Nonprofit organizations (or NPOs) by definition are not motivated by profits or sales compared to for-profit firms. However, they share one thing in common — the need for content marketing.
Yes, it’s true. Your nonprofit firm has to be as concerned about marketing as any other profit-driven firm. Non-profit firms rely on grant writing and donations. How do you secure this funding when no one knows who you are or what you do?
This is where content marketing comes in. Grant funding may not require content marketing at first glance. However, this idea may be misleading. Grant organizations often require companies that apply for funding to show “proof” of their accomplishments.
Many of these grant-funding organizations have a bias in favor of media-savvy NPOs. This means NPOs that have one or all of the following:
They figure frequently in the news
They have a large social media following
They have a website with a large number of monthly visits
Content marketing can help with all three of these. In this article, I briefly discuss the importance of content marketing for nonprofit organizations. I also present several content marketing strategies that you can put to work for your NPO.
Why NPOs need content marketing
Content marketing is key to the success of NPOs as much as it is for any profit organization. NPOs rely on public donations and grant funding. Content marketing is required to convince the public that the cause is worth contributing to. Also, grant organizations may require proof based on the content that you have produced from doing “the work.”
Let’s quickly summarize the reasons why content marketing can help promote the goals of your NPO:
Content marketing can help with good PR
Content marketing can encourage the public to contribute
Content marketing is proof to granters that your campaign works
Content marketing makes you stand out
All NPOs regardless of the industry that they are in stand to benefit from content marketing. This includes academic-related organizations, such as university departments or even individual professors who work within these departments.
Other types of NPOs include international organizations that are funded by international organizations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and so on. In the case of the United States, NPOs are more likely than not to rely on funding from federal and foundation grants.
Whatever the case, the following strategies are recommended to ensure that your NPO makes the most of content marketing.
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1. SEO content marketing for nonprofits
SEO content marketing strategies rely on search engines to attract visitors and eventually leads. How does this work? SEO stands for search engine optimization. It works through something called Keyword strategy.
This is where you carry out research to determine what terms or keywords people are looking for when they use that Google search bar. If these keywords are related to your organization or what you do, then if you do SEO right, you end up on the first page and among searchers' first choice to learn about this information.
SEO marketing works in the following ways:
A blog
Landing pages
Donation pages
In the case of a blog, you write blog articles related to your organization and its activities. For example, if your NPO focuses on promoting urban gardens in underserved urban communities, then you write a series of articles about “the advantages of urban gardens.”
This means people interested in the topic will land on your website when they type in related keywords in that Google search engine. This will provide you an opportunity to introduce your work and a chance for readers to contribute to it.
Landing pages and donation pages are designed to appeal to readers who are already knowledgeable about the cause your organization is related to, but they may not know about your organization.
In the case of our previous example of “urban gardens in underserved communities,” you would simply design a landing or donation page with these keywords to attract visitors. To learn more about SEO content marketing, check out this previous article: SEO Content Writing: A Brief Introduction.
2. Social media marketing
Social media marketing means relying on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and so on. These platforms are quite popular among huge sections of the public. And more importantly, they are free.
They allow you to reach huge amounts of people with your message and your work without having to pay for anything. The only thing that is required is to be social media savvy. This means that you need to understand the type of content that works on each platform.
For example, TikTok is a fun and lovely platform that is populated by Gen Z. If you plan to use TikTok to promote your message, please make sure that the content you post there has the right tone or “vibes” considering the target audience.
3. User-generated content
User-generated content or USG refers to content that is created by people who benefit from your product or services. In this case, this would be the social work that you carry out as an NPO.
This is a rather innovative way to do content marketing, which many NPOs fail to take advantage of. In the commercial world, let’s look at an example, namely Fenti, the makeup company owned by Rihanna.
USG content would include users of the product showing off makeup they use from the company. How can this strategy translate for your NPO? If your NPO has a website or even a social media channel, you can use it as an opportunity to post USG content.
Let’s take our earlier example of an NPO that promotes and builds community gardens in underserved communities. You can conduct a content marketing campaign that includes USG content of people from a community that has benefited from your program.
These people can post pics and videos of using or even building a community garden on their social media. You can then post it on your website or social media channel to show evidence of the word that you have carried out so far.
4. Youtube & podcasting
YouTube and podcasting allow you and your NPO to produce your followers with binge-worthy content. Podcast allows you to invite thought leaders associated with your cause to have interviews with.
This means you create content that your donors or potential donors will enjoy and that will help create an emotional connection with you. Another thing about YouTube is that it has added advantages.
Google has its own SEO features, and if your videos become popular enough, it can lead to a huge growth in subscribers that could lead to even more potential donors or supporters. Also, your stash of YouTube videos and podcast episodes can eventually be repurposed into content for other platforms, such as blogs and social media.
5. Traditional PR
By traditional PR, I mean relying on traditional media outlets such as the news media and newspapers. This is especially relevant for NPOs that operate in local contexts.
To take advantage of traditional PR means sending out press releases to local newspapers to inform them of new initiatives. Even better yet you could create PR events that would naturally attract attention from local media.
