Has your non-profit incorporated location-based services (LBS) into marketing and fundraising plans?
While LBS are still in their infancy, any non-profit can begin to craft a strategy for how the channel can play a role in marketing now and in the future. A few key points for getting started:
Find a partner. What business relationships do you have in your community? Which company could mutually benefit from your association? Do you have board members who might sponsor a test? This is the first and most critical step to piloting this program.
Choose your LBS. Decide on your target audience and then choose a platform where you think they will be most active. Given their current reach compared to other options, starting out with Foursquare and Facebook is a sound pilot strategy.
Develop a promotion. What will you focus on … fundraising, awareness, both?
A few ideas:
A few ideas:
- Awareness: A nonprofit that provides adoption support services might leave tips at local daycare centers. When Foursquare users check into the partner locations, they will learn about the nonprofit.
- Fundraising: You may use Facebook Places in conjunction with a partnership with a local bookstore, restaurant or other retail location. When users check-in, the business donates $5.00 to your non-profit. If your non-profit is a local food bank, perhaps an ideal partnership might be a local restaurant or chain or even a grocery store.
As a parting note, I believe it’s important to view LBS, at least in the early stages of testing, as an enhancement to your traditional marketing programs. You will need to invest quite a bit of time getting the program off the ground and the ROI for the time dedicated to these initial efforts may be slim. However, you’re planning for the long-term…you’re finding new and unique ways to connect with current and prospective audiences…you’re getting ahead of the curve. And the pay-off will come as both a measureable and immeasurable enhancement to your traditional programs.
