Marketing is rapidly changing industry full of various branches. From traditional marketing channels like radio and television to new age marketing avenues like social media, it can be difficult keeping with the many forms of marketing. In 2022, we're living in a Digital Age and a lot of the marketing trends we experience are online. There are a plethora of marketing tactics when it comes to digital marketing: social media, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, and content marketing are just a few examples. A lot of these marketing strategies are interconnected, but each one is unique and provides different opportunities to reach your target audience.
What exactly is content marketing and how is it different than social media marketing? According to HubSpot, content marketing is "the process of publishing written or visual material online with the purpose of attracting more leads to your business." Content marketing includes but is not limited to social media graphics or videos, blog posts on a website, podcasts, brochures, infographics, press releases, event flyers, and more! Social media plays a role in content marketing, but it's not the only aspect. When it comes to content marketing, it's important to review and evaluate your existing content marketing strategies to make sure you're reaching your target audience in a meaningful way that aligns with your brand and mission.
When I was an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Kentucky Interpreter & Translator Association, I accepted the sole responsibility of managing the marketing (online and off). I also led the nonprofit's fundraising initiatives by planning and hosting monthly fundraisers at local restaurants, breweries, and coffee shops. We didn't raise a lot of money at these monthly, especially compared some bigger local or statewide organizations, but the small extra income every month makes a difference in the long run. What a lot of people eight not realize is how marketing and fundraising often go hand and hand.
In order for fundraisers to be successful, you need a clever marketing strategy to promote the event. I would plan each one and start posting about it at least a month in advance on the nonprofit's social media channels. I would save the date on the organization's calendar on our website as well as make a Facebook event to invite people and set reminders/posts. I attended monthly community coalition meetings and would promote our next monthly fundraiser. I would pass out paper event flyers to the other attendees, which also included links to the Facebook event.
In addition, I also coordinated and hosted major fundraising events like KITA's participation in the 2017 Good Giving Challenge. It's hard for small nonprofit's to compete with larger, more well-known organizations, but I think we did well. To prepare for the event at the end of the year, I started elevating KITA's social media by giving each profile a facelift by making our message clear from the beginning, rewriting the about sections, researching hashtags used in the industry or locally, and implementing consistent posting schedules with other marketing plans. I met with local leaders and community members who understand the importance of language access to record videos like the one below.
These videos connected us with the community while simultaneously amplifying our mission and goals. Making sure these digital marketing strategies match your over marketing game plan is crucial. Successful content marketing strategies value and prioritize their clients, donors, or fanbase. You keep them coming back by providing them value, which goes beyond tangible product or service. Ask yourself these questions:
Are you educating your target audience and offering solutions to their issues?
Are you entertaining your audience and making them laugh?
Are you motivating your audience and inspiring them to do to something?
This is the greatest lesson I hope you learn from this blog post. It's important that the content you share offers something valuable to your target audience. People engage with your brand on social media, listen to your podcast, or read your blog because of what they get from it.
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