5 Free Ways to Market Your Nonprofit

Just like any for-profit business, nonprofit organizations need to have a marketing strategy to survive and thrive.
Nancy Schwartz, founder and president of the nonprofit marketing firm Getting Attention, emphasizes that marketing for nonprofits is all about building relationships, and those relationships are vital to an organization's success.
“The goal of marketing is to build and strengthen relationships," says Schwartz, who in addition to her consulting work also serves on the board of the Nonprofit Technology Network and on marketing committees for her synagogue, local high school and PTA. "Nonprofits are based on fundraising, but you can’t meet someone the first time and ask for money. You need to build that relationship."
Nonprofits don't have a lot of money to throw around on marketing, however. So it's important for you to make every penny count. Luckily, free marketing opportunities abound. It's just a matter of being innovative, creative and flexible in your marketing approach.
Here are five ideas for affordable nonprofit marketing.
Engage your current supporters
Nurturing and engaging your current supporters, donors and volunteers is, according to Schwartz, one of the most effective free marketing strategies for nonprofits.
“You have to be very appreciative of your supporters," explains Schwartz. "Nurturing your existing supporters is the best low-cost, highly-effective marketing strategy. It’s always easier to retain existing supporters than it is to get new people in the door.”
That means keeping them updated and informed, and it also means getting them to do things with and for your organization. And here is where the second part of this strategy comes in: Ask them to tell their friends, family and colleagues about your organization.
"Not only does that expand your reach and increase the number of folks engaged in your organization, it’s asking people to get involved more than just writing a check," says Schwartz. "It works to get your existing supporters engaged.”
Social media
Social media sites are a gold mine of free marketing opportunities. Set up a business page on Facebook, and use it to communicate with your various constituencies—posting photos, updates, links and information. Create a Twitter account and mingle with others, keeping them up-to-date about your nonprofit's activities. LinkedIn, too, provides plenty of opportunities to market, by creating a business page, promoting your organization and keeping in touch with like-minded people. Look, too, for smaller, lesser-known social media outlets that are specific to the focus of your organization.
It's important to remember, however, that though there's often no upfront cost associated with these sites, it does take time for someone within your organization to keep them updated—and time is money.
"The key to effective use of social media is engagement, and engagement means that somebody from your organization is engaging with people through that conduit," explains Hamilton Wallace, owner of SmallBusinessMarketingConsultant.com. "To have an authentic voice and create engagement, it needs to come from someone inside the firm."
Blogging
Create a blog on your website and update it daily with helpful and useful information that readers be likely to share with others. The more useful the information you give, the more it will help your marketing strategy, increase awareness of your organization and mission and engage your audience. Another upside of blogging is it will draw people to the rest of your site, where they can see what you're doing and learn how they can support your activities.
Videos
Anyone with a smartphone and simple editing software can create professional videos that can be posted on YouTube or directly on your organization's website.
"We're a video-oriented culture, especially with YouTube," says Valerie Moody, owner of Fodeo, which provides photography and video services for individuals and organizations. “Anything we want to do we can go to YouTube and find something that shows us how to do that."
Your nonprofit might post an instructional video, for instance, or a video message from the director, or clips showing community service and involvement. Getting people to watch and share your videos will help spread your message.
Speaking engagements
Line up representatives of your organization to speak at conferences, trade shows and other events related to your field. This is a chance for free publicity and an opportunity to get your message out there. You can put information about possible speakers and topics on your website, so people searching for a speaker will be able to track down your organization, or you can register with a speaker's bureau.
Each of these techniques works in tandem with others. Thus, you can promote your speech-making over social media, or mention it in your blog. An e-mail newsletter can point people to your Facebook page. T-shirts that your employees wear to community events can have your organization's name and website on them.
Great marketing doesn't have to be expensive. In fact, the more creative you are with your marketing, the less you'll have to spend.
Vivian Wagner is a freelance writer in New Concord, Ohio. Vivian blogs via Contently.com.
Photo credit: Thinkstock

 American Express OPEN Forum

11:45 by Robert dawne · 1

Add to Your Network: 5 Best Business Contacts

Even if your marketing budget is tight, there’s plenty you can do to build your business. Networking is one of the most cost-effective ways to win new business. Often, it won’t cost you a dime, but to reap the rewards, you have to weave it into your daily business activities.
Here are five types of contacts to make in the coming months.
1. Smart people in other industries
People in other industries can alert you to best practices that you can bring to your own arena.
“It’s about exchanging information,” says Ken Tencer, CEO of Spyder Works, a branding and innovation firm in Toronto and New York. He is co-author of The 90% Rule, which looks at how to evaluate and effectively act on business opportunities.
How do you find the right people to add to your brain trust? Ask yourself who to exchange information with that would benefit yourself and your business, says Tencer. Don’t know many professionals outside of your field? Join a high-level networking group, such as Vistage, that puts you in the same room with CEOs from unrelated industries.
“It really opens your mind,” Tencer says. “It gives you feedback on what you could be doing differently, by learning from best practices in other areas.”
Those who don’t have time for ongoing group meetings can attend trade shows that attract participants from many industries. Go to the workshops and seminars where you’ll have an opportunity to talk with other business leaders, suggests Tencer.
2. Amplifiers
To spread your company's message, get to know like-minded industry thought leaders, journalists and social media users with a significant following. These people will help you reach their audiences, says Tencer.
You don’t have to meet such contacts face-to-face to build a strong working relationship. One good way to meet amplifiers, says Tencer, is by offering useful information based on your professional knowledge. Post to social networks such as LinkedIn.
3. New prospects in growing industries
A good 44 percent of small business owners expect economic volatility to make it harder to reach their business goals for 2012, according to the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute.
You may lose some sales to clients who are in bad financial shape in today’s economy, but you can compensate. Add new customers who are in thriving industries.
It’s not likely to happen by accident.
“If you want to be in health care, make it a point to do some homework,” says Andrea Nierenberg, author of Nonstop Networking. She is president of The Nierenberg Group, an executive training, recruiting and consulting firm in New York.
Identify key players in the market you want to reach, and make a plan for contacting them, perhaps through a site like LinkedIn or with introductions from professional contacts.
4. Savvy suppliers
When you buy products and services, take the time to ask your suppliers about what they're seeing in the marketplace. Consider inviting one or two to your office this year to make a brief presentation.
“They can definitely tell you about trends they have seen in your industry and in parallel industries,” says Tencer. Suppliers who do business internationally can offer a particularly comprehensive perspective.
5. Friends of friends
Forget the old taboo against mixing business with pleasure. Your social circle, from lunch mates at the office to high school friends, can be a great source of referrals. This works as long as they are familiar enough with the quality of your work to recommend you confidently to their contacts.
How do you foster unsought referrals? Be a recurring source of help to others in your personal, professional and volunteer networks. When you pass along a job lead or make introductions to a potential client, says Nierenberg, others will naturally want to reciprocate.
If you’ve lost touch with a friend, Nierenberg suggests that you set up a Google alert with that person’s name. News clippings and blog posts that pop up may give you conversation starters to use in an e-mail. Of course, if a buddy makes a valuable connection, you’ll want to take them to lunch or send a small gift.
“The better the relationships you have with people, the more likely they are to make introductions for you,” says Nierenberg.
Elaine Pofeldt is an independent journalist specializing in entrepreneurship. Her work has appeared in TheAtlantic.com, BNET, Crain’s New York Business, CBS Moneywatch, Good Housekeeping, Inc., Working Mother and many other publications. A former senior editor of Fortune Small Business magazine and editor of its website, she does editorial consulting for online and print publications.

12:05 by Robert dawne · 0