The 6 Segments: MARKETING
Marketing comprises all you do to make your organization know - to all stakeholders. Program participants and clients, volunteers, donors, institutional funders, sponsors - you reach them through marketing. These days, some will reduce marketing to just social media posts, but it is much more. And it takes planning.
The balance you need to strike in marketing is to make it feel authentic, on trend and even spontaneous - but it must at the same time be consistent with your brand and very clearly constructed to convey a clear message.
Marketing can feel overwhelming when not foreseen. Make it a habit to work with your development and program teams to ensure that you have plenty of time to do the work well and with plenty of time to elicit a successful “call to action” message.
Scroll down for examples of ONGOING tasks and ANNUAL tasks that you should get onto the calendar.
-
This one is pretty self-explanatory: you’ve got to get ahead of your social media posting or it will consume you. (Or, you’ll neglect it). There are a variety of strategies for scheduling the spots themselves - but at minimum set a schedule for when you want the spots to go out and generally what topics you want to cover. If you try to do this in real time, coming up with content AND posting daily, you’ll just get tired. Too tired to do all. the. other. things.
-
Set a manageable blog schedule and stick to it. Emphasize consistency and quality over quantity. Put the posting dates on the calendar and do your best to make it happen.
-
You’ll have quite a few fundraising and program events throughout the year - and they all require marketing. Set a rule of thumb for how far in advance you have to start the marketing for different types of events…and then get it on the calendar.
-
Your website update schedule depends on your web content - but if you have programs, events, and news / blogs on the website, you’ll want to regularly schedule updates. Weekly, even, if you have a calendar online.
-
The day you need to post on Instagram or create a flyer is NOT the day you want to go out and get a good photo video. Set a schedule for content creation; think of it as a marketing discipline. Whether you are collecting stories, creating videos, taking photos or assembling relevant hashtags, make time each week to create content and inventory it so you can find it when you need it.
-
Who still prints collateral? Lots of us. You may need flyers, posters, thank you notes, letterhead, invitations, development brochures, yard signs, gala signs… and printing takes time. Don’t forget you’ll also need to distribute it, so build time in the schedule to get the printed materials in the hands of those who need to see it.
-
Most nonprofits have some kind of newsletter, usually emailed, to keep in touch with all stakeholders. The newsletter need not be new content - it could be a collection of the last few blog posts with some event promo. Whatever you decide to send out, try to do it regularly, whether it’s monthly, every other month, quarterly - whatever you can manage.
Stickers available in the 6+4 Planner System:
-
One a year, create your marketing calendar, in order to plan in advance for program and fundraising campaign promotion. Usually, you’ll want to start promotion 4-6 weeks in advance - more for big events and galas. And that means you’ll need to start creating the marketing materials even earlier than that.
-
Some nonprofits call this the “annual report” and others call it an “impact report.” Either way, it’s best practice to wrap up the year with a report for your stakeholders highlighting the accomplishments of the past year and signalling next year’s direction.
-
“SWAG” originally stood for “stuff we all get” but now can mean general branded items that you give away to supporters (or even sell, though check the tax implications of that). Decent SWAG takes a few weeks to get after you order it so plan ahead.
-
As part of your 4 Foundations, you’ll have a Branding Strategy or positioning piece that guides how you position yourself in the market and how you tell your story. Revisit this every year, as you change, the environment changes, trending words change.
-
Once a year, revisit each of the landing pages for your social media accounts. Make sure the logo, picture, tagline, description, hours, etc are accurate. Change things up a bit so the look doesn’t feel stale. Throughout the year, you may rarely visit your landing page - but your followers will!
-
We don’t like to think about other providers as competition - that feels like a for profit term. Sure, but still there are others in your sector doing similar work. Do a thorough review of your key competitors at least annually. What are the offering? What is their brand positioning? Who are their funders? Where are they telling their stories? It may or may not change your own strategy, but it is good information to have.
Stickers available in the 6+4 Planner System:
Social media is not the be-all and end-all of marketing, but it is certainly part of it. Pick the two top platforms where you engage with your audience and track your influence there.
Remember, that each platform has a distinct audience. Decide where you want to grow your presence and focus on those platforms. Regularly check the analytics and measure your growth in followers.
Stickers available in the 6+4 Planner System:
Some tasks, like Finance and Administration, need to be scheduled because it’s a real problem when they don’t get done on time. Marketing is something you schedule because priorities can get out of hand quickly. It can be so easy to get carried away posting on social or playing with a flyer layout. Seeing the many marketing talks on your calendar allows you to plan, prioritize and know when to stop working on one thing and switch to something else just as important.
Need help? We’ve got you.