
Influencer Marketing For Nonprofits: 4 Strategies
01/23/25
digital design
If you work at a nonprofit, it’s likely that you have considered influencer marketing for nonprofits at least once. And for good reason: done right, this marketing strategy can be quite effective. Like anything, it just requires the correct approach.
Today we are diving into everything you need to know about working with influencers to improve your nonprofit marketing. This includes why it’s so effective, as well as a four-step plan for utilizing it at your organization. Enjoy!
Why Influencer Marketing Is Relevant For Nonprofits
The benefits of influencer marketing for nonprofits aren’t always immediately obvious. Many people, for example, think it’s a marketing strategy that only applies to the for-profit world.
But that’s not true. Here are three of the most important reasons that influencer marketing can work for nonprofits just as well:
- 1) Humanizes the cause. Almost every nonprofit tries to distance themselves from bigger companies. To do this, though, a common difficulty is the humanization of the organization. This is often a place where nonprofits struggle. Luckily, influencer marketing can help. Influencers usually share personal stories and experiences. This gives a campaign a human touch that can encourage action.
- 2) Builds trust. Many potential donors are skeptical about a nonprofit’s claims. This makes sense. People want to know where their money is going and the overall impact of any potential donation. Simply hearing it from the organization that’s asking for donations isn’t always compelling enough. This is where influencers make a difference. By hearing about a campaign from somebody that they already know, potential donors are more likely to trust a nonprofit’s claims.
- 3) Expands reach. It’s a basic equation: get your campaign in front of more people, and you will drive more donations. While there are always nuances to this assumption, for the most part, it’s true. The fact is, influencer marketing for nonprofits is a great way to introduce your mission to a wider audience. An influencer’s following is full of people that otherwise may never hear about your organization. Partnering with them allows you to tap into their attention – and raise more funds as a result.
These are a few reasons why influencer marketing for nonprofits can be so effective. Let’s now cover how to approach it.
4 Influencer Marketing Strategies For Nonprofits
1) Develop Clear Goals
The most important step of influencer marketing for nonprofits is knowing what you are trying to achieve. What does success look like for you? This is where you need to start. Here are a few objectives you might consider:
- Driving Donations: A fundraising campaign where influencers encourage their followers to donate to your cause.
- Raising Awareness: Sharing stories and important statistics that broaden your organization’s visibility.
- Volunteer Recruitment: Encouraging followers to sign up to different volunteer programs.
- Event Promotion: Getting the word out about different events that your organization is responsible for (like conferences or virtual fundraisers).
Before you start reaching out to influencers, you need to know what you are trying to achieve. This is the most essential step of the process because it gives you clarity. Then and only then should you start connecting with potential partners.
2) Identify The Right Influencers
Now you need to find the right people to work with. This next step can feel a bit overwhelming: where do you even start? The first step here is to identify influencers whose content and (crucially) audience aligns with your nonprofit’s mission. This makes it more likely that their followers will be interested in your cause. Once you have this list, you can narrow it down with two essential considerations:
- Large vs. micro-influencers: while larger influencers (100,000+ followers) can provide massive reach, they will typically have a less engaged audience. The opposite is true of micro-influencers (1,000–50,000 followers): a smaller audience, but a more active community. There are benefits to both– be sure you do your research.
- Platform choice: where do your ideal donors spend time? There are plenty of platforms out there, but not all of them are equally relevant for your goals. Instagram is great for visual storytelling, YouTube content tends to be longer, and LinkedIn is ideal for deeper engagement. The platform you choose matters; in-depth audience research is the most guaranteed way to ensure you work with the right influencers.
3) Craft A Compelling Story
Effective influencer marketing for nonprofits requires good storytelling. The fact is, your campaign is going to fall flat if the story isn’t there. That’s why you need to work with influencers to craft an authentic narrative. Here are a few tips:
- Personal connections: if an influencer has a personal tie to your cause (maybe they’ve been impacted themselves, or even donated to your charity in the past), be sure to highlight that. This personal touch goes a long way in creating an engaging story.
- Impact stories: influencer marketing for nonprofits is all about demonstrating how your organization has made a difference. Provide influencers with engaging visuals or success stories that they can include in their content.
- Behind-the-scenes access: give influencers exclusive access or some kind of insight into how your nonprofit operates. This can include virtual tours or on-site visits. Not only is this engaging, but it makes it more likely that they drive donations from their audience.
4) Measure And Refine
The only way to ensure a positive ROI on your efforts is to track everything. You need to be on top of the relevant metrics. Otherwise, you’ll have no idea what “success” looks like and are more likely to invest money on a lost cause. Here are the things you should be tracking from the majority of your influencer campaigns:
- Donations: the total raised during or immediately after the campaign (use UTM tags to ensure you can track where these donations are coming from).
- Landing page views: if you’re running an awareness campaign, how many people actually clicked through to learn more?
- Social media engagement: the obvious ones here: total number of comments, shares, and the overall sentiment from the influencer’s posts can be a good indication of how your campaign was received.
- Volunteer signups / event registrations: did the influencer’s audience actually follow through on specific calls to action?
Overall, it’s also important that you analyze what worked – and what didn’t. That’s the only way to get better and improve any future efforts you might have in influencer marketing.
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