5 Ways Marketing is Different for Non-Profits

For the most part, basic marketing principles can be used in any industry or marketplace. The formula is fairly straightforward. A healthy combination of advertising, social media, networking, PR, and you’ve got yourself a basic winning campaign. But, there are some industries that require a different formula for success. Here are 5 ways marketing is different for non-profits:

It’s more emotional

The messaging for non-profits, more than any other industry, relies on an emotional pull to be effective. Because these businesses are for a cause, they not only need to explain their cause, they need you to believe in it. For many, it’s natural to support a cause that’s close to your heart because it’s impacted a friend of family member, but what about the causes you’re not close to? Non-profits need to create different kinds of content to strategically appeal to your emotional side, even if you’re not innately interested.

The call to action is different

For most companies, the call to action is a basic “buy our product” or “use our services.” But for non-profit companies, the call to action is to donate your money, your time, or to stand up in support of their cause. This requires a different combination of marketing and communication to be effective. It’s not enough to buy a single product; many non-profits are driven by large numbers of donations just to support their daily operations. Some rely on volunteers, others need angel investors. Either way, the actions that are driven by marketing campaigns differ greatly from more traditional businesses.

Their traditional marketing is different, too

Many companies that still use traditional marketing rely on print advertising, mailers, radio ads, and the like. For non-profits, in addition to these tactics, their traditional marketing is highly dependent on the success of hosted events. Things like 5k, 10k, half-marathons, and marathons (to name a few) are typically hosted for a specific non-profit (except for Disneyland, I’m looking at you!) in support of their efforts to raise money. Your paid registration is used to help support the event, but portions of it are also donated to a specific cause such as breast cancer, elderly care, and even pet rescues. So the next time you sign up for a race, check to see which cause you’re supporting!

But digital marketing is just as important

For non-profit companies, the rise of digital marketing has been a large aid, simply because you can reach a large number of people with little or no cost. Social media pages can be used to connect and interact with supporters, and emails (weekly and monthly) can be used for event reminders, driving calls to action (see above), and more. Though the advancement of technology is a sure-fire boost, it also presents its own challenges. Many non profits can’t financially keep up with the ever-changing tech landscape, so they have to get creative in the way they reach you online (think all-in-one solutions to cut costs and maximize efficiency).

It’s all for the greater good

I’m not saying that most companies aren’t marketing for good, but this is especially true in the non-profit sector. Their marketing efforts are in support of the cause they represent, whether it’s veteran aid, cancer research, heart disease, or any of the other thousands upon thousands of causes. While even the most helpful of small, medium, and corporate businesses may market for good, they’re mostly interested in driving sales, increasing revenue, and ultimately, growing the company so everyone makes more.

For non-profits however, their marketing efforts help save and change lives. These groups of people are working to try and make the world a better place, and that’s the greatest difference I can think of.

(on a side note, if you’ve enjoyed this post, please take 5 minutes to donate to your favorite cause. Even $1 can make a difference).