A Comparison of 13 Popular Social Media Scheduling Tools

Anyone else ever feel like they're caught in a perpetual catch-22? As a small business owner, I feel that way A LOT. For example, I know I need to increase my website views because standard conversion rates are at about two percent, meaning if you have 100 people visit your site, only two will take whatever action you've designated for them, like purchasing, signing up for your email list, or making a donation. But I have so many other things on my plate that are also important. So, which do I choose? Which do you choose?

Even as a marketer, I know that I should be marketing my blog posts much more than I am actually writing them, but they both have to get done, so my time is always split. It's a common frustration many of us share, right?

There are, of course, a lot of ways to get traffic to your site, but for most of us, the day in and day out formula revolves around social media. And if you spend several hours writing a blog post, but only promote it on social media a couple of times, it could easily go to the internet graveyard. #RIP

So, what's the solution? I think it might be a social media scheduling tool, especially if you do not have someone who is solely dedicated to your social media strategy. There are a lot of popular options out there, and I took the time to review 13 of them. None were perfect (though some come close!), and several were quite similar, but I think you'll find some great choices for your nonprofit or social enterprise.

First, let me address a hesitation you may be feeling, which I also had for months. This all sounds good, you agree with what I said, and you share the same frustrations, but you know it's going to cost money, which makes it feel more like a luxury, and something you should probably put off for "later." Sound familiar?

For those of us at small organizations, every dollar counts. And this is especially true for those of us running solo businesses or may even be all volunteer-led. We want to look more professional, but we also need to stick to our budgets. I get it, and like I said, I debated with myself about it as well.

However, recently, I've decided to put this in the "you've gotta spend money to make money" category. That, my friends, is unavoidable. And that's also what I'll be talking about for the next three weeks here on the blog.

In order to scale your nonprofit or social enterprise, you just have to be willing to put out some upfront cash knowing that it'll pay off in the long run. If I don't pay for the social media scheduling tool, I will either need to hire someone to manage my social media, or I will always be minimally promoting my blog posts, unless I slow my blogging frequency way down to make time in my schedule for it. 

Granted, my traffic will likely increase organically with time, but it will take a very long time. Like I said, there are certainly other options for increasing your traffic, but for everyday efforts, I think this is the way to go.

So, here we are. This is where I've arrived, and I wanted you to benefit from my research and experience. 

Two other things to note before we dig into the social media scheduling tools.

First, pretty much all of the services below have free versions and higher tiers, but as I am a small business who works mostly with small nonprofits and social enterprises, I had us in mind when I did my research. None of the free versions had the features I was looking for, so I knew I would have to pay. Prices below reflect annual plans, because that is cheaper than paying month-to-month. Also, if you are a nonprofit, most of them have discounts, so be sure to ask!

Second, in case you were wondering, it is always more effective to post "natively." So, for example, scheduling Facebook Page posts directly in Facebook. However, most of us just don't have the time to do this long-term or ongoing with our other responsibilities. But platforms will generally show your Tweets and posts to more people when they are published directly from their own site or app. I get it, I wish I could, but I just can't. 

THE WINNER: SMARTERQUEUE

My biggest priority for the search was having the ability to auto recycle content. Meaning, not just schedule Tweets and posts, but once the queue was empty, it would start all over again on its own. This really allows you to "set it and forget it," and just add new content as you go into the mix.

Cost: $17 per month

Pros: 

• Auto recycling

• Excellent amount of features without being overwhelming.

• Works well with short-term promos. For example, you can set a post to expire after a certain date or number of times.

• Drag and drop content calendar.

• Utilizes categories for different types of content. (ex: quotes, promos, blogs, etc.). And each category can have its own schedule, and you can set a ratio of how often each category should be recycled. Categories can also be paused and customized per profile.

• Has content curation features, which allow you to easily add new content from other places you follow or find, which aren't already part of your mix.

• Easy set-up by analyzing your profile history and creating a schedule you can customize.

• Helps you find a posting schedule based on analytics. It's always difficult to know "the best" time to schedule per social channel, and sometimes the "experts" disagree on when it is.

• You an tag others in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

• Has a competitor analysis feature so you can see what others like you are doing, and how they're performing.

