Marketing Tips

Ideas for boosting your organization's marketing and name recognition

Under this headline we aim to share good ideas for getting members and support, to raise funds, to get impact for your actions and to plan your activities. It will be a range of ideas – not all will fit your organization or your situation, but we hope you might find some ideas you can adapt and find useful. The most important thing, however, is to work out your own plan based on your situation and your resources! We hope also to include links to your webpage or your YouTube site with your examples!

 

Internet and Social Media
This is of course is where more and more of the action is. Advertising to cell phones is soon going to be larger than internet advertising. And what use are billboards when everyone has their noses in their smartphones! Our main advice here would be to really learn from others – even those on the left like Amnesty International and the World Wildlife Fund. There are also conferences specifically on how to use Social Media – or you can google and find great information from magazines like Forbes.

Facebook and Twitter seem to be the most popular social media sites. If you are concerned about your privacy, there there are privacy settings to limit the exposure you want to get. Facebook seems to foster more conversations, while Twitter is more strongly used for the latest news releases or drawing attention to links.

Public Campaigns and Demonstrations
This is a special field also to be thought through and handled with care. More preparation might be necessary than you think. Work out logistics, the visuals the place, permissions and so on. And the target and what the “end product” of the effort should be – a petition, media coverage, policy change? It can be a great way to get earned media attention.

Direct Marketing
Actually with everything going digital and e-mail being the normal way to correspond, the old-fashion letter can really make a point! Especially when it comes to “Thank yous” or inviting a prominent figure to that major event or the smaller conference with special and personal invitations. So do not forget the letter – you can say and get more read sometimes than on the internet or on e-mail.

You can structure and use examples in a separate folder, or so-called lift letters. Much of these traditional techniques are now used through the internet, so basic, direct marketing know-how is of great value. Also selecting target groups, doing follow ups, including a matrix with address selections at the top listed horizontally and varied offers vertically are definitely necessary. Continue to follow up repeat purchases or donations and drop off rates!

Using the Telephone
Telephone member acquisition or marketing may be restricted by local legislation or rules, but you can usually always call old contacts and businesses. They are great for a good “Thank you” or personal invitation to a conference. Remember – a good phone call is based on trust and good relationships. On courtesy – like introducing yourself with your full name and telling why you are calling as a first step.

Share your experience: Please send us your experiences and good advice.

Links:

Ben Case writes a daily tip for fund raising. He is one of the most successful advisers in this field. If you want to receive his daily tips, write an e-mail to arthur@caseconsultingservices.com
Mention WTA as reference. You will get a wealth of good ideas

Kevin Gentry writes a weekly summary of advice on fundraising and building relationships with your donors. He often brings up one askect at a time and looks from it different angles. To get his column, send an e-mail to
Kevin.Gentry@kochps.com Again mention WTA.

The Englishman Ken Burnett has written a number of interesting books with titles like Storytelling Can Change the World, Relationship Fundraising, Friends for Life and The Zen of Fundraising. You can get his blog or reach him here:
ken@kenburnett.com

If you are looking for books on direct marketing, letter writing and building a marketing plan you might check books on Amazon by Dan S. Kennedy.