Creating Compelling Content: The Definitive Guide For Nonprofits
Content is king. Effective content strategies are important for all organizations, but when it comes to nonprofit organizations, the right content strategy is practically second to none for reaching those eager to help.
The right content engages an audience, informs them of the latest news about the organization, and tells captivating stories that can encourage people to donate. In addition, it wins new supporters and keeps existing supporters on board. Finally, it helps an organization build authority in its niche and even helps the nonprofit appear at the top of search engines.
Here’s a guide for nonprofit organizations on how exactly to create compelling content and reap the benefits.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a marketing approach that focuses on creating and distributing content to engage with a target audience and achieve a specific marketing objective. Content marketing comes in all kinds of forms, including:
Videos
Podcasts
Short blog posts
Articles
Email marketing
Text messages
Magazines
Ebooks
Games
Social media posts
Whatever form it takes, content marketing relies on persuading consumers (in this case, donors) by explaining, entertaining, and endearing instead of aggressively pushing or pursuing.
Why is Content Marketing Important?
A nonprofit content marketer has to find, engage with, and retain supporters, nearly always without being able to offer much in return (other than the feeling of doing good). Without a good strategy in place, this can take time and money, both of which nonprofits tend not to have.
Support is most often monetary, but it can also come in many forms—advocacy, fundraising, volunteering, and campaigning to name a few. Most of these forms of support are a bigger commitment than making a purchase or donating, and so the work that goes into asking for it is also bigger.
Nonprofits also have the added pressure of having to put this extra effort in with a smaller budget than for-profits do. Limited resources mean that they have to ensure that their content marketing efforts work by establishing an effective strategy as early as possible.
Factors to Consider When Creating a Nonprofit Content Marketing Strategy
For nonprofits, effective doesn’t necessarily mean conventional. The best content marketing for an organization depends on many factors. Here’s what to consider when creating a content marketing strategy that makes things like blogs and newsletters more interesting and compelling.
Goals
Every piece of content must have intent. In the short term, focusing on immediate engagement and timely topics allows the organization to capture attention, spark discussions, and stay relevant within the rapidly evolving landscape. Meanwhile, long-term content efforts contribute to building trust, credibility, and a loyal supporter base.
Resources
A nonprofit’s resources directly influences the feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of its content marketing efforts. Resources aren’t limited to skills, software, budget, or size. It also include access to interview subjects, sources for stories, ability to create content, and so on.
What content can be created, when it can be created, how often it can be created, and its scope will all depend on each organization’s unique resources. Understanding its availability helps set achievable goals and expectations.
Target audience
All marketing efforts depend largely on the target audience. Knowing the audience’s demographics, interests, and preferences enables the nonprofit to tailor content that resonates and craft messages that are more likely to capture attention.
Method
Content can be amazing, but it isn’t effective until it’s reached and viewed by the right people. For example, it isn’t enough to publish well-written blog posts, they also need to be search engine-optimized so that they actually make their way onto people’s screens. Great content isn’t great without the right distribution strategy.
Time available
Some forms of content take longer than others to create, and some marketing plans take longer than others. Nonprofits should consider how much time they have to reach their goals and make their existing resources last. The best content and marketing plans use a mix of short and long-term planning, and leave space for topical marketing campaigns and new-related content.
Alignment
The content created should align with the target audience’s sponsor journey. Topics, needs, and questions should be addressed in the content.
Keeping Content Effective and Compelling
Once a nonprofit has decided on what kinds of content they should focus on and created a marketing strategy, it’s time to implement tactics that effectively pull potential supporters in and engage with them meaningfully. Here are some examples:
Focus on the nonprofit’s story
Every nonprofit has a different vision and mission. What led them there? Why this cause over all others? Who was the founder? These are some of the questions that organizations can answer in their content to show people their sincerity and authenticity.
Focusing on the story behind the organization helps to differentiate a nonprofit from the rest, helps people make a meaningful connection with the organization, and establishes a more coherent image and identity.
Tell detailed stories about what contributions can do
Storytelling is the most impactful way to motivate donors to act. It helps them to see the real impacts of their contribution and transforms their perspective.
Making content based on stories of how contributions have changed lives should ideally:
Be specific
Use media content (photos and videos)
Talk about individual scenarios and people
Telling stories in this way makes content visually appealing and easy to connect with on a personal level. The individuals in the stories don’t have to ask for help or anything specific from the donor, they just need to talk about the struggles they’re facing and/or how their lives have changed after they received the help and support that they needed.
These stories almost act like a portfolio; they document what the nonprofit does, why their mission matters, and how donors can help.
Be visual
A great question to ask before creating content is what will grab target audiences’ attention and keep them coming back for more?
Most often, it’s visual content. People love pictures and videos, especially ones that have a happy ending. When telling stories or communicating a message, there are many creative ways to endear a mission to potential and current donors.
For example, a senior citizen center might have some short videos detailing what each of its members is like, what their hobbies are, and any life stories or lessons they’d like to share. A fun twist would be doing it in the style of The Office.
Communicate options
Often, people who would have supported a nonprofit in some way end up not doing so because they didn’t know all of the available support options. Let them know if there are options for fundraising, donating goods, volunteering, campaigning, etc. Additionally, make it easy for them to find out more about exactly how to follow through with these options. There’s nothing worse than wanting to help and not knowing how to.
Share impact
Just like people use reviews to inform purchases, potential supporters look to see if their contributions will really make a difference and be used in the intended way. They will want to know if who they’re about to support really makes a difference and uses resources properly.
Nonprofits can use this behavior to drive engagement by:
Explaining what happens with donations
Giving real testimonials from other volunteers and/or donors
Sharing other beneficiaries’ perspectives
It's also a good idea to link supporters’ contributions to the nonprofit’s achievements. It shows recognition and encourages continued support. Engaged, convinced donors will naturally advocate for the causes they believe in and involve others.
Be informative
Organizations should consider the topic at the heart of what they’re doing. Their content should inform potential and current supporters on topics such as why the issue is important and how many are impacted by the issue.
It’s a great idea to gather and share statistics, information, and more resources to share with those looking to learn more about the cause that the nonprofit works for.
Compelling Content Can Lead to Real Change in the World
Nonprofits fight hard for the causes that they believe in, and each of these causes is rooted in making the world a better place. They may have goals, resources, and strategies that are very different than for-profit organizations, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t leverage the same best practices to achieve their unique goals. Ultimately, compelling content marketing equips nonprofits with the tools to not only raise their voice but also shape the narrative, secure funding for their initiatives, and mobilize volunteers toward their vision of positive change.