By Geneviève Cassan
It goes without saying that marketing plays a crucial role in the success of an organization: awareness generates interest, which in turn, generates business. In a well-established digital era, the concept of
"content marketing" has become increasingly important in developing effective online marketing strategies.
But what exactly is content marketing?
Content marketing is defined by the CMI (2015) as “the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience."
In fact, research conducted by Roper Public Affairs found that 61% of respondents say, “valuable content makes them feel closer to the company that delivers it and are more likely to buy from that company” (Jefferson & Tanton, 2015). Many factors seem to impact the success of online content, including -- but not limited to-- quality, interest, and timing.
A good content marketing strategy should positively impact your brand awareness, and help you build a solid reputation. As Jefferson and Tanton (2015) mentioned in their most recent book, people want to be able to make their own opinion about your brand, based on the information that is openly and freely made accessible to them online.
Publishing valuable content that helps inform consumer decisions is key, and will help you building trust and becoming memorable.
Now you might wonder: does that also apply to the non-profit industry?
According to a recent study cited by eMarketer (2016b), an astounding
72% of donors said they may stop donating due to poor content. The most common issues with content published by non-profits were reported to be:
- inconvenient format
- lack of interest
- not suited to the region
- content being too vague
To address these issues, all communication and content published online should be undertaken within the context of a digital marketing strategy already established by your organization and applied to all online channels - including blogs, social media, newsletters, and of course, fundraising websites. They should be compelling, attractive and relevant.
Developing a content marketing strategy to build your brand and attract support can be an ardous task, though. To help get your non-profit on the way, we'll be posting a series of blogs targeted at peer-to-peer fundraisers, donors and more.
Stay tuned...
Sources
- Baltes, L. P. (2015). Content marketing – the fundamental tool of digital marketing. Economic Sciences, 8(57), p. 11-118
- eMarketer (2016a). Marketers Rely on Visual Content for Social Platforms. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Marketers-Rely-on-Visual-Content-Social-Platforms/1014086?ecid=NL1003#sthash.hDt0qrB4.vVHUYhWn.dpuf
- eMarketer (2016b). Poor Content Marketing Turns Nonprofit Donors Off. Retrieved June 30, 2016 from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Poor-Content-Marketing-Turns-Nonprofit-Donors-Off/1013989?ecid=NL1003
- Jefferson, S. & Tanton, S. (2015). Valuable Content Marketing. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page.