5 Unusual Ways to Raise Awareness for Your Organization
We all know raising awareness is important. After all, people aren’t likely to donate to a charity they know nothing about. This leaves many organizations wondering how they can go about making the public aware of what they do and why.
Of course, there are the usual methods of hosting events and contacting individuals via phone, email, or flier. These methods are perfectly okay and should definitely be employed. However, it’s also a good idea to think outside the box and find more unusual ways to raise awareness. This will help you stand out from the crowd and garner more attention — something that’s always a bonus when you’re trying to stay afloat in a sea of other nonprofit organizations.
Looking for ways to jump into the world of raising awareness via unusual methods? Try these options to begin.
#1: Invest in Some Swag
First and foremost, you’ll want to invest in some “swag.” It might seem counterproductive to spend money in order to raise money, but just as large fundraising events are nearly always worth the initial investment, so is some well-placed, branded stuff like t-shirts, bags, water bottles, pens, and other things people enjoy having around.
That said, “well placed” is a key part of that sentence. You’ll want to send your branded items out into the world with people you know will use them.
For this reason, we recommend reserving swag for employees and other people who work closely with the organization, as well as big donors or contest winners. All of these people will be likely to wear your gear and are happy to discuss your organization with curious people if they should ask.
#2: Have a Photo Contest
When you’re trying to get the word out about something, social media is your best friend. Posting things to your accounts is important of course, but encouraging interaction and giving people something to share is even better.
One great way to do this is through a photo contest. Give people a theme to work with and have them post their best themed photo to a specific social media network within a specified time frame. Give them a hashtag to use in order to both make the posts easy to find and promote your organization, then encourage contestants to invite friends to join in the fun.
When the time frame’s up, choose a few winners and repost their photos on all of your social media accounts. You could also provide the winners with a t-shirt or some other form of branded merchandise as a prize.
#3: Set a Record
Draw some attention to your cause by setting a world record. A record somehow related to your organization is always the best bet. Once you achieve your goal, be sure to share your success with the world via social media and email. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to find your way onto a television channel or two, giving you even more exposure.
This is an excellent way to get people to notice you and share your organization with others without nagging or coming across as overly promotional.
#4: Challenge Others
A combination between the photo contest and record setting ideas, challenging others is another great way to get your name out there.
Challenge your followers to complete in some sort of challenge — think about the popularity and success of the “ice bucket challenge” that went viral a few years ago. Have them post their videos using a specific hashtag and ask them to dare their friends to do the same. Before you know it, you may just have a viral challenge on your hands!
#5: Provide Valuable Content
Providing supporters with valuable content is always a great way to encourage them to share with friends, remind them to keep contributing to your cause and keep them engaged in what you’re doing. Your content may include how-to videos, information-packed blog posts, or well-made printables. Whatever it is, make sure it’s high quality and worth coming back to your page for.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, these tips will help you get the word out about your awesome organization. After all, a worthy cause deserves a generous group of supporters, and growing that group starts with awareness.
Originally published at https://blog.harnessgiving.com on September 5, 2018.
