Tag: digital content marketing

5 key digital marketing tips for nonprofits

5 key digital marketing tips for nonprofits

Okechukwu Umelo

In the overwhelming, constantly changing world of digital marketing, how can nonprofits prioritize their limited resources and succeed? Writing for the Edelman blog, Laura Armstrong offers five useful tips.

1. Narrow your social audience

Each social media channel is unique, and people use them differently. “If you try to share messaging towards all of [your] audiences on one channel, it will seem fragmented and may confuse your community,” says Armstrong. She advises sharing different targeted content on different channels.

Start by conducting research on where your specific audiences go for information. “It could be that consumers and donors are best targeted on Facebook, while corporate partners are better to reach on Twitter and LinkedIn,” says Armstrong.

2. Track, optimize and report

“Regular reporting doesn’t only illustrate growth over time, it can help you see how your content is resonating with your community,” says Armstrong.

To monitor the impact of your content, she recommends sharing content at different times of the day during a one-month period, and altering the way you talk about a particular topic. When you track how people respond and engage with each post, trends should develop over time that will inform a stronger content strategy.

3. Drive donations and fundraising on Facebook

Facebook provides a range of fundraising options for nonprofits, including a special ‘Donate’ button allowing users to donate directly to your organization, as well as donate buttons on live videos and posts from your organization. The platform also allows the creation of fundraising pages and donate buttons on posts from individuals and supporters who wish to raise funds for your organization.

4. Explore and understand paid media

Armstrong notes: “Social media is quickly becoming a pay-to-play platform, and this couldn’t be any truer for Facebook. Even when marketing resources are scarce, paid can be an opportunity to share a key message or call to action during a critical time, whether it’s for a day of awareness, a timely event, or an upcoming fundraiser.”

If you choose to take this route, ensure that your activities are targeted to specific audiences, to drive a stronger return on your investment. For example, Facebook and Twitter provide viable options for targeted ads.

5. Know your resources

If you do your research, you’ll find a plethora of useful resources for nonprofits in the digital marketing space, including Google for Non-Profits and Nonprofits on Facebook, which provide tools and tips to get the most out of your digital marketing efforts. Speaking of which, check out the list of useful resources I have compiled on this blog.

Featured image: Automotive Social, Flickr Creative Commons (original image cropped)

Five digital content marketing trends to consider in 2017

Five digital content marketing trends to consider in 2017

Okechukwu Umelo

Happy new year! With the new year comes new communications strategies. With that said, here are some digital content marketing trends to consider when developing your 2017 strategies, courtesy of Jessica Gow writing for the Huffington Post.

1. Dark social

These days, the majority of content is shared through dark social – platforms such as messaging apps (e.g. Whatsapp), email and text. These platforms can’t be measured by traditional analytics programmes. Leverage these platforms to amplify your message.

2. Real-time video

Audiences are increasingly looking to video – particularly, live video – to engage with brands. By providing a raw, spontaneous and unedited look at brands, live video can help establish a real and strong connection with audiences.

3. Micro influencers

Brand advocates, or micro influencers, can help build brand awareness and a community of followers. With anywhere from 500 to 10,000 followers on social networks, Gow points out that micro influencers “have significant influence, and an authenticity that can be tricky to harness with more well-known personalities. Encouraging and leveraging content from micro influencers shows the community that they’re valued, as well as increasing brand reach and, in turn, increasingly the likelihood of conversions”.

4. Augmented reality

This increasingly utilized field of communications includes 360-degree video and virtual activities that blend with the real world. Think Pokémon Go. As Gow points out, these activities “support brand storytelling, and offer consumers new reasons to interact with brands”.

5. Programmatic advertising and promotion

Paid promotion is essential to effective content marketing. Using this approach, more and more brands are focusing on programmatic targeting, that is showing specific content to different people based on their past behaviour. This takes content personalization to the next level, helping to increase brand engagement. Facebook and other social platforms are supporting this approach through a range of functionalities.

Featured image: DaPuglet, Flickr Creative Commons