With the outbreak of COVID-19, many nonprofits have been forced to make massive changes in the way they operate. Alongside internal and operational changes, marketing strategy pivots have become essential to still hit yearly goals. With this quick change can come an abundance of questions. What tools should you be using and what messages should you be communicating? What will people respond to and what will they ignore? How do you toe the line between sharing branded content while not seeming insensitive to current events? Unfortunately, there's no marketing handbook to follow when a pandemic hits, but here are some helpful marketing tips to use during these uncertain times.
Utilize your email list
Emails are not only perfect to help keep your supporters aware of any major changes, but they are also great at keeping your organization top of mind. There are a wide variety of different types of emails you can send to help inspire donors, drive participation, and motivate those in your community.
- Organization Response: This would be used to keep your audience aware of what steps you're taking in response to the situation, whether it's having people work from home, taking additional sanitation steps, or providing timelines for future communication.
- Event Updates: As the day to day landscape continues to change, it's important to keep everyone aware of any shifts in future events. You want this messaging to be clear, brief, and informative.
- Inspirational Messages: A positive email can go a long way in not only giving people peace of mind, but reminding them why they support your organization in the first place.
- Resources: Make it easy for your audience to find the resources they need while showing that you're always there for them. Keep in mind that alongside more traditional resources, you can also tailor these to the type of nonprofit you have.
Continue posting to social media
Regardless of the size of your organization, social media is a way to stay connected and communicate with your audience. It might seem difficult during this time to come up with unique posts, but you want to make sure that while you adjust your messaging, you don't stop. Posts can be used to bring attention to cause awareness days, trending hashtags, answering FAQs, sharing community stories and updates, and showcasing user generated content.
Turn to virtualization
For many organizations, yearly events are essential to bringing in donations. While the environment might be a bit different this year, instead of cancelling or postponing your event, look to throwing a virtual one. Moving your event online not only continues to foster your organization's community, but it gives you content to share on social media within the following weeks (hopefully attracting additional donors). While some aspects of your event might look different, many can remain the same (for example, a virtual auction).
While every organization attempts find the new normal, it's important to remember that the successful ones are those that can adapt and look towards new avenues they might not have looked down before. If you have additional questions or would like help launching your new marketing plan, contact the experts at Informatics inc.
