The Tricky Business of Promoting a Charity
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Whether you’re promoting a profit or non-profit organisation the goal is the same- to get the word out there about the company to people who are interested in it. However, from a practical point of view, there are a number of differences between marketing a charity and a regular business. If you’ve been given the task of promoting a non-profit organisation and don’t know where to start, here are a few things to bear in mind.
Think of the budget
Regular for-profit companies will have a budget set aside specifially for marketing, and will be aware of the costs that come along with promotion. Charities on the other hand often don’t have much budget, and so it’s all about doing what you can without much money. Social media promotion is essentially free, and encouraging likes and shares from their audience will help the message your putting out to gain traction. Events can also be done cheaply using volunteers, you can host tombolas and other giveaways and appeal to local businesses to help with prizes. If the charity you’re working with has an established blog, this can be a great way to get the message out to more people, you could see if any freelance writers would be prepared to submit some content for free as a way to help the cause.
Appeal to the heart
The key to marketing a business is to persuade the customer that the thing you’re selling is what they’re currently lacking- even if it’s something they didn’t know they needed. You’re appealing to a void they have, with the perfect product or service that will make their life better. This is true of both profit and non-profit marketing, the key to promoting a charity however is often to target the heart. Persuade the person that donating or helping in some way is what will fill that void they’ve been experiencing. Of course, when people donate to a charity they’re doing it because they want to help and make a difference to others. However, they also donate because it makes THEM feel good- even if they don’t realise that this is one of the driving forces for doing so. Bring the message home that helping the cause will help others as well as improve their own lives through being a generous and caring person.
Oursource the work
If you don’t usually promote or market charities and this isn’t an area you’re comfortable with in business then it could be worth outsourcing the work to a company that deals specifically in this. globalfacesdirect.com for example help charities gain more longstanding sponsors as well as fundraising ideas and much more. While you have to pay to outsource to a company, if it’s a big project that needs a lot of traction or you need to ensure it’s done to the best standard then it’s something to consider.
Have you ever had the task of marketing a charity, or have you ever owned a non-profit organisation that you’ve marketed yourself?
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