Do you and your communications team share the following fears?
- Inability to keep pace with and effectively manage social media
- Inconsistency and disagreements about how to approach marketing
- Lack of funding and staff
If so, you are not alone. According to a global NFP marketing trends report, these are the concerns that are keeping you awake at night. Delve a little further into the report and the answers lie beneath. Only 35% of those NFP organisations surveyed had a written and approved communications plan.
Now before we point the finger at the marketing team, this may be caused by the absence of other key elements including:
- Up to date strategic plan
- Well articulated brand identity
- Stakeholder research
Without strategic direction and research to prioritise activities, a clearly defined value proposition and voice, as well as insight into what is meaningful to your stakeholders, your marketing plan will be a stab in the dark. It will be driven by what has worked in the past, what is comfortable and what immediately springs to mind.
When your organisation has defined its direction and voice, the fears listed above have less relevance.
Understanding how your stakeholders engage with social media will allow you to determine which channels are worth frequenting and how to foster meaningful engagement with them – there is no need to learn about everything you need to know about social media – be a stakeholder expert and let their activity guide yours. The results will be more meaningful.
Let the strategic plan guide your marketing approach. If you are unsure as to the most effective way to translate a strategic objective into a marketing campaign, get help (contact us). An upfront investment is much more cost effective than a year of deliberation. There are some great examples of small to medium NFPs who have achieved great things on limited resources. They are focused, ensure the foundations are developed and apply the Pareto principle.
It’s time to shake the status-quo and delve a little deeper into the cause of your nightmare on marketing street. We are here to help.
