As with everything on the internet, content is king. Without website and social media content, there would be nothing on the internet. And this is something more charities are starting to realize on a daily basis. It’s not enough to simply “be online”, they must be contributing to the user experience and catering to the needs of different audiences.
For this to happen, one must first understand why someone is searching online. Of the many different reasons why someone is searching for anything online, it’s ultimately because they are looking for:
- Information
- Entertainment
- To buy something
Now, with this in mind, we can start to see how charitable and non-profit organizations can create different types of content to attract new audiences, while also providing value and increasing the likelihood of bringing in more donors, resources and awareness for their cause.
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How to Create Charitable Site Content that Works
In order to have a successful charity or support group, you need to have members (volunteers) and audiences that are actually visiting your site content and social media profiles. The better the content and experience provided, the more likely an audience is to engage.
Here are some creative and unique ideas for organizations to start creating better websites, blogs and social media content, while still keeping a focus on their charitable efforts.
- Evergreen Content and SEO (Search Traffic)
There are many different types of content that can be written and published online. A few examples of these would be anything from basic articles on any topic possible, industry or world news topics, resources and even list-style articles. However, another important factor to consider when writing content for a charitable organization, is how long that content is going to be useful for.
For example, a news article is usually time-sensitive, but a resource guide is something that can continually be updated and referenced time and time again. The latter is often referred to as ‘evergreen’ content.
The more evergreen content that is published to a site, the more likely it is to find long-term value and continually attract new audiences and traffic from the search results as well. And it’s also important to realize that SEO plays a huge role in this process. In order to rank higher in the search results, a charity website will need to get a lot of backlinks and social activity.
- Trending Topics and Social Media
For any charitable groups or organizations that have a blog or are posting a lot of content to their sites, they might also want to focus their efforts on social media as well. And with social media come a lot of trending news topics and hashtags that should also be taken advantage of.
Not all trending topics and hashtags will be relevant to your charitable efforts, but many of them will be. Such topics can be anything related to charitable donations and tax deductions, any relevant news from celebrities or influencers that might be active in global causes, and of course any trending geographical events around the world (which may be affecting your cause or those in need of help).
And when this is taking place through social media, it’s also a great way to put a small blurb out there, while giving social audiences the opportunity to visit your site for the full article, or reading any of the other published works on your site.
For many charities already with an active following on social media, this can be a great way to keep audiences updated on important news as well. Should your charity send out useful reference guides or breaking news, it can also result in more likes and shares on your social feed, thus resulting in more followers and likes to your organization.
Check out this list of charities that have successfully leveraged the power of social media, which includes notable organizations like The American Red Cross, Charity: Water, and The National Wildlife Federation.
- Resources for Local Donors and Gatherings
Speaking of creating useful content that people will find value in time and time again, there is still a massive need for better-localized content. With so many different charities still playing a big role in smaller cities and localized areas, this is a great way to create content that also targets an exact audience.
Localized directories and news websites (like Patch) are all great resources for charities to skim through and see how they can start engaging with other events and news in the area. It’s also a great way to add new content to your blog or social media outlets that might be worth sharing with others.
And when writing about local events, small businesses in the area or even fundraising events, this can lead to a lot of local PR and free advertising as well. All businesses and media in a local area love to help each other, and especially when it’s focused on helping others in need.
How Charities Are Creating Content Creation and Marketing Strategies
The internet is a very busy place, with over a billion active websites creating new content on a daily basis. And with that much content being created, it’s extremely hard to stand out from the crowd, or even to rank at the top of the search results.
This is also something charities of all sizes have to figure out, as they are all fighting for the attention of different audiences, while also competing against much bigger companies and organizations looking to get that same exposure.
ME to WE has been one of the most successful charities in recent years in social media outreach, with a robust presence across all platforms, especially YouTube.
In summary, before jumping into content creation and marketing strategy for your organization, be sure to put in the necessary time and effort to understand what your audience needs. Also, try to take advantage of the many different ways social media and trending topics can help with any upcoming fundraising and local events as well.
