How to Create Your 2018 Nonprofit Content Strategy in Just 2 Steps

Did you struggle with posting consistently this past year to all of your social media channels?

Did you find it challenging to create and share content that garnered engagement and elicited a response?  

A frequent challenge that I heard from nonprofits this past year was not being able to create and/or curate enough content to post on social media.

This difficulty is two-pronged: the content that many nonprofits did post fell to deaf ears, or crickets. Engagement plummeted, and nonprofits struggled to “get people to care.”  

We all want more engagement from our digital marketing efforts, but how to get it? 

In this article, you’ll discover how to create a content strategy for 2018 in just two simple steps.

Want to go more in depth? Get the on demand replay of the nonprofit Master Class: Mapping Out Your Nonprofit Marketing Calendar for 2018!

Step #1 – Become THE go-to resource.

Think about this for a second.

Why do you follow, like, and share certain pages, organizations, brands, and people on social media?

Which email newsletters keep your interest and get you reading them week after week? \

Which blogs do you frequent and subscribe to?

If you are like most people, you engage with certain places and people on digital channels because they are entertaining, humorous, and/or provide useful, valuable information to their online communities.

It makes complete sense: 61% of Facebook users share things that they find interesting, and 43% share a post because the content was important or they found it funny.

See the full infographic at the QuickSprout website.

Due to the nature of our work, nonprofits cannot post 100% purely entertaining or humorous content.

This leaves us with one choice – to become an indispensable, important, go-to resource for our fans and followers.

After all, you are not entitled to an audience. People need a reason to subscribe to your newsletter, to like you on Facebook, to follow you on Instagram, etc.

Action Step:

Take out a piece of paper and write down everything you know about your audience.

• What do they want to know more about?
• What gets them “passionately inspired or pissed off”?
• Where are their knowledge gaps?
• Think like a journalist – what is the hook?
• Relate what you do to current events and topics that people are already discussing/debating.
• Think beyond your organization.
• Think about the bigger cause itself.

Becoming a go-to resource is NOT about what you want to tell your audience – it’s about what they want to know, learn, and hear.

Want to go more in depth? Get the on demand replay of the nonprofit Master Class: Mapping Out Your Nonprofit Marketing Calendar for 2018!

Example: A Mighty Girl

Think about what your audience really needs and wants to hear from you – what would add value to their busy lives?

Step #2: Share stories.

In study, after study, after study, it is always “revealed” that donors simply want to know 2 things from nonprofits:

• What did you do with my money?
• Are you making a meaningful difference?

Stories are the best way to answer both of these questions.

Warning:

This is often the reason that nonprofits aren’t getting the results they want in their digital marketing.

They treat social media and digital channels like one-way advertisements! 

Even though you are doing great work, no one owes you their attention or their time.

You MUST add value.

You MUST be communicating to a specific audience.

You MUST not be boring.

Cut through the fluff and the noise.

Address the most pervasive myths and stereotypes about your work, your clients, and the impact that you have.

Give your audience the REAL inside scoop and information about the cause and how to help.

Let me know if you need help planning your 2018 nonprofit digital content strategy! 

Want to go more in depth? Get the on demand replay of the nonprofit Master Class: Mapping Out Your Nonprofit Marketing Calendar for 2018!