What is lead generation?
Nonprofit lead generation is the process of finding people who support your mission and creating desire to participate in your nonprofit. The objective is to increase your long-term donor base by generating as many leads as you can, converting those leads into donations.
Don’t let a marketing phrase like “lead generation” frighten you. Whether they are aware of it or not, every nonprofit is already doing it. The key is to be aware of your lead generating opportunities and devise a strategy that connects your nonprofit to potential donors so you can gain their confidence and support.
Why is lead generation especially important for nonprofits?
You have to constantly attract new potential donors and sponsors if you want your nonprofit to succeed.
You need to stay in touch with the right people if you want to continue getting support for your cause and raising the necessary funds. The first step in this process is to get the attention of your target audience, or the people who are most likely to support you.
There are many ways to generate leads for nonprofits, but these suggestions can help you get started.
Let’s talk about tried-and-true lead generating strategies as well as a few fresh concepts that could provide your nonprofit a competitive advantage.
1. Have a clear and concise message
Successful nonprofits take off in the public eye because they share a strong, captivating message.
That’s why it’s so important to offer a clear message in every marketing effort. The following tips will help you create a clear and compelling marketing message that will help you generate more qualified leads:
- Clearly explain who you serve and why you serve them.
- Discuss how you serve them.
- Explain what makes your nonprofit different from others that share your mission.
- Point out how people can learn more about your nonprofit.
- Include a call to action (CTA) to inspire readers to take action
2. Create High-Quality Content
As a nonprofit, your content needs to be highly interactive that taps into the passion and curiosity of your target audience. Blogs alone will not be helpful, and you need to generate some high-quality content to attract traffic.
Below are some ideas about how you can develop better content:
- Newsletters and Blogs
The content of your newsletters and blogs should educate the people about your mission and vision. You can talk about how you utilise your organisation’s collected funds and achievements like awards, recognitions, big donors, etc.
Such content is helpful for prospects who are not ready to donate but interested in your organisation.
- Webinars and Case Studies
Webinars and case studies are an economical way of reaching out to a large audience quickly. It makes the leads feel like a part of your community and helps build good relations. You can discuss the latest statistics, petitions, projects, and problems with the prospects. - Infographics and Landing Pages
Infographics can assist you to share data in a visually pleasing and interactive manner. They contain graphs and images that attract readers’ attention, and their small size encourages prospects to read till the end. You can utilise them for social media. Lead generation landing helps in providing the right information at the right time to the target audience and works great for leveraging paid ads to their full potential. Infographics and landing pages work great together for delivering compelling content to the prospects and at the same time motivating them to convert.
3. Influencers for Nonprofit Lead Generation
Most small nonprofits use social media on a very basic level. They have a single page or account and they’ll share content intermittently, when they find the time. Influencers, however, do the opposite. The world of “influencing” can introduce your nonprofit to a whole new group of prospective donors.
An influencer is an individual with a dedicated, engaged audience online. Their presence may be most influential on social media platforms, YouTube, a blog, or another virtual platform. In many cases, an influencer will recommend or endorse a product, brand, or organization. Their audience will often make purchases and support causes based solely on the content they share. In other words, the followers trust the influencer’s opinion and expertise.
A common misconception is that influencers only associate with for-profit business and commission-based sales. In reality, many influencers also regularly partner with nonprofit organizations. The goal for these influencers is to humanize what they do and find causes that overlap with their passions and interests. The influencer benefits from you because they gain exposure to your nonprofit’s supporters. The advantage to your organization is monumental, in that the influencer instantly generates credibility and trust with an entirely new audience of potential donors.
In addition to expanding your reach dramatically and connecting your nonprofit with new audiences, an influencer knows the ins and outs of social media and other online platforms intimately. Understanding how online platforms function is their job. They know when to post, what types of content to share, and how to elicit a response from their audience. In other words, you’re partnering with an expert. Working together, you can leverage their audience and their knowledge to find leads and expand your donor base!