Valeo Marketing

How Using a Digital Marketing Agency Can Help Non-Profits Save Resources

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Non-profits are the unsung heroes of society, serving the public good, the forgotten, the sick, and the suffering.  Running a successful non-profit in the new millennium takes some serious marketing chops in addition to handling all of the administrative, operational, accounting and human resources related issues of an organization.  Making a difference can make you crazy if you don’t learn how to delegate effectively.  You should consider a budget for an overall marketing strategy that may seem simple, but is actually multi-layered, complex, and requires constant adjustment.  You simply can’t do everything and keep yourself and your staff focused on the most important task of all – running your organization effectively. 

We Aren’t in Kansas Anymore, Toto

The world has done a complete 180 in the last ten years with regards to how organizations advertise and connect with the public.  Internet marketing, social media and mobile apps have made the reach of non-profits more resonant than ever.  If you aren’t doing it right, however, you will hold your non-profit back from gleaning the greatest benefits in terms of awareness, donations, and ultimately, the big-picture change you have dedicated yourself to and the reason you got involved in the first place.

Effective Marketing Requires Expertise

Digital marketing agencies are experts in the strategy, design, infrastructure, implementation and measurement of all your online outreach efforts.  Simply put, agencies can save you countless hours, precious financial resources, and untold amounts of stress by taking the reins on things that will make the most difference in bolstering your coffers, strengthening your PR, and broadcasting your all important message of change.

There are many ways digital agencies can help your organization.  Here are the most profound:

  • A bold, attractive and optimized website with ongoing SEO.  A jalopy of a website will do nothing to help you grow the number of your supporters.  Your website has to reflect solid design principles, search engine friendliness, and ease of navigation.  Opt-ins, donation plugins, social media badges, and share widgets all blend together for a conversion-centric web presence.  Solid SEO strategy to help your non-profit get found on the web will eliminate costly errors, enhance your website’s ROI, and will improve visibility.
  • Social media strategy.  You may have a Facebook page and a Twitter account, but do you know how to use these tools most effectively?  Agencies can manage all aspects of your social media from strategy based on location and demographics of donors,  scheduling and writing posts, designing graphics and apps, administering contests, and most importantly, analyzing your campaigns.  The proof is in the pudding, and because each ingredient is examined and added with care, an agency can ensure your social media efforts are hitting their target.
  • Email marketing.  You can accomplish so much more with email than with traditional advertising, it isn’t even funny.  From gorgeous graphics, to snappy copy, share widgets, and social media integration, email marketing is incredibly effective due to its measurability.  Reports offer insight into open and click-through rates, identifies which donors are most active, and targets the type of messaging that most resonates with them.  The most successful campaigns can be replicated, and those that fall short scrapped.
  • Online PR.  How the community perceives your organization and the trust it inspires is vital to meeting your financial goals.  Expertly written press releases can have significant impact on media coverage, community involvement, and donation activity because of its broad reach.  Knowing what to say, how to say it, and where to publish it can be confusing if you aren’t living in the media cyber sphere.

A Digital Agency Can Help You Focus to Accomplish More

At the end of the day, we all wish the reason for any non-profit to even exist wouldn’t be there.  Until then, making the most of your valuable resources will narrow your focus on the tasks that really matter, so you won’t be stretched in 20 different directions, burned out, and with little impact to show for all your efforts.  A digital agency can design a unique online service package that will work within your budget, and be your “secret weapon” of positive messaging, brand building, and cause awareness in the digital space.