A lot of Nonprofits struggle when it comes to defining who their audience is. Whether it's the lack of knowledge, resources, or time, a common misstep is not clearly defining your goal. Putting in the time to spell out your goal, will make every step that follows breezy.
To give you an idea of some common goals with email or social media campaigns we've seen:
- Grow email lists
- Recruit volunteers
- Increase donations
- Get more attendance
- More awareness (for both supporters and those in need of your services)
So, think about your goal. It may be one of the above or it may not, but take your clearly defined goal and begin crafting a marketing persona.
This sounds way more intimidating than it actually is. A marketing persona is nothing more than a detailed, lay-out of your target audience. For Nonprofits, your marketing persona can either be for those in need of your services or your supporters. That's why your goal is so useful.
Get to know your target audience. Learn basic facts.
Where are they located? How old are they? What gender do they identify as? Who are they as a professional? What is their education level?
Picture where you need to be to grab your targeted audience's attention online.
Think about where they “hang” online. Facebook? LinkedIn? Blogs? Remember, it's important to keep your Nonprofit's voice consistent, but each online platform requires a different tone. For example, although Facebook and Instagram are owned by the same company, Instagram is way more light of a platform than Facebook. Instagram is casual, and Facebook is more business-causal.
Find the circle your targeted audience is in.
How do they stay connected with things they're passionate about? Do they attend meetings? If so, with who? What about fundraisers or galas? Are they in any relevant professional groups?
Responsibilities, Goals and Objectives
Everybody has something that drives them to do what they do.
Is your audience looking for ways to get involved with an organization like yours? Do they need your services?
This is the why. Why your target audience needs you.
What challenges do they face? How are they looking to be challenged? How will you help? How can they help?
As you can imagine, there are probably a lot of organizations that are similar to yours, and all have the same target audience. Every single question above will help you speak to your audience, have them hear you, and set you apart from everyone else. Now go! Get your audience ready.