How to Use Good Content to Improve Member Loyalty

Content marketing is one of the most effective ways a Not for Profit can slice through the noise to reach a broader audience and build relationships that keep people coming back says Fergus Stoddart, a Director at strategic content agency Edge.

Many Not for Profit organisations (NFPs) depend upon the continued loyalty and support from members, supporters and donors. However, with so much marketing clutter and the many NFPs competing for members, it can be difficult get cut through and build loyalty with members.

Content marketing is one of the most effective ways Not for Profit organisations can slice through the noise to reach a broader audience and build those all-important relationships that keep people coming back to you.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing allows you to connect directly with prospective members, providing something that is entertaining, informative, valuable and interesting (or maybe all of these!) but, above all, meaningful to them. This strategy is the key to developing lasting relationships with people and meeting your objectives.

Content in the form of newsletters, blog posts, articles in the media, videos and direct email pieces, all play an important role in a content strategy, with each touch point motivating a different response, but all leading to ongoing support or membership as the end result.

Using content marketing

NFPs need to be innovative to attract attention in this competitive environment.

Here are some tips to build loyalty:

• Get personal – use data to personalise your content. For example, in the same way Amazon provides a personalised home page for each customer, you can use data such as where they live, what type of industry they’re in, what level of donor they are and what stage of the relationship they are in with the NFP to create something specific for different member segments.

• Add value – provide content that is useful and your members will see you as credible and worthwhile; encouraging a lasting relationship. For example, a health promotion organisation might offer a free resource section to provide easy-to-access information to people in the industry.

• Add something extra – offer exclusive rewards for loyal members and supporters, for example an industry association might offer discounted training sessions on topics relevant to their members.

• Keep it regular – decide on a frequency for your content and stick to it so there is no way your members and supporters can forget about you. For example, by sending a monthly newsletter, blogging weekly and updating social media daily, your organisation can stay top of mind when a potential donor is deciding to donate or lend support

• Make it accessible – your supporters and members have preferred ways to hear from you; for some this may be via reading a magazine or a blog, others might prefer to view your content on social media or in your newsletters. Use a number of ways to share your content with members to ensure they not only receive it, but also receive it via their preferred method.

Content marketing delivery

When developing your content marketing strategy use multiple touch points to attract and convert members.

These touch points include your website (with easy to use mobile versions for various devices), direct email campaigns, customer magazines (printed or digital), social media, mobile apps, newsletters, blog posts and expert articles in magazines and websites.

Take your content mobile

A recent CSIRO report showed more people than ever are using mobile apps to access services – and this is only going to increase.

Making it easy for your technologically savvy supporters and members to connect with you no matter where they are or what device they are on will add to their loyalty. More importantly, if it is easy for your growing supporter or member base to share their support for your organisation on social media, your organisation will be broadcasted to their networks as well.

People are becoming increasingly selective, so if you can provide them with good content that entertains and adds value, your NFP organisation will be ahead of the game. Providing valuable information and tools through a clever content marketing strategy will see your supporter or member base grow.

About the author:

Fergus Stoddart is the Commercial Director of Edge, co-author of ADMA’s Content Marketing White Paper and speaker at industry events on content marketing. His motto is: “If you are not changing faster than the world around you, you are going backwards … and it’s time to close the doors!” Edge is a strategic content agency creating and producing custom content for brands across any channel or platform, including print, digital, gaming and broadcast.