Welcome to: http://WholeWhale.com/ You finally built your website…now what? You made all this great content but nobody is coming to your site. To cure your headaches watch this training video about very useful content marketing tips for your Nonprofit organization.
It’s pretty simple actually. Think of it as two different buckets for your website. One of them is what you already have (the “about us” page, or your “mission statement”). The other bucket is – what people want. They want what they’re searching for. So again – what is content marketing? It’s creating valuable, relevant, and consistent content in order to attract a specific audience.
------- How To “Do” Content Marketing?
1.Have a content platform
Now that you know what it is, how do you actually “do” content marketing? It starts by having a platform. You need a content management system – think WordPress, Drupal.
2.Create regular content
You have your platform, and now it’s time to start playing the game. Think about your audience. What do they need? What do they fear? Find the value that they’re looking for that helps them, informs them, or in some way improves what they’re already doing.
3.Create “evergreen” content
Think of an evergreen tree. It’s green all year, it doesn’t shed, but at certain times of the year, like during Christmas, thousands of people are looking for evergreen trees to put in their homes. Think about content that could be relevant year-round, but also have episodic spikes of interest throughout the year. That’s the type of content that will produce the most value.
4.Have “hooks” to build an audience you can talk to
As a nonprofit – you’re probably giving away free content, and free things all the time. Well, you will lose money if you continue to do that. This is why you need a “hook”. In other words – “why would somebody give you their information?” For this example, let’s think about an e-mail. If you get the person’s e-mail, and that permission to talk to them, the next time you put out free content you can reach out to them. You can also contact them the next time you do a fundraiser, or when looking for volunteers, etc. That’s how you build your audience. This is the most valuable asset that your organization will have.
5.Content distribution
You created all this amazing content, now how do you get it out there? There are two simple ways. One is SEO – Search Engine Optimization. You have to build your site using the right keywords, and put it where people can find it. The other way to distribute your content is through SMO – Social Media Optimization. You can talk to anybody you want on social media. Create relationships. Perhaps you’ve written an article that highlights a different organization, or a product? Let them know! At some point they might feature your organization on their site. That’s the cycle you want to create.
------- You Must Measure It!
This is the most important. How will you know if what you’re doing, is right? Look at your Google Analytics, and check what the data say. Then – adjust based on the results. Look for how people are searching for your types of content, and mimic what’s out there. Do more of what works and expand on it.
------- Whole Whale is a digital agency that leverages data and technology to increase the impact of nonprofits. In the same way the Inuits used every part of whale, Whole Whale leverages existing resources to see, "What else can this do for us?"
By using data analysis, digital strategy, web development, and training, WW builds a 'Data Culture' within every nonprofit organization they work with.