• Monitors the mentions you get from other social media accounts. Who doesn't love a shout out!

• Easy migration from Edgar.

• Smaller plans don’t have as many restrictions on features as some services.

• Has a “social Inbox” where you can manage the messages you get from different platforms.

• Has an engagement feature where you can like, Tweet, comment, etc, directly within the platform.

• 50% discount for nonprofits—wow!

Cons:

• Doesn't auto schedule. It won't pick the best time to send your posts so you don't have to. Unless you are really good at reading analytics, this is a big guessing game. So, it's nice when a service chooses for you.

• Can't upload video directly in the program at this time. I imagine they'll fix this soon, though, since video is winning the Miss Popularity contest right now. They do have workaround instructions in the Help section for now, though.

• This one seems a little silly and stingy to me, but if you downgrade from a higher priced tier or cancel your account, there are no refunds. Most of the others offer this, I think, so I was surprised to see it.

Lots of pros, am I right? This was only the second tool I originally checked out, and I was pretty smitten with their site. It had enough information to keep me reading and interested, but no so much that I was overwhelmed. I'm really looking forward to using it! You can sign up right here with my affiliate link, which gets you a 30-day free trial instead of 14 days. (By the way, if you need help, my friend, Jennifer Wilder, can help get you set up. She did mine!)

(Update 5/7/18: This year, Twitter, Facebook, and it seems like every other social platform has introduced all kinds of new rules and regulations to keep haters, spammers, and fake newsers at bay. This is obviously a very good thing, but has also been a bummer for those of us who schedule social media using these third-party platforms. However, I'm still sticking with SmarterQueue for two reasons.

First, they have implemented "fixes" so that their software still works. Second, even though I know manually scheduling and posting will yield better results, I maintain my position that if posting frequently on social media is going to happen, then right now, it's going to happen through a scheduler. Maybe that'll change when Signify grows up a little more, but for now, here we are. And I'm grateful to SmarterQueue for their updates and fast, friendly customer service team.)

Edgar

Edgar came in at a tie for second place with Viraltag, but I'm listing it first because probably more people have heard of it. It is a really solid option.

Cost: $49 per month

Pros:

• 30-day money-back guarantee

• I feel like everyone I talk to that has it loves it.

• Has content curation through a browser extension

• Expiring content feature for limited-time promos

• A bargain for larger businesses since there aren’t other tiers. I actually think they've come down in price since I seem to remember them being $79 when I've looked at them in the past.

• Has categories

• Getting started guides and a support forum

• I've been on their email list for a few months, and find it helpful. I really love it when service providers like this have helpful forums and emails. :)

• For those who’d like an extra special on-boarding experience, every Edgar account comes with free account setup assistance and a free social media strategy call!

Cons:

• This is the most expensive option I looked at.

• Doesn’t sync with Bitly, a link shortener, which I use a lot.

• Sends performance reports, but no analytics at this point.

Viraltag

This was my other tie for second place. It was a much tougher decision once I'd narrowed it to these three! And if you're wondering how I arrived at these 13 social media scheduling programs when there are so many others out there, it was because I asked some social media pros I know as well as in some Facebook groups with social media managers and people more likely to use these kinds of tools. I actually hadn't heard of Viraltag until someone suggested it in one of the groups, and I was very impressed. I think you'll start to see it pop up more.

Cost: $24 per month

Pros: 

• Learns the best times to post and which content drives more engagement—LOVE this!

• Specializes in visual content, though you can have plain text posts for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

• Connects with Google Drive and Dropbox and Canva

• Provides image editing directly in their interface

• You can customize images per network

• Has the content calendar feature so you can see how everything fits together rather than just in a list.

• Really helpful customer service chat, even on the weekend.

• You can schedule a demo to begin.

Cons:

• Not sure I like the interface as much from the little I saw on the site, but of course, this is a preference.

• Managing Facebook Groups is "in the pipeline."

• You have to manually handle any short-term promos, which means deleting them after you don't want them posting anymore.

• The site says that this plan has only 30 days of analytics, but the customer service woman told me they could remove that restriction, so just be sure to ask.