This has several advantages for you and your NPO. You can get free coverage for your cause, as well as positive PR. This free media coverage and PR could eventually translate into more individual donors to your cause.
Having the work you do show up as news for the local media would endear a large number of people to your cause. Another form of traditional PR includes writing newspaper columns related to your cause. This can establish you as an authority or thought leader on the issue.
6. Policy briefs
Policy briefs are formal reports that inform the public of the nature of completed projects or ongoing ones. These are often associated with government organizations or organizations that take part in public-related projects.
A policy brief is a concise summary of the work that you have carried out. It falls somewhere between an academic document and a document written for public consumption. In short, it straddles the line between academic and professional writing. They often take the form of IMRaD.
This means that they have an Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion sections, as you would find in scientific reports. They usually also include list of cited sources at the end, another feature typically associated with scientific or academic writing.
These types of documents are available online. However, they are usually available in the form of a PDF as well. They focus on stating quite clearly the broad goals and specific aims of a project, as well as its justification. That is, why the need for the project.
If part of the project has been completed, it also provides an update on what work has been completed and how the target communities have benefited from this completed work.
The target audience for policy briefs is smaller than the ordinary public. People with intellectual interest in the causes that you are concerned about are the ones more likely to be interested in them.
More importantly, relevant individuals, such as those who decide whether or not your NPO will be funded, may also be likely interested in your policy brief. In addition, policy briefs may be required by grant-funding organizations as part of the requirement for either current or future funding.
7. Thought leadership
Creating a well-thought-out thought leadership strategy is another effective content marketing strategy. You may be wondering what exactly is thought leadership. It is a term that one hears often, but it is hardly ever well-defined.
Thought leadership can be described as specialized knowledge and expertise in a specific field that has been established and that is shared by a leader who is viewed as the authority in that area.
Thought leadership comes with many advantages for nonprofits. Becoming a thought leader should be a goal for any leader of a non-profit organization. When we think of thought leaders, we usually think of business persons like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and the like.
However, thought leadership can be much more advantageous to non-profits than it would be to private enterprises. Let's take the example of Bill Gates. He is famous for being a tech billionaire. However, in recent years his name has become synonymous with non-profit causes, such as through the Gates Foundation.
It makes sense that a business person would want to be associated with charity causes. Charity causes tend to resonate more with the broad public than narrow profit interests. Therefore, you should position yourself as a thought leader for whatever cause your non-profit is associated with.
So how do you go about establishing yourself as an authority on your non-profit cause? Becoming an authority on a subject doesn’t necessarily mean that you are more knowledgeable than your competitors. Instead, it means that you do a better job of sharing your knowledge and expertise in a way that your target audience finds useful or helpful.
Here are steps to follow to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field:
Establish your objectives
Define your target audience
Establish unique positioning
Select your communication medium
Establishing your objectives means determining what your strategic targets are regarding your content marketing goals. For example, do you want to gain more awareness or do you want to increase funding? Your target audience is a huge part of this objective.
If you are interested in gaining more awareness, the priority should be a broader target audience. However, if you are interested in increasing funding, a more narrow target audience with higher disposable income should be the goal. In the case of the latter goal, you should narrow your marketing to platforms where these people can be found.
As a thought leader, you prioritize standing out from the competition. This is where establishing a unique positioning comes in. To achieve this, you should ask questions such as:
What is the unique approach I bring to solving this problem?
How does this approach beat that of competitors?
How do the people I help benefit from this approach?
How can I teach my target audience about this approach?
The last part of thought leadership as a content marketing strategy includes selecting a communication medium. Again, this is also related to your target audience and goals. If you want to increase donations or funding by relying on a small number of wealthy donors, then ask yourself where do these people tend to hand out?
LinkedIn, for example, would be a safe bet. It is not likely that you'll find them on X (formerly known as Twitter), as the platform has gained a reputation as being unwholesome for responsible advertisers. You most likely won't find them on TikTok, which tends to be associated with younger users. A platform like LinkedIn would be more appropriate as it's a social media platform associated with business leaders and thought leaders of various industries.
A significant part of thought leadership is sharing value for free. You should think of thought leadership content as an investment. This investment will pay off in the future as the consumers of your content turn into followers. And these followers turn eventually into inbound leads and sales.
How EminentEdit can help boost content marketing for your NPO
EminentEdit offers content marketing services to help transform your NPO website into an engine that garners attention and support for your cause and organization. Our content writing services include:
Writing SEO-driven blog articles
Copywriting for landing and service pages
Writing press releases
Don’t think that because you’re an NPO you don’t need content marketing services. You need a professional writer and editor to make sure that your content can attract positive PR and attention from the public and donors.
EminentEdit provides content writing services that are:
More importantly, we are adaptable to your specific needs. | Get in touch with us for help in crafting awesome content. We know what you want to say. We help you say it better. |
At EminentEdit, our content writers and editors don’t think of content marketing as an afterthought. We ensure that your content works to drive your non-profit goals. Contact us today to craft content that works — Let’s Go!
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2025, January 21). Content Marketing for Nonprofits | 7 Effective Strategies. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/content-marketing-for-nonprofits |
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