Nonprofit Marketing Tips

While most nonprofit organizations are strapped with doing a lot more with a lot less, among their greatest challenges is to stand out among other nonprofits vying for donors’ attention—and dollars.

In today’s digital age, there are a host of simple and inexpensive ways for nonprofits to stretch their budget, while optimizing marketing efforts to promote their brand, connect with donors, amplify fundraising efforts, and increase donations. 

An article from Forbes magazine offers five tips for nonprofits to reach donors:

1. Use social media. To reach donors, connect with them where they are—and Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn is where they reside. Post content and place ads on these channels and take advantage of analytics to ensure the best ROI.

2. Make your message clear. Transparency is important: Donors want to understand exactly how their money being spent and the impact it will have.

3. Use content. Content marketing is a powerful way to demonstrate to donors what you stand for and to make them passionate about your goals. Use video or link back to a landing page to gain more traction for your message.

4. Take SEO seriously. In order for donors to give money, they have to be able to find you online—so embed social media feeds, ads, blogs and key words to boost SEO.

5. Write a blog. This platform gives you the opportunity to share more about your cause and to tell your brand story.

Also popular among our nonprofit clients is the use of custom and turnkey digital apps. These apps can include a host of event or campaign-specific functions such as push notifications, GPS/map features, schedule of events, social media tags, response polling, video links, program updates—the list goes on.

As with any brand-promoting effort, the key to nonprofit marketing success is to use an integrated strategy that employs multiple channels as part of one seamless campaign that works as part of your overarching marketing strategy. HubSpot touts the SMART approach—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound—a methodology that helps you establish achievable marketing goals. The link below offers a free download of their SMART planning template:

Download your free marketing goal-setting template here.

What is the most memorable non-profit marketing campaign that caught your attention? Chime in on our Shamrock Facebook page.

Ellen Moriarty

Successful Marketing on Pinterest: Lessons from 5 Leading Brands

With more than 291 million active monthly users, Pinterest has become the go-to resource for everything from recipes, to makeup tutorials, to vacation destinations. Pinterest positions itself as the world’s catalog of ideas—but it’s also a prime channel for brand marketing: In a recent survey, 96% of pinners said they use Pinterest to research purchases—and 87% have purchased a product because of a pin.

If you’re marketing to women, then make sure Pinterest is part of your strategy: As of 2019, 79.5% of Pinterest users are female (Statista), which is significant: Women ages 25 to 54 make 80% of the buying decisions in U.S. households—and Pinterest is a valuable part of their purchasing journey.

• 83% of women on Pinterest use it to plan life moments, compared to 44% for Instagram and 53% for Facebook
• 43% plan on getting their ideal home within the next five years
• 50% plan on taking a vacation in the next 6 months

So, what does it take to be a standout on Pinterest among the more than 75 billion pins? Following are five lessons from top brands that are killing it on the social media channel, building brand loyalty one pin at a time.

1. Offer variety. Don’t pigeon-hole your brand. With 4.5 million followers, upscale fashion retailer Nordstrom is one of Pinterest’s most recognizable brands. They’ve created a devoted following by casting a wide net—men’s fashion, prom, handbags, denim, baby. With 443,000+ pins on 78 boards, you’re sure to find something that speaks to you at Nordstrom.

2. Find a common thread. Specialty retailer L.L. Bean is a great example of how to make a brand connection by appealing to your audience and their interests. With 5 million followers, they’re doing it right: Boards like Outdoor Fun and Take Me Fishing draw pinners to the brand based on lifestyle, activities, pursuits, etc.

3. Provide value. Give them more, and they’ll keep coming back: Home improvement retailer Lowes goes above and beyond basic product info—they also provide step-by-step tutorials to show pinners how to use those products to complete DIY-projects.

4. Make it user-friendly. How many times have you searched for an item online but then struggled to find a retailer to make the purchase? Global marketplace Etsy simplifies the process, allowing you to search, pin and purchase products directly from your digital device.

5. Keep it subtle. Instead of leading with a product pitch, why not welcome your audience in like a good friend? Lauren Conrad does just that—her Pinterest page feels like that of any user, rather than that of a brand. With 1 million+ followers, she shares inspiration and introduces new ideas and products with fellow pinners without making a hard sell.