Missing Lettr

This is another one I hadn't heard of until I posed the question to a social media manager Facebook Group, and I find it very fascinating. For the right person, I think it would be awesome. 

Cost: $15 per month

Pros:

• It's good for people who need social support to keep their blogs out there circulating the internet. The gist is that it takes your blog post, cuts it up into bite-sized pieces, and distributes it over the course of a year to your social networks. Cool huh?

• Looks extremely easy to use, and does a lot of the work for you. You do get to double-check and approve everything before it goes out.

• It even suggests hashtags for you! #winning

Cons:

• It does what it does, and that's it. So, it doesn't work with other promotions or content you may want to push. You'd need another service to manage that, or if that's a rare occasion for you, just post directly to your social networks as needed.

Social Jukebox

Okay, so your brain may not work the same as mine—fair assumption. This was one of those that several people recommended, but just didn't give me much of an impression after looking at it. It's a very simple site, which sounds like a good thing, except it didn't "sell" me. And because the website is so basic, I didn't really want to contact them with the dozens of questions I had.

Cost: $19 per month

Pros:

• You can set targeted posts, which seems cool. (ex: send a birthday Tweet to someone every year, etc)

• Has orientation video

Cons:

• Again, I just didn't have much of an impression. However, for people looking for a straight-forward way to get the job done without bells and whistles, this will probably suffice. But, for a couple bucks less per month, look at how much more I'm getting with SmarterQueue . . .

Recurpost

Even though it's still somewhat basic, this site has a nice layout and design that worked for me. It didn't have all the features I wanted, but a solid option for people wanting to keep things simple while adding some oomph to their social or launch strategy.

Cost: $0-25 per month

Pros:

• With so many services offering free accounts, you may be wondering why I put the goose egg in this cost category. That's because it actually offers some pretty good features for the free accounts, so if you are really concerned about the price of a social media scheduling tool, or want to start slow, you might check this one out.

• They predict the best times for you to send, which is nice.

• Seems like a fairly simple way to recycle posts.

• Categories, calendar feature, and analytics

• Has a knowledge base

Cons:

• Even though it checked a lot of boxes for me, it didn't wow me. Obviously, this is just an impression, and not quantifiable. It may be just the thing you've been looking for.

Buffer

This is one of the more popular options. I've used it myself, once several years back on behalf of a nonprofit and also earlier this year for my Facebook Group (before you could schedule posts there). This is another pretty solid option, depending on your needs.

Cost: $10 per month

Pros:

• Nice, low cost

• Probably the simplest tool to set up and use

• Has image editing and video uploading

• Lots of resources (blog, emails, guides, webinars, FAQs) to help you get better, and to answer questions

Cons:

• Less impressive

• No categories

• No recycling or auto scheduling

• No analytics on lower plans

Hiplay

Hiplay serves as an add-on to Buffer.       

Cost: $5 per month

Pros:

• For people who love Buffer, and they do have a big fan base, you can recycle your posts on a service you love without a lot of additional effort or training.

Cons:

• You're now having to use two programs, yuck.

Hootsuite

This is one of the other big dogs on the social scene. I've used Hootsuite for many years, even just for my personal profiles before I had a legit business. Their free plan works pretty well, and served me for a long time. But it just isn't going to get the job done anymore, now that I need to step up my game.

Cost: $19 per month     

Pros:

• Basic scheduler with analytics

• Calendar view

• Integrates with other apps

• Auto schedules content

• Analytics

• 30-day free trial (That's a lot!)

Cons:

• You get unlimited scheduling with paid plans, but they recently introduced limits on free plans.

• Doesn't recycle content

• Once you go past that $19 plan, you're looking at $99 per month!

Dlvr.it

They skipped adding some letters in their funky company name, but didn't repurpose them on their website. This is a super basic site, which just gives you the absolute minimum information. As such, it didn't impress me.

Cost: $9.99 per month

Pros:

• Integrates with Google Analytics and Bitly, which is really nice.

• It says it's "the easiest" way to post on Facebook and Twitter, so perhaps no explanation needed. ;)

• Works with lots of social platforms, where others have more limited options.

• Auto scheudling

• Affordable

Cons:

• I just don't know much about them because they didn't take the time to put it on their site.

