Integrated Marketing Tips and Techniques for Nonprofits to Market their Mission

Traditionally, nonprofit marketing professionals have approached marketing and public relations as separate disciplines. Today, they play equal roles in providing an integrated and cohesive approach to a nonprofit’s overall communication efforts. By incorporating the two efficiently, organizations can build continuity of brand, market their mission and unify all communications by working smarter, not harder.

This program covers how nonprofits can unify communications efforts to support their business goals, market their mission and speak directly to the target audiences: staff, board members, donors, volunteers, and the media. It incorporates a case study using the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. At the end of the program, participants will better understand how to integrate marketing, public relations and social media and how to increase engagement, support development and increase planned giving with an integrated marketing approach.

How to define a nonprofit mission.

When we evaluate the written mission of many organizations, it’s lacking in the actual words that your audience needs for relevancy. Think about how to incorporate those things that are important to your target audience. What we often do is think about what’s important to us as an organization. What’s important the development director, executive director, and board members, is not necessary the same as what is important to the target audience. Answer the following questions:

• What words do you use to describe the MISSION of your organization?
• What are the important traits of your organization that are important to your target audience?

Definition of integrated marketing.

Integrated marketing is an evolving approach to marketing that seeks to demonstrate the benefits of synergistic communications across all functions of an organization and via multi-media in order to influence its target audience.

Benefits of integrated marketing for nonprofits

• Better brand awareness
• Increased participation and engagement
• Greater consumer satisfaction
• Better attraction of resources and funds (development | leadership)
• Stronger donor, staff and volunteer loyalty
• Increased legislative understanding and support
• Greater efficiency and effectiveness of services
• Stronger organization
• Increased volunteer participation and community support

Defining marketing goals for nonprofits.

What are the actual quantifiable goals and how do the quantifiable goals meet your corporate, your business goals, your organizational goals? They have to be synchronistic. What are some of the goals that your organizations have in the next year in terms of communications or fundraising?

Goals must be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific | Measurable | Achievable | Realistic | Time-specific).

You want to set everyone up for success because ultimately you will be successful.

Four questions to answer when conducting a marketing assessment for your nonprofit.

• How soon do you need to accomplish your goals?
• Who and where is your target audience? (Employees, board, service recipients/customers, funders/donors, volunteers, community, legislators, media, etc.)
• What research do you need to conduct? (Focus groups, data analysis, demographic research, surveys, etc.)
• Determine your budget

Nine issues to ponder for nonprofits marketing their mission.

• External environment is increasingly turbulent, unstable
• Donations and loyalty are fragmented
• Constituents and supporters want more control
• Loyalty cannot be assumed and is diminishing
• Public policies are changing
• Demands for accountability are rising
• Average age is increasing
• Investment in civic activities has diminished
• Technology emphasizes quick responses

How to develop and implement a nonprofit marketing strategy.

Six steps to developing a nonprofit marketing strategy

• Define your brand and key messages.
• Outline the benefits of your work and the problems you solve.
• Define why your organization matters.
• Determine what you need in order to educate, inspire or convince your target audience to act.
• Consider E.S.O. tactics (Paid | Earned | Shared | Owned)
• Implement tactics that will achieve the nonprofit goals and which will service multiple purposes. Integrated marketing tactics for nonprofits include:
• Branding
• Advertising
• Public relations
• Content marketing and social media engagement
• Digital marketing, general marketing and web marketing

Monitor, track and adjust nonprofit integrated marketing tactics.

• Use relevant tools and apps to track engagement
• CRM, Google Analytics, Email open rates, etc.
• Evaluate how tactics are performing
• analytics, unique phone number/URL, campaign reports
• Use data collected to measure success against goals.
• Refine plan: focus on what is working best and repeat.