Which brands are most prominent on your Pinterest feed? I’d be interested in your feedback. emoriarty@shamrockcompanies.net.

Ellen Moriarty

It’s time to realign your 2019 business goals.

We’re now past this year’s half-way point: So, how are you doing with your business goals for 2019?

Even though I’m in the practice of regularly reviewing and refreshing my goals, I use this annual half-way mark as a prompt to realign and re-motivate myself. Instead of looking at my yet-to-be-accomplished goals as failures, I see the next six months as my opportunity to get better. If you’re ready to do the same, here are five tips to help you hit your target before the year’s end:

1. Re-evaluate and reprioritize. Make sure it’s the right goal at the right time. Have there been recent changes in your industry or supply chain? Have you made operational changes that have had an effect on outcomes? Conduct an honest assessment and make sure the timing is right for your goal. Be realistic about what you can counter—and what you need to let go.  

Getty Images

2. Refine your goals. Your time is now limited, so be specific about what you want to accomplish. If your initial goals were broad in scope, consider getting more specific, i.e., instead of growing sales by 5 percent, focus on increasing existing-customer sales by 5 percent. Refining or distilling your goals will help create greater focus and, likely, a more manageable workload.

3. Re-establish your timeline and to-do list. After you’ve recalibrated your goals, identify the steps you need to take to get there with an updated to-do list and accelerated timeline.

4. Get motivated. There is psychology behind motivation and human behavior. The quarter, six-month and annual marks are fiscal calendar intervals that we equate with posting sales, gains, returns, etc. If you find yourself lacking motivation, use these date triggers to push yourself. Consider using daily life inspiration practices and habits—like meditating, exercising or reading/listening to motivational content—to keep you engaged and focused.
 
5. Spend your time wisely. Delegate tasks to free up your time to focus on the actionable items that will get you closer to meeting your goals. Incorporate technology, such as a CRM or marketing asset management platform, to help drive efficiency in your workday.

These are mindful practices that help me keep on track. Do you have tips to add to the list? Join the discussion on our Shamrock Facebook page.

Tim Connor

Dead Sales Leads? Revive Them With Strategic Lead Nurturing.

When we’re making a purchase, most of us shop around for the best deal—or the best quality, or service, or all of the above. Which is why most leads don’t immediately convert to sales, regardless of where they enter the sales funnel.

According to MarketingSherpa, 73% of leads are not ready to buy when they first give you their contact details. This is where lead nurturing comes in: These strategic campaigns work to create relationships and encourage consumers or businesses to become active prospects, and eventually, customers.

Now more than ever, we’re finding that people don’t want to feel like they’re just a number; they want a personal connection. And above all, they want content that’s relevant to them. 

A recent article in Entrepreneur magazine concurs: “You can no longer create a single funnel or lead magnet and expect success. Your audience are at different stages, and your job as a marketer is to give them the right content at the right time.”

Click to watch the video

Again, it’s about getting personal: It’s important to first build intimacy with your audience—you can’t sell 24/7. Work to create relationships by providing value and quality, not quantity. Do that by considering where your contacts are in the sales funnel. The Entrepreneur article explains that scenario, placing prospects into three buckets:

• The Sidewalk: Those who are not aware they have a pain or problem
• The Slow Lane: Those who are aware they have a problem, but don't know enough about the process or methodology to move forward
• The Fast Lane: Those who are ready to commit to a solution, but need more information about what the solution is

After you identify where your leads fall, create specific messaging for each: This brings intimacy into your lead generation and becomes relevant to the right people at the right time:

• People in your sidewalk are not aware of their problem, so you need to produce micro content that illuminates their pain.
• If they're in your slow lane you need to educate them about your process, which means more in-depth content (articles, guides, videos, etc.).
• Once they enter your fast lane, you can share intimate and detailed content with them, such as webinars, training sessions and phone calls.

Shamrock helps our clients manage lead nurturing campaigns—making meaningful, personal connections (with the right message, at the right time) using an automated marketing platform. Click on the link below to view the short video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6zPIm0ulT4&index=4&list=PLBXEp-Xkv428t20SFEawKhpQq7DtoXEXr

How do you nurture your sales leads? If you’re interested in learning more about content strategies and automated tools for lead nurturing campaign management, connect with me on LinkedIn.

Ellen Moriarty

Happy 4th of July!