Inbound Marketing for Non-Profits: Why It Works

Inbound marketing is the new buzzword non-profits are getting to know. If you’re a non-profit you know the importance of saving money when it comes to marketing and advertising. Non-profits don’t typically have the budget to market themselves so creating content that is emotionally appealing will enable them to make their target audience care about their cause. As organizations that rely solely on donations for survival and serving their constituents, non-profits can greatly benefit from the less costly route this marketing methodology offers them.

Some of the many advantages of inbound marketing for non-profits are:

1) The ability to introduce yourself to strangers

Content marketing provides an educational venue to non-profits helping you keep your constituents informed about issues that matter. This can help you better coordinate your efforts and have a more effective impact. Reaching out to more people will in turn create an opportunity for your organizations to speak about causes, profile your team members and those who support you and inspire others to join. Successful marketing on a little budget can turn readers into supporters. Increasing your profile through becoming effective story-tellers can enable your non-profits to reach out to more people and make you a credible source of information.

2) A platform to highlight your success stories

Through the use of inbound marketing, non-profits can use videos, blog posts and social media channels to highlight their success stories, volunteers and donors. Sharing stories is a great way to inspire more people to get involved and will also help the organization build trust with their audience. By show casing success stories non-profits can benefit from free publicity and reap its rewards through a higher membership rate.

3) Connection to people impacted by your efforts

Targeting your content is the key to gaining followers, supporters and ambassadors. Sharing strong content can build your brand and publicize your organization without costing a lot. Connecting with people on an emotional level through story-telling will have a strong impact and be re-shared giving you more exposure and credibility in the long run. Non-profits spend a lot of time and money on helping communities and people. Sharing these stories with those who are likely to be interested in them will ensure the stories get shared and reach those most likely to support their cause in the future.

4) Increased exposure and awareness

Gaining publicity with a low budget can be a challenge for non-profits. Inbound marketing methodology enables such organizations the ability to tap into the power of free publicity. Growing a member base through online credibility, gained by producing good content is the key to building a strong presence. According to Hubspot the average cost per lead is 60% lower with inbound marketing as opposed to traditional marketing.  Regular blogging leads to higher search engine placement, more mentions and shares on social media and greater website traffic.

5) A more thorough database

Inbound marketing for non-profits can lead to the creation of a complete and reliable constituent database. Crating a clean and reader-friendly website with compelling content is a great way for capturing the attention of your readers. Creating a direct call to action will ensure your readers are turned into potential donors, volunteers and supporters. The call to action should involve an information gathering mechanism which allows you to gather data with your readers’ permission and add to your files for future communications.

Inbound marketing can be a fruitful, cost-saving endeavor if the end goal is clearly established, the right tools are used and goals are clearly communicated to your audience. Remember to create interesting content using various multi-media tools and interact with your readers. Set a clear call to action and specify what you’d like your followers to do. Knowing your target audience and what information would appeal to them is the first step towards creating a useful inbound marketing campaign using an inbound marketing agency.

Do you know any other benefit that a non-profit organization can get from implementing inbound marketing?