I’ve been the owner and operator of a small Advertising Agency for well over a quarter of a century! During those years, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to work with clients from all over America. The vast majorities of those clients were also small, and were looking to market themselves with tiny or modest budgets. I guess that’s a pretty common situation for most businesses and organizations and I became somewhat of an expert in getting things done on a shoe-string budget.
I was often approached to do gratis work or give free advice to local Churches and charities and, whenever possible, was always glad to lend a hand. Back in 1993, I myself started a nonprofit organization that was active for several years, and I know how hard it is to work with few resources. I’d like to share five things that your nonprofit can do, that can easily get your organization some much needed publicity. Let me start with, possibly the most important and the most obvious; social networking.
- Facebook – If you haven’t already, create a Facebook page for your organization. Encourage as many people as possible to “like” your page and to share your page on their own Facebook walls. Getting started is so easy and Facebook has tools and tutorials to get your page up and started with ease. Once you have your page, learn to market it and take advantage of the millions and millions of people connected together online. Use it to get your message out, promote events and even raise funds!
- Letters to The Editor – One way to voice your concerns and get your name in front of the public is to write Op-Ed letters to your local or area newspapers. If there is a topic or issue close to your heart, write about it and submit it to all the newspapers in your area. Keep watch of letters in response to yours and write a follow up! It’s free, and it gets your name and your issues in front on thousands of people.
- Create a PSA Announcement – A PSA (Public Service Announcement) is a way to get free airtime on local TV and Radio stations and Cable Providers. Most are 30-seconds in length but in some cases you can use 60-seconds. When I started out in advertising and marketing back in 1985, it was much more difficult and costly to produce a TV ad. It had to be shot on “broadcast quality” equipment and sometimes could cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars in production expenses. Today, with HD video editing is easy and very affordable. There are even free apps these days to edit videos together on a laptop, tablet or even your phone. Im sure with a little creativity and the help from your local high-school age geek, you can have a quality PSA announcement to give out to your local stations. Be sure and talk to someone at each station who will be your “voice” there and get you some airtime.
- Host a Photography Contest – Ask local photographers to submit themed photos that represent a cause or topic that you could end up making into an ad or poster to promote your organization. Get a professional photographer to jury the submissions and possibly act as one of the judges for the event. Have a prize or some prestigious recognition for the top 3 to 5 submissions with a “best of show” award. You could even charge an “entry fee” per submission. Choose the top 25 or 50 (you choose the number) of entries and have a show at the local Mall of Chamber of Commerce. There are lots of tips online on hosting an art or photography competition.
- Create an Annual Event – There are many TV Stations, Radio Stations, Chambers of Commerce, Tourism Bureaus, etc., who would partner up with you on a fun or unusual event. Look to see what others are doing and where you might fill a void in your market. Annual Duck Races (using plastic ducks), a Winter Plunge into a stream, a 5K run or any number of annual events that your organization could create and “own” in your area. Be creative!
There are many other ideas to get your name in front of the public. I’ve just shared five. When all is said and done, it’s simply about making those phone calls, calling on people and building relationships with others, especially with the people who have access to the masses, (media people). Ask for help! Seek out people who might partner with you on not only fulfilling your mission but funding it as well!
