Your community knows your name. Savvy marketing makes sure they know everything you do.
“Wow! I didn’t realise you offered that,” small comment — big opportunity.
Your local community knows who you are – a bunch of lovely, loyal, hardworking humans running a not-for-profit organisation, intent on making a positive difference in people’s lives.
They might know you for your op shop, community lunches or events. Maybe they remember one game-changing program. The one that opened all kinds of exciting possibilities for them or someone they know.
But the whole gamut of game-changing things you offer – they may have little or no idea about that. That gap between how your community sees you and the breadth and depth of ways you can serve them really matters.
It can mean someone missing out on support, a potential partner not thinking to refer to you, or a volunteer who never discovers an opportunity they would love.
A ton of the work it takes to shift your community from ‘familiar with’ to ‘fully clued up’ on all the ways you make a difference can be done by your marketing.
Here are 4 savvy marketing ways to get that job done.
Mix up and maximise each marketing moment
For your people — current and potential clients, partners and all their closely connected humans, it’s the small marketing moments that help them understand what you do. They might catch one social post, scan a headline in your newsletter or hear about you through a friend.
If your communications regularly feature the same activity, then that’s the one that people will ‘know’ you for.
By all means, spruik your signature program(s), but combine those campaigns with some, ‘Hi did you know we do [insert under-subscribed activity of choice], and it does this for [insert fresh angle on who it helps and how].
Build the bigger picture with snapshot moments designed to spark interest in activities and services that maybe don’t get on people's radar. Connect with the people who need these services with clear messaging and (if it fits your brand voice) a small side serve of quirk and surprise.
And a quick cautionary reminder: Don’t try to squeeze everything your organisation does into every post. That makes for flummoxing and worst of all, forgettable marketing.
Maximise EACH service’s moment
Make each service understandable, accessible and inviting.
Answer those FAQ. Introduce the approachable, experienced, all-round good egg person running the program. Describe what a first visit looks like. List (in plain English – more on this in a minute) the things people will know, be able to do or have achieved by the end.
Where appropriate, and with informed consent, share staff profiles and participant success stories that verify the experience behind the service and the difference it makes.
Done skilfully, consistently and with heart, these small pieces help your community build a more complete understanding of your organisation.
Make it easy to recognise “this is for me”
Answer the questions a person looking for help needs answered, namely:
Is this for someone like me?
What will happen if I come along?
Can I afford it?
Who can I speak to?
Talk directly to that person — use ‘you’. Anticipate and address the scary ‘but what if’ stuff like pacing, personalised help, resources and requirements. If you’re announcing a program, paint a vivid picture of how it helps people.
If a tech course will help someone feel more confident, illustrate what that might mean for your target audience – paying bills online, saving, editing and sharing photos on your phone. A community lunch might be a filling, delicious low-key way to chat to new people and launch like-minded friendships. A volunteer role might give someone a way to refresh and grow their skills and workplace confidence for finding that job they’re after.
Program names and ‘outcomes’ couched in funding terminology don’t always tell people what they need to know.
Practical details and vivid descriptions help people see where they fit.
Help your partners tell your story
Your local networks can play a valuable role in helping people find you.
Schools, libraries, health services, employers and other community organisations will already be speaking with people who could benefit from your services.
Three things make it easy for them to explain what you offer.
Current information – a beautifully branded, clearly written flyer or brochure
The name, phone number and email address for the contact person
A set of straightforward referral steps.
And one more thing … Keep the conversation going. Staff change, information gets mislaid. A partner who knew your services two years ago may not know what you’re offering today.
‘Phew! That sounds like a lot!’
If that’s what you’re thinking now, you’re right. Marketing is skilful, patient, time-consuming work. And results don’t happen overnight.
There can be quiet (or even strident) pressure on not-for-profit teams to master one or more marketing things — Get better at social media. Understand email marketing. Update the website. Make videos. Learn what the numbers mean.
And that’s a tough ask, on top of delivering programs, supporting vulnerable people, making tight funding go the distance and keeping the organisation running.
The Inspired Hive can help.
We get to know your organisation, understand your priorities and turn them into a practical marketing plan. Then we get to work: the content, newsletters, website updates and campaigns that help people understand what you do and how to connect with you.
‘Hmmm … OKaaay… but…’
‘Hmmmm … OKaaay … but’, I hear you say, sounding intrigued and a tad sceptical. And you’re right again. The prospect of someone taming the marketing monster- that’s intriguing. The chances of someone outside the not-for-profit sector really ‘getting to know’ your organisation - that’s much trickier. And who has the time and brain space to bring a marketer up to speed? Not you, that’s for sure.
Hello, I’m Laura, Queen Bee at the Inspired Hive.
My marketing smarts are backed by over twenty years of managing game-changing not-for-profits. I've worn the hundred hats and done all-the-things we do to keep our NFPs afloat. I've piloted organisations through rough patches and made the most of moments of smooth sailing.
I’ve always led from the heart.
I created the Inspired Hive to provide pragmatic, heart-driven, community-centred marketing for organisations like yours.
You know your community. I know marketing, and I’ve lived and breathed not-for-profit management for decades. Bringing me up to speed will not be tricky or time-consuming. Promise.
Keen to take the marketing load off your team?
Laura understands the work you do. And she and her team at the Inspired Hive will make sure your community does too.
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