Is the comms juice worth the squeeze?

Source: Freepik

When it comes to marketing and communications (or marcom for short), I’ve seen a lot of nonprofit professionals stress themselves out with never-ending tasks lists. These days, there are just so many ways to share so much information, and each of us is desperate to be heard above the noise.

And this is the most common mistake I’ve seen marcom professionals make: treating their job like a checklist rather than a strategy. You’re just one organization — and maybe even just one person if you’re a small nonprofit! — and there’s no way you will be heard above that noise through volume. So if you have a list of platforms to join and be active on, you’re not using your limited time and resources efficiently.

Instead, think about where you’re going to get your biggest return on investment, the biggest bang for your buck, the most juice from the squeeze. Focus your resources and energy on activities that will have the most impact.

Here are some considerations for developing your digital media strategy:

• What is your main goal? For the love of tacos, don’t say more followers. A target number or percentage increase of followers is a fine output, but what you really want to define is what outcome you want.

  What do you want your followers to do? What’s your call to action? Maybe you want your current or potential donors to give to your year-end campaign. Maybe you want your followers to contact their representatives about a pending piece of legislation.

  Whatever your goal(s), make sure (1) you know what they are and (2) the platform(s) you choose are conducive to achieving them.

• What resources do you have? If you’re like many of the small- and medium-sized nonprofits I’ve worked with, you don’t have much time or money to spare. But maybe you have an intern who is great at curating interesting articles to post on Facebook or at creating Canva images to share on Instagram. Take some time to think both realistically and creatively about the resources you have at your disposal.

• What resources do your various options require? Different platforms require different levels and types of investment. For example, Instagram is very image-oriented. If you don’t have an easy way to create or collect images to share, that platform may require too much work for you.

  To take another example, each post to Twitter has a very short life span, which means that your one tweet may not be seen by anyone before it gets buried. Though 140 characters seems like a minimal commitment, the best way to have a real impact on Twitter is to be ever-present, ready to jump onto threads and comment on trending topics. If you are responsible for a million other marcom tasks, you may not have the time for that.

• How do people use various platforms? The way a platform is commonly used also informs the level and type of investment needed.

  A professional association seeking more members probably wants to have a presence on LinkedIn, where people are focused on their professional lives, but may not get as much use out of Instagram, where users are more into #eatingfortheinsta and #ootd lifestyle branding.

• Where is your audience? Who is your main audience, and where do they hang out? If you serve mostly women and are seeking female clients and interested donors, you may want to have a presence on a platform with a lot of women, perhaps Instagram or Pinterest. If you run a teen center, you probably want to be on TikTok.

• What special considerations might you have? Are there any specific things to consider with your mission, work, structure, or resources that would impact your digital media strategy? For example, if you provide a confidential or anonymous social service (mental health, substance use, crisis response, homeless/housing), you will likely have a hard time getting client stories and a VERY hard time getting interesting images, so Instagram probably isn’t for you.

Of course, you may have multiple goals that would necessitate multiple platforms. In that case, take the time to plan your strategies and messaging for various platforms. And most importantly, set your priorities and be realistic about what you can accomplish. As the saying goes, when everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.

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