Internet Marketing Tips for Non-Profits (By Luthando)

A non-profit organization can implement internet marketing to great benefit at a nominal cost. This includes an optimized website, social media marketing on Facebook, Google+ and YouTube, PPC ads and email marketing.

For smaller non-profits – NGOs, charities, orphanages, old age homes, campaigning organization – running operations, getting committed volunteers and raising funds is an ongoing challenge. Surveys have revealed that in developing countries like India, adoption of online marketing is poor in the non-profits sector. Many organizations do not even have a website. They rely on word-of-mouth and print media to disseminate information and get donations. Some use email marketing and telemarketing to get donations; the success rate of both this tactics is poor since the message is unsolicited and target audience resents spam.

A non-profit can implement internet marketing strategy to great benefit at a nominal cost. The primary steps are:

– Establish an online presence with a website. If budget for web development and hosting is an issue, then creating a simple site in free blogging platforms like Blogger.com and WordPress.com is easy.

– Follow SEO best practices in the website by yourself or outsource to an SEO consultant to achieve high organic traffic and get conversions.

– Implement payment gateway on website to accept donations (e.g., PayPal, internet banking gateways, Google Wallet)

Social Media Marketing

Establish presence on social media: create a Facebook Page, or Google+ Page or both.

Be clear about your objectives on social networking sites. Are you recruiting volunteers? Cultivating activists? Motivating people to donate? Your fans welcome updates and information about your success and new campaigns. Create posts specifically for Facebook with not just text but also photos, videos. Do not ask for a donation directly, but talk of your case studies and work.

Check out Google for Nonprofits Page at https://plus.Google.com/+GoogleforNonprofits for insightful tips and resources.

Facebook Causes is a tool that allows non-profits to develop campaigns on

Facebook and can be a successful way to attract new donors, raise money and share information about volunteering opportunities. Causes have built free, customizable fundraising pages that integrate with Facebook.

Video Marketing

Create compelling videos with expert interviews, interesting case studies, success stories of your nonprofit organization. Upload your videos on YouTube and optimize them for search engines by inserting keywords in title, description and tags.

Certified non-profits can get increased exposure through YouTube’s Non-Profit Program.

Selected nonprofits receive special benefits such as premium branding capabilities, increased uploading capacity, an optional Google Checkout “Donate” button, a listing on the Non-profit channels and the Non-profit videos pages and the ability to add a Call-to-action overlay on their videos to drive campaigns.

Google AdWords

You can apply for Google Grants. Google Grantees receive a grant of up to $10,000 per month for free AdWords advertising on Google.com. Google Grants is open to organizations based in the countries listed at http://www.Google.com/grants/domains.html

Email campaign

Make donation email campaign more effective: To create impact, add videos and images to tell your story visually, with hyperlinks to your Facebook Page and Google+ Page to showcase your success stories and community.

Source: www.askpaccosi.com