How non-profits should publish news

Rather than waste money by blasting journalists email boxes, consider tapping into your own support network to get the word out.

In order to build support, it is vital for non-profits to create a voice. The web is a perfect place to develop this voice. We recommend that nonprofits make content an on-going advocacy tool to advance and protect their mission. Create content that is useful, interesting and relevant to people. Set up appropriate measurement tools to track progress.

How to track the success of non-profit content

• Was it shared? Use tools like Addthis to track social media shares, likes and emails.
• If you email your content, does it result in a huge number of unsubscribes. If so, try pulling back on any "sales-y" talk. Use the next draft to refine the subject line and content focus to be more appealing.
• Did your content attract links? Use Google Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics or Hubspot to track inbound links to blog posts.
• Check your reposts on Twitter.
• Check your Facebook Edgerank: Was there much support from your Facebook fans?
• Check the growth of organic traffic to your website over time
• Check the growth of social media referrals over time

Don't judge... measure data over time
Don't judge your content against organizations with larger support networks.  You will fail to recognize your progress. Measure your progress against the size of your own network. It is a good idea to use metrics like: conversion rate (% of conversion) or engagement rate (% of engagement with content: likes, shares, comments, etc.). Marketing a non-profit must begin with those who understand and believe in your mission. They will be the strongest advocates, and with social media, they can be very influential.

Places to share content

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google Plus
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn
• Google News
• (in some cases) Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Experiment with methods
Experiment to ensure that your content is appreciated. You will need to experiment as well with how you share your content: time of day, platform (social, email, etc), to whom within your community. Not all members in your community will appreciate receiving content in their email inbox, for example. Some members will be highly engaged on Facebook, whereas others will respond better to Twitter.

Empower sharing
Once you find success in creating content for your own network, empower them to share and advocate for your organization. Use strong calls-to-action to drive engagement. Participate in online communities to build clout and respect. Work hard to earn subscribers, and work hard to keep them subscribed.

Don't dabble.
Invest time and energy creating great and meaningful content. Create a content schedule and participate in social media frequently. For example, according to a study from Socialbakers, most Facebook posts receive more than half their traffic in the first 30 minutes.  Effective fundraising campaigns can be run online, but content is needed to drive hearts and minds to a cause. This takes: 1. time, 2. energy, and 3. a data-driven learning process.