Everypost

I'd heard of this one, but not much about it. And, honestly, there's not all that much to talk about, in my opinion. Some of the big plans seem to be good options for team collaboration, but I don't know many people that need that. 

Cost: $9.99 per month

Pros:

• Customize content per channel, which is nice

• You get 10 channels for $10 per month. Most of the plans I've been touting here are only for three to five profiles at that lowest price plan.

• Unlimited scheduling. Some of the plans in this post have a limit as to how many posts you can schedule at that price, like 100, 500, or 1,000.

• You can request a demo.

• Affordable

Cons:

• Analytics only for two profiles at that price

• Nothing super special

Social Pilot

One of my friends who is a social media manager loves this one. And it does have quite a lot of features for the price tag.

Cost: $8 per month

Pros:

• Excellent, affordable option if you don’t need auto recycling

• Connects to Bitly and Canva

• Calendar feature

• Content suggestions if you need some help

• Analytics

Cons:

• Again, the big drawback for me was that it doesn't recycle content. I don't want the well to run dry, and me have to go set it all up again.

• No categories

CoSchedule

I've been on their email list for probably at least a year. But if you aren't into marketing or really honing your social skills, it would probably just be overwhelming. They'd definitely fall into the "more is more" category. However, I do recommend their Headline Analyzer for writing titles.

Cost: $40 per month

Pros:

• They definitely want you to be well-resourced through emails, blogs, webinars, etc.

• Full marketing calendar available

• Integrates with Wordpress, Google Analytics, Evernote, Google Docs, and more

• Live demos regularly

• Drag and Drop calendar

• Categories

• Recycles content

Cons:

• Second most expensive option I looked at

• Pricier plans have much more advanced features for entire marketing efforts, not just social

• In all that information, I couldn't figure out how many profiles or posts the $40 per month got you.

• Whereas some of the websites only had one or two pages that didn’t impress me or provide me with enough info, this one had so much it was kind of overwhelming to get the full picture. I can see growing into it maybe, but it’s just too robust for now.

• With a plethora of features, I find it funny that it doesn't work with LinkedIn.

And one to grow on: Hopper

This one was also recommended in my research, but in looking at it, Hopper is only made for Instagram. However, it says it schedules "automatically," which I didn't think was possible. It's $19 per month for one account, so I'll let you check it out of Insta is your jam.

Whew—are you exhausted!?!? I am! But hopefully I saved you hours of research, or at least narrowed things down for you. A lot of it comes down to what you need, or think you'll need, as well as your preferences. 

Before you go, I want to leave you with a couple other things to consider:

• While I don’t list every feature here, also take note of things like FAQs and support forums so you don’t always have to reach out to customer service, especially if you work a lot on the weekends when they may not be available.

• If you are just starting to explore this idea, but aren't ready to make any moves yet, ask to get added to their email lists. Then you can learn more about the company, the culture, offers, and get more information about features. I love to see how people treat their email lists. #marketingnerd

• If you are somewhat ready to make the leap, almost all of these services offer free trials with requiring a credit card. So, check them out, or at least poke under the hood. You can take a look at the systems and interface without having to upload a bunch of content.

• Think long-term! This is super important. Look for options you think you might need or would be nice to have as you grow, so you don’t have to through the entire set-up process again. For example, even before I sent my first company email, I knew that I'd want to switch from MailChimp to ConvertKit at some point. But, in the interest of saving a few bucks and avoiding a learning curve when I was already overwhelmed, I went with MailChimp "for now." But I have kicked myself multiple times, and of course, every month goes by, and I will have more to set up later when I do make the switch! Ugh, I'm getting hives just thinking about it. Anyway, learn from my mistake!

See you out there in the social sphere! 

And don't forget to try SmarterQueue! Remember, my affiliate link gets you a 30-day free trial!

(PS: I am a busy solopreneur with limited time on my hands, so my friend Jen is the one who got me set up and running on Smarterqueue. She is available to help you too!)

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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The Key to Maximizing Your Year-End Fundraising Efforts

Today's guest post comes from Cindy Wagman, President of The Good Partnership, which is on a mission to make great fundraising achievable for small nonprofits. Since we are entering prime fundraising season, I wanted Cindy's perspective on how to make the most of year-end efforts. And she's got some great advice for you!

Oh, hi!

If you’re like most of my clients, you’re the Executive Director for a small nonprofit and you’re juggling a million balls, trying to keep up with the increased holiday workload. On top of that, you need to take advantage of year-end fundraising. You’ve probably seen the infographics on Pinterest that show how much money comes in through donations to charities at year-end. Feel like you’re missing out, or behind the 8-ball?

Take a deep breath and grab a coffee or tea, and I’ll give you a few pointers on how to focus your year-end fundraising to maximize results with the least amount of effort.

 

Campaign vs. Appeal

First thing’s first. You need to think of year-end fundraising as a campaign, or mini campaign. It’s not just one direct mail package or one email asking for support. It’s also not a bunch of random asks that don’t have anything to do with each other. A campaign is cohesive and multi-channel, multi-touch. But, that doesn’t mean overwhelm. In fact, a campaign can help eliminate some of the overwhelm because it gives you a clear plan with a lot of messages that can be repeated, over and over.

At minimum, I want you to do a three-part email series with an ask in EACH one, some social media posts and, if you do traditional direct mail, at least one letter. If someone makes a donation, you can remove them from the subsequent communications.

Your Theme

Now that you have an outline of what you’re sending, you need to know what messaging to include. Pick one theme for your campaign and then have that theme run throughout all of your materials. Build on the story through your emails and social media posts, and keep in mind that it takes someone 8-10 times of seeing the SAME message to really internalize it. Don’t worry about repetition. Seriously, don’t worry about repetition.

 

Your Writing

So, there are some best practices when it comes to fundraising writing. Effective fundraising writing is not necessarily “good writing” and usually isn’t what we personally “like." But it works. It should be casual and friendly, with a specific and personal call to action. I’ve actually written a whole blog about just that, which you can read here.

 

Your Thank You

Your thank you is as important (or more important) than your ask.

Your campaign doesn’t end with a gift. In fact, what you send after someone donates is as important or more important than what you send in asking for it.

Create a thank you letter that directly reflects the ask. It should build on the same story as the rest of your campaign and give donors a sense of meaning for their contribution.

Also write a thank you call “script” (something short, sweet, and informal) and have your staff or board call to thank donors when they give.

Somewhere between three and six months after your campaign, create a short but meaningful donor update building on the same messaging as your campaign, to let your donors know what progress you’ve made thanks to their support.

 

Focus

It may seem like this is a lot to do, but if you focus it on one campaign with consistent messaging (and understanding that people need to see repeat messages for it to sink in), you can actually minimize your work and maximize your impact.

Here’s a quick checklist for your year-end campaign:

• One theme/story to use throughout your campaign

• 1 letter (if you usually do letters), 3 emails, and a handful of social media to support the campaign

• A thank you letter and phone call script

• A 3-6 month update

You’ve got this! One final tip is to turn off your cell phone and notifications, sit down for a couple hours, and get this all written and drafted in one sitting. Batching work can often save many hours of switching back and forth.

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Cindy Wagman is President of The Good Partnership, which wants to make great fundraising achievable for small nonprofits. She loves fundraising because she gets to see the most generous side of people, and helps match their passions with real action.

After 15 years as an in-house fundraiser, she left her 9 to 5 and created The Good Partnership to help the organizations that were closest to her heart. These were organizations that were driving change, and aligned with her priorities for her community, our society, and the world. She wants to help you be your authentic fundraiser and lead the change you want to see in the world.

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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Ask the Experts: Podcasting Trends and Strategies

Each month, I invite guest contributors to speak about timely, relevant, and sought-after topics that are important for cause-focused organizations like yours to be aware of as you grow. For November, I've invited my friend, Sarah Bragg of the Surviving Sarah podcast, to tell us all about the how, why, trends, and strategies of podcasting. I know a lot of you listen to podcasts, and maybe even wonder if you should start one. Here's what Sarah has to say.

Q. What are the latest trends in podcasting?

A. Five years ago, many of us couldn’t name a podcast, or maybