For those associations looking for a refresher in their marketing materials, we’ve got some tips that could do the trick for you. Learn more about how you can take back your marketing campaign and make it something full of meaning and purpose!
Looking to impress members and non-members alike with the marketing campaigns you pull out? Then you’re going to want to make sure they matter for the right reasons. While flashy designs and tactile strategy can help you make improvements with your marketing strategy, you won’t really be able to drive marketing messages home if they aren’t backed with meaning and purpose.
After all, audiences want to know that your association is truly passionate in what they do before they develop a relationship with you as a member/donor. But what does it mean to truly have purpose in your marketing? Well, a lot of things. It could mean that your association isn’t narrowing down what’s truly important to include in marketing materials. It also could mean you aren’t quite sure what makes your association stand out among the rest in order to use that to your advantage. With so many roads to go down, you want to make sure you’re doing the best you can to find the meaning and drive it into your current marketing strategy.
For those associations looking for a refresher in their marketing materials, we’ve got some tips that could do the trick for you. Keep reading on to find out more about how you can take back your marketing campaign and make it something full of meaning and purpose.
Marketing: It’s all around us all the time. In fact, you can hardly go a single day without seeing a marketing campaign. But with so many marketing materials surrounding us, how can you make sure your association’s stick out to the audience you’re targeting?
It’s all about including your audience in the experience. Taking the “ego” out of marketing means focusing less on your association and more on the needs and wants of members and your community. Reflecting the views of your audience is what they’re looking for- and it shows up in the way they interact with marketing messages. Accenture Strategy’s recent survey on consumer preference stated that 63% of consumers are buying products and services from companies that reflect their own personal values and beliefs. On top of that, 62% of customers want companies to take a stand on issues they’re passionate about.
Showing more of your audience’s values and presence in your marketing and taking your organization’s agenda out of it can help you hone in on more meaningful marketing.
What do your members like? What issues do they care about? What are they looking for out of your association? If these questions don’t immediately harvest answers when they come to mind, you could be in trouble when creating marketing campaigns.
Luckily for you, your collected member data is a treasure trove of information that can answer how you put purpose into marketing. Most likely, your association collects and stores member data and surveys somewhere secure and organized (if not, you can start here with our tips). But if you aren’t using this data to drive your marketing forward, you’re missing out on the full value of that data. Analyze the data and surveys you’ve collected from your members and see what they all have in common. You can look at things like: demographics, reasons why they joined your association, what they enjoy about being a member, and what drives them in their own lives. All of this can be collected with the right member survey and proper communication.
Using your already existing member data, you can start to form ideas about purpose and meaning that can then be funneled into your marketing campaigns.
You never want to forget about your mission statement when going to the marketing drawing board. After all, it’s what your organization stands for and what audiences see when they visit your website. Whatever your mission statement is, you’ll want to refer back to it in your marketing. No matter the industry your association is apart of, your mission statement will always be a relevant source of information to develop marketing materials around.
For example, you can create campaigns that include your mission as text.
Or, you can take testimonials from members or organizations you’ve helped. You can even use photos or videos you’ve taken at charity events and incorporate them into the marketing you do. With your mission in mind, anything is possible in terms of marketing!
While the right technique and strategy can get your association’s marketing on the right track, it’s up to you to add meaning back into your marketing strategy to make things right for consumers- and hopefully see positive results from this change.
