Measuring Success In Your NGO Marketing - Part 3

Note: #NGOMarketingSeries is a three-part series on how NPOs and NGOs can start leveraging modern marketing techniques to improve the efficacy of their social projects

Are you interested in taking your non-profit's marketing to the next level? Then you're in the right place. In part one of the #NGOMarketingSeries, we unpacked the fundamentals of NPO marketing- getting to the crux of the donor's needs, understanding your unique business objectives and tapping into your audience's psychology.

In the second guide, we discussed the importance and value of digital marketing channels and how to choose the right ones for your objectives.

In this third instalment, we discuss how to utilise and identify resources to your brand\s advantage, how to be adventurous and how to measure success. Let's get started.

Be adventurous

Because non-profits are hit with the hardest hurdle of all (lack of funds), being adventurous with even a fraction of your media spend seems like a massive risk.

Sure, it is, but without taking the risk, you'll likely be drowned out in the crowd of cause marketing that's similar to yours. Here are some ideas to help your cause marketing stand out.

• Present the cold, hard facts and numbers in digestive bites such as infographics.
• Create emotional, personal connections by telling the stories about what's at stake. Highlight the people, animals or environment and what your actions mean to them. A compelling medium to launch this would be video.
• Recruit volunteers, employees and everyday people to come on-board and offer their time, resources and expertise to share information and possible solutions to the issue you're solving. These everyday people are exactly that- completely relatable to the target audience. This type of content can be executed through content marketing such as in newsletters, Instagram stories and other forms of incredibly powerful user-generated content.
• Take advantage of PR channels to release thought-provoking content that entices your audience to think about which side of the fence they sit on and, more importantly, to take a stand.

Utilise your resources

Not to be confused with utilising social media influencers. Tapping into resources involves working with experts and specialists that work at your company, are affiliated with your sponsors or those in your professional network.

Perhaps you have access to a specialist trauma councillor, addiction specialist, a GP, social workers, nutritionists, midwives, clinical phycologists or any other expert in your field. These knowledgeable resources need to be tapped into through detailed and specific content marketing efforts.

The content created should address very specific topics by sharing expert advice and useful resources. Topics will relate to your specific NGO efforts- for example, surviving assault, overcoming addiction, or how to remove vulnerable children from unsafe environments.

This type of marketing effort targets a particular audience- one that's desperately in need of this valuable information.

The idea here is to become a trusted ally and a credible source of information.

To really take this to the next level, you can create a private, one-on-one safe space where users can get advice on raw, personal questions without fear of judgement.

This can be promoted through content and email marketing, with the safe spaces executed through WhatsApp for business, social media DMs or website question and answer portals.

Measure your performance

The above-mentioned marketing efforts are heavily focused on digital in particular, and there's a good reason for that. Digital marketing is measurable, meaning you can benchmark what results you should be getting for your money's worth before spending a single cent.

This gives you measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to aim for, and once you start spending your budget, you can measure yourself up to those specific benchmarks. All of this is even more vital if you're an NGO since every cent matters, and you really can't afford to make costly mistakes.

Hiring a digital marketing agency that's experienced in working with cause marketing and NGOs will ensure your KPIs are set up correctly ahead of time and that your campaigns are optimised to get you the best ROI.

Do you need help marketing your non-profit successfully?

Do you need to show your donors more value for their funding? Contact us today at hello@arcinteractive.co or visit www.arcinteractive.co for more NGO marketing tips. You can also follow Arc Interactive on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

About the author

Zanthe is a former designer and HTML web developer turned digital marketer based in Johannesburg with an acute eye for detail and a creative spark, she decided to pursue a career in graphic design. After qualifying, she worked as a designer and developer for a few years and then began studying marketing whereafter she found her niche in digital marketing.

Zanthe has since been doing digital marketing work on some big brands such as ABSA, Russell Hobbs, Danone Brands, as well as non-profit organizations and now works as the New Business Manager at Arc Interactive based in Johannesburg.

When she isn't glued to her computer screen - blogging or making the digital connection between her clients and their customers, she spends time playing with her two cats, stays active, keeps her finger on the pulse regarding the latest trends in fashion and food, and tries hard not to be the worlds worst tennis player.

Tell us your story

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Are you looking to promote your NGO or project?

South African NGO's can create your free business listing on nichemarket. The more information you provide about your business, the easier it will be for your customers to find you online. Registering with nichemarket is easy; all you will need to do is head over to our sign up form and follow the instructions.

If you require a more detailed guide on how to create your profile or your listing, then we highly recommend you check out the following articles. 

• How to create a nichemarketer profile 
• How to create a nichemarket business listing 

Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have a little extra time to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, why not check out the following posts about NPO's and good causes.

• How To Get Google Grants For Non-profit Organizations
• Why Venture Philanthropy Can Thrive In A Decentralised Economy
• Why South African Non-Profits Should Consider Accepting Cryptocurrency Donations
• 8 Worthy South African Causes Who Could Use Some of Your Festive Joy
• How NGOs Can Get Donations Via Instagram
• The Fundamentals of Non-Profit Marketing - Part 1

Tags: NGO , NPO , Marketing, Data Analysis, Guest Post