A solid strategy for nonprofits and small businesses starts with clear, measurable goals that align with your organization's mission and connect directly to your target audience's interests and values. That is a mouthful! Identifying your target audience and knowing where to reach them (direct mail, email, social media, in-person events) is step one. With that in mind, building a comprehensive strategy will likely integrate multiple channels - such as website, social media, email newsletters, and targeted content.

Posting consistently enables you to repeatedly share your mission/business objectives in your social feed. Consistently posting helps to support follower growth (according to the major social media channels current algorithms). We’ve all heard how social media is a powerful tool for storytelling. By taking advantage of the features the channels are promoting, like stories or short form video, there is an opportunity to share impactful stories, introduce new team members, share event information and program updates - all parts of allowing your community to get to know your organization.

Social media provides a cost-effective platform to share your story. Traditional advertising often requires a hefty budget for prime placements, while social media allows you to reach a wide audience through organic engagement and creative content. This democratization of communication empowers you to get out on the platforms and show your unique value. The “social” part of social media enables you to engage and build relationships with your community, regardless of your size or resources.

To maintain engagement, posting consistently on social media, ideally several times a week, is recommended. And timing posts to coincide with when your audience is most active may offer better reach. It’s important to identify which channels work best for your organization; for example, LinkedIn is often effective for reaching professional audiences during work hours. By experimenting with different formats and posting times, you can uncover what content generates the most interaction and tailor your strategy to ensure your messaging effectively reaches and connects with your audience.

Email provides a direct line of communication with your supporters. Using email allows you to retain contact information for your community and unlike social media platforms, which change or may disappear, email offers a reliable way to engage with your audience in a one-to-one conversation. Email newsletters allows you to link to your website to share meaningful content, ensuring that your overall messaging is connected and your audience stays informed about your initiatives and impact.

There are great tools available - both built into the social and email marketing platforms themselves and also third party scheduling tools that offer insights into trends about your audience’s interactions with your online content. Metrics such as engagement levels, profile clicks, website visits, shares, comments, and reposts indicate what content is most meaningful to your audience. Determining the most effective way to deliver your content involves experimentation. By testing different approaches and revising your strategy based on the data, you can continuously improve your communications and better connect with your audience.