Substance and Style

It can be challenging to devise a communications strategy when you have multiple audiences with their own sets of needs and expectations. Nonprofit organizations struggle with this to an even larger extent than businesses because their communication goals are so varied. Here are some tips to make it easier:

1. Segment your audiences according to your organization’s goals. Make a chart of your goals and which audience segments are needed to support those goals. Every organization will be different, but your chart may look something like this: 
   
   

There will be people who fit into more than one group. Make sure you’re putting each contact into every group they belong in, but only those groups. There are no communications that should go to every group except for general interest items like a newsletter or an occasional announcement.
You should also maintain a separate list for people who have signed up on your website and only place them in another category once you know their reason for signing up (unless their associated lead magnet makes that clear). 

2. Create messaging strategies. At a minimum, you need separate strategies for each of your goals. Depending on your situation, you may need separate strategies for each audience segment. Your focus should be on building and maintaining relationships, and your communications should be targeted and specific. How can you communicate with each group meaningfully and strategically? Whatever strategy you devise, keep your mission at the top of your mind when crafting your messaging. Some people want to hear about the need while some want to hear about tax deductions. Make sure that every piece of content and every marketing campaign honors your mission above all, regardless of its other goals. 

3. Consider segmenting your social media efforts the same way. While anyone and everyone can find and follow you anywhere, it is sometimes easier and more effective to choose one social media channel for each of your communications goals. People are on different sites for different reason, and trying to appeal to everyone everywhere is a recipe for ineffective campaigns as well as for your own burnout. Think about your audience, where they are, and why. If your audience is mostly older, Facebook might be the best (and sometimes only) way to reach them. If you’re looking for corporate or government support, LinkedIn is a sensible choice. Youtube and TikTok are both good places to show your mission with video; TikTok will generally give you more activist viewers and YouTube will give you more room to tell in-depth stories and provide long-form educational materials. 

4. Keep these goals in mind when designing your website, and have separate pages (and landing pages) for campaigns that are targeted to each major audience group. Don’t try to do too many things on a page. Your home page and your navigation menus should provide easy ways for people to find services, donate, volunteer, learn about your cause, and find job opportunities. Every main goal should have at least one main page that focuses solely on that goal. Think about what people are trying to do on your site and make it easy for them to do it. 

5. Be particularly choosy about old school marketing materials like direct mail campaigns. For the most part, people don’t want junk mail and they throw it out without even reading it. Direct mail campaigns can be expensive and can have a low ROI. There are exceptions, though, based on your audience. Sending a thank you to donors via snail mail is almost always appreciated, as is an end of year letter summarizing tax deduction amounts. Sometimes a nice Save the Date card for a gala stands out in a mailbox. Older people considering legacy gifts or bequests may prefer correspondence through the mail. Like most things related to marketing, it comes down to knowing your audience and your goals.