leaders in their field. By studying their success you can discover the tools you need in place to develop a successful content marketing strategy for your own nonprofit organization.