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Thinking Like a Marketer to Sell Social Change

Climate change is back on the front burner thanks to the latest, rather alarming, IPCC report. This blog is about how nonprofits can respond to the latest climate news, to raise money for relevant programs, to design and test new programs, or to promote sustainable behaviors. 

Whether you want to raise money, recruit volunteers, or convince people to recycle more of their stuff, it helps to know how to think about how best to sell your ideas. That much is common sense, to some extent. This post is meant not so much to restate what plenty of people know but to begin to organize that knowledge. With that in mind, consider the basics of effective marketing and how they apply to your project. I'll then have a few things to say about market research, a topic that fewer people are familiar with.

Digital Marketing Basics for Climate Activists

I can't offer a real introduction to marketing in one post. That kind of thing might even be insulting to experienced communications or development people. For now, I want to just offer a few things that all nonprofit marketers should keep in mind:
  • What is your objective with this marketing piece? 
  • Who is the audience? 
  • Where is the best place to share this message? 
  • What information does the audience need?
  • What will the reader get for donating to the organization? 
Are these things always on your mind, when they apply? If not, why not write them down and post them somewhere. There are other Marketing 101 questions for special situations. Here are some examples:
  • Your organization is new - How can people know your organization is both trustworthy and capable?
  • For big fundraising requests - What proves you can make great use of the money?
  • The issue is complex - What can we do to make this as clear as possible?
  • The issue is emotionally charged - What is a sensitive way to approach this? 
  • How can we use narrative empathy and positive emotions to "sell" our idea?
  • The issue is disconnected from readers' lives or values - How can you appeal to values or personal interests?
Unfortunately, climate change is one of those issues that comes across as abstract and off in the future. It can be tough to make a case for doing X and financially supporting Y to keep things from going to heck in a couple of decades. You might have to find something more immediate or concrete to use. 

So, now that you know what questions to ask, the next step is to start doing some research.

Doing Your Market Research

I'll assume you know your audience reasonably well, but need to gather some information. As with Marketing 101, there's only time to introduce a few market research concepts here.

Surveys - Marketers love doing surveys, long surveys with lots of questions, and lots of answer categories. Those long surveys you may have taken on restaurants or mobile phone plans are probably too long for your nonprofit's audience but do learn how to write survey questions and use a survey tool like SurveyMonkey.

Test and Revise - Test your various fundraising and marketing messages. If you rely heavily on Facebook, know how to use the data they provide so you can reach more people more effectively. Do likewise with Google analytics for your blog or Website. Learn how A/B testing works and try it out on email subject lines.

Reading Market Research - If you are planning a content marketing campaign, you'll want to look at existing research on what other organizations have used and benefited from. The Content Marketing Institute, the Direct Marketing Institute, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy sometimes share research on what works in nonprofit fundraising. Go and bookmark their sites. Subscribe to their newsletters.

Start Small but Think Big

Begin thinking like a marketer by taking a couple of easy steps, then build up to something more ambitious, then scale up even more by creating three or four donor funnels or starting a YouTube channel. 

Learn more about content marketing, email marketing, or Facebook marketing, and integrate what you've learned. Again, start small if you like. 

Do some market research. Plan a short survey for your Website visitors or newsletter subscribers. Run a poll on LinkedIn. 

Don't Be Afraid of Marketing

Now, I hope this short introduction provided some motivation and useful information. Read, take notes, brainstorm, discuss the possibilities with your colleagues. 

If you like this piece, please comment and share. And, if you have some time, check out some of my other posts on activism. 




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