4 Public Relations Strategies for a Nonprofit Organization

Simple Tools on How to Manage a Successful Nonprofit Organization

By Alyssa  Casiano

Nonprofit organizations aim to get as much media attention as any other company or business. The only difference is that nonprofits can be more personal and connect emotionally to people, which may need a different approach when working in public relations. Whether it’s a nonprofit working to prevent plastic pollution, fighting to end world hunger or spreading awareness on Parkinson’s disease, nonprofits need as much media attention as they can get to stand out and make a global impact or social change.
If you ever find yourself working for a nonprofit, here are just a few strategies on how to help you make a nonprofit organization successful.
1. Focus on Target Audience
Defining your target audience is essential before even starting to create any content. It’s important to know who you’re speaking to whether that be based on age, demographic, gender, etc., that way you know how to plan and create content to appeal to this particular group of people. A great strategy to understanding your target audience is to make audience personas. Identifying your personas will help you know who you’re targeting, how to approach them, where to find them, which social media outlets to use and how to engage with them on a personal level. Understanding who you’re speaking to will help you present
2. Have Intriguing Stories
Storytelling is key to success for nonprofit organizations. One of the most important aspects in a nonprofit is their stakeholders, which are their donors and volunteers. A successful way to attract these stakeholders is by creating moving stories that will touch people in personal ways. For instance, telling an emotional story about a person who was diagnosed with a certain disease is much more intriguing compared to dull statistics about the disease. Using emotion in stories is a great way to attract people to the organization which leads to more audience following, donors and volunteers.
3. Create Campaigns to Influence Audience
Campaigns are a great way to make a nonprofit relevant by making their audience feel involved and take action that will support the cause. For example, the #StopSucking campaign by For a Strawless Ocean, went viral on social media after thousands of people, including celebrities, used the hashtag in their posts while supporting the cause. It encouraged people to stop using plastic straws in order to prevent plastic pollution in the oceans. With an eye catching hashtag and a simple request to take action, a global and successful movement began. Ultimately, campaigns can be a creative way to spread awareness, attract donors/sponsors and fundraise money.
4. Be Consistent, Relevant and Build Loyalty
Like most public relations work, it’s vital to keep content consistent, relevant and to always stay loyal to your target audience. Frequently posting on social media, writing blogs to bring traffic to your website, hosting events to spread awareness, using/creating hashtags and pitching stories to journalists are just a few ways to stay relevant to your audience in order for them to see the constant work you’ve been doing. To build trust with your audience and especially donors, it’s crucial to stay loyal by being transparent, presenting accurate information, keeping close relationships with donors and staying emotional and relatable to your audience. Donors are the most important stakeholders for nonprofits, so consistency, relevancy and loyalty are three major elements to keeping a close relationship with each and every one of them.
We never know where our future careers may take us, so if you ever find yourself working for a nonprofit, hopefully these strategies are useful to help you build a successful nonprofit organization.