Nonprofits work hard to assist their communities with volunteerism, fundraising, and tackling different social issues. There is a lot of work that goes into running a nonprofit organization! With donors to contact and various programs to run, it’s easy to run out of time for marketing. You can often loose site of why brand awareness is important for your nonprofit.
However, if you aren’t marketing effectively, you are missing a vital piece of the puzzle that could impact the success of your organization. To attract and maintain support, nonprofits must build their brand awareness.
What is Brand Awareness?
Brand awareness is a term that describes how familiar a consumer is with a particular brand and its product. In other words, brand awareness is how recognizable a brand is to its target audience.
For example, if you’re driving and realize you’re hungry, one of the first places you will probably think of is McDonald’s. McDonald’s, the fast-food chain, is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The bright red and yellow branding colors and golden arches are hard to miss and almost immediately equate french fries and chicken nuggets in the minds of millions globally. Most likely, you’ll pull off to a McDonald’s rather than another fast food chain since it is the first one that pops to mind.
You want to accomplish the same goal with your nonprofit. When people want to donate to a cause, you want your nonprofit to come to mind.
Why is Brand Awareness Important?
Interestingly, 50% of consumers say they are much more likely to use a company whose logo they easily recognize. This statistic also applies to nonprofit organizations, not just for-profit businesses. The more likely your audience can recognize your nonprofit’s brand and logo, the more likely they are to trust you and want to donate their time and money.
The greater the brand awareness your organization retains, the more volunteers and donors will be willing to devote their resources. On top of this, building brand awareness also assists in helping you to achieve a range of business goals and objectives. It can also grow your audience and boost website traffic.
Thus, investing in resources to expand your nonprofit’s brand awareness is vital in accomplishing your goals. When armed with a comprehensive marketing plan, nonprofits can bolster a lack of volunteers and ensure many more people know about their mission and organization.
How to Build Awareness for Your Nonprofit
There are many ways nonprofits can increase brand recognition for your nonprofit organization. Below are a few ways you can build this awareness.
Host Social Events
A great way to raise awareness and let others know about your work is to hold an event. Choosing the type of event is up to you: a movie screening, a picnic, or maybe organizing a scavenger hunt or giveaway competition.
Just make sure the event aligns with your mission! By hosting a social event, you will bring in people interested in your cause while spreading awareness and gathering donations! It’s a win-win. Make sure you post pictures to your social media channels and publicize your event for added publicity.
Organize a Community Project
Getting more people involved is the perfect way to help people remember your organization. A great way to do this is by organizing a community service project related to your nonprofit and inviting service clubs, youth organizations, and employees from your community to take part.
Utilize Social Media
It’s no secret that social media can bring in a huge amount of awareness to any campaign. All it takes is one video or photo to go viral! Information can now very easily be shared very quickly and can make it easy for you to share your work with a global audience. If you don’t know where to start with increasing your brand awareness, utilizing your social media channels is the best way to do it!
There are many platforms out there that offer a variety of services from Instagram to Facebook to Pinterest. You should experiment with different platforms and content to see what works best for your nonprofit’s target audience.
We understand developing content, a content schedule and a social media marketing plan can be difficult – and we are here to help. We offer a comprehensive suite of services at Elevare. Contact us today to see what we can do for you.
Write a Press Release
A tried and tested way to gain increased exposure is to release a press release. Press releases are short and compelling, usually written by a professional and sent to the media. They can be about anything – from your nonprofit’s latest event to a fundraiser – anything deemed newsworthy.
The release is then sent out to newspapers, reporters, and journalists in the hope the story gets picked up. If it is, you could get some fantastic coverage free of charge.
Collaborate with Another Nonprofit Organization
In recent years, there has been a big push for collaboration! Partnering up with another organization for a fundraising event or social event is another way to expand your reach. Don’t limit yourself to partnering with just nonprofits, it can also be any for-profit business that aligns with your mission and goals.
Partnerships are cost-effective, can broaden your audience, and allow you to target customers at just the right time. You will be able to share the marketing costs associated with another brand, and an added benefit is your new audience will trust you because they trust the partnership.
Build a Great Website
Another factor many nonprofits overlook is the design of their website. In this digital age, everything is increasingly visual. The visual impact of your website can encourage or dissuade a potential donor or volunteer in seconds.
Did you know that 94 percent of first impressions of your organization relate to your website’s design? People begin to determine their purchasing decisions within minutes, as it takes less than a second for a viewer to form their initial impression of your website.
Putting the effort into crafting a compelling website that tells your story and is user-friendly is vital to your success as a nonprofit.
If your site isn’t well laid out and intuitive, if you’re missing blog posts, if your graphic design isn’t up to par, if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, or if there are spelling errors or missing information, you are losing out on potential interest. Don’t hurt your cause by having a low-quality site.
We specialize in web development and web design and can craft a website that gets results. If you’d like to hear more about what we can do for you, feel free to reach out.
Increase Brand Awareness Today
Every detail counts when it comes to increasing your nonprofit’s awareness. The more recognizable your nonprofit is, the more volunteers and donors will be willing to devote their resources.
Building brand awareness will also help you in achieving a range of business goals and objectives. From partnerships to hosting events, to developing a social media marketing strategy, there are endless ways to accomplish this goal. You simply need to determine which one will work best for your nonprofit’s goals.
Running a nonprofit can sometimes feel like you’re wearing every hat. One day you’re the event coordinator another day you’re calling donors and the next you are a nonprofit marketing expert.
Let us take some of the responsibility. From web design to marketing help, we can do it all. Contact us today for your free consultation.
