Nonprofits can leverage Instagram for good. Since 2010, charities have been using this social media giant to inspire supporters in a way that generates a real impact. Whether you’re a rookie or seasoned pro, discover Instagram's power for nonprofits, how to use it, and top examples from other nonprofits.
The Importance of Having a Blog As a Nonprofit
Blogging is one of the most cost-effective marketing tools nonprofits have access to. Social media accounts and newsletters are essential, of course. But neither of those tools help you rank higher on Google. Blogs can dramatically improve your site’s SEO score, quickly touching more supporters. Other than a small, weekly time investment, it costs nothing. The payoff for having a consistent nonprofit blog to host all of your content marketing efforts is sizable.
Creating a nonprofit blog can also help with:
Driving target supporters to you
Establishing thought leadership
Building trust with supporters
Keeping subscribers up to date
Learning more about your donors
Welcoming conversation and collaboration
Gaining free publicity
Increasing email click-through rates
Growing subscriber lists
Getting people to stay on your website longer (and hopefully donating!)
This is just the tip of the iceberg! Nonprofit blogs can help organizations achieve many more goals. Keep reading to learn how to start your nonprofit’s blog and what to write about.
How To Start a Nonprofit Blog
Nonprofit blog beginners should start by answering the question: what’s our overall goal? Your answer will drive what strategies to focus on.
For example, say your goal is to learn more about your donors. Then you would probably focus on creating content that includes polls and questions to drive conversation in the comments section and increase click-through rates.
Next, create an editorial calendar. This can be done on a simple Google Sheet or managed on any free project management tool like Asana, Monday, or Trello. Be sure to include article titles, subjects, intended audience, authors, editing deadlines, and publish dates.
Finally, before you start writing with a sharable doc, look into some basic SEO strategies. The easiest way to start is by looking at Google Analytics to see where your website viewers are spending time. You can also get your keyword list going by looking up keyword searches relevant to your charity. These are 1-4 words or phrases that people use to search for more information about an organization or topic. Just make sure the keywords you pick aren’t so random that they don’t bring value to your readers!
If you’re not sure where to start with SEO, check out Clearscope or SEMrush for support. If you don’t have a budget for this, take a look at these free SEO tools: Keywords Everywhere, Google Trends, and GDoc SEO Assistant. The recommended length for SEO-optimized articles is 1,500-2,000. Still, short-form blogs are great to mix in (500 words or less) to keep readers engaged. Be sure to break up the text with mobile-optimized pictures, videos, and graphics to make blogs more shareable for readers.
What To Write About In a Nonprofit Blog
Still not sure where to start with content? Jot down the top 10 questions your nonprofit gets asked the most. Mix those up with old newsletter content, such as client testimonials.
Other ideas include:
Organizational news (e.g., COVID-19 updates)
Impact infographics
Major organizational accomplishments
Progress toward goals
Hiring and career opportunities
Events and tours
Fundraising campaigns
Board member stories
Meet the staff
Showing appreciation for supporters
Program research
Behind-the-scenes
Video interviews
Pictures from events or special occasions
Tips from your program
Lessons learned
Press releases
Published articles
Webinar registrations
E-books
Don’t forget: proofread, proofread, proofread! Clear, concise, and original content will rank higher and give you the best engagement with supporters. Edit your blogs with a second set of eyes or a free add-on tool like Grammarly. Finally, keep in mind that it can take 4-6 months until you start seeing results - so, be patient and persistent!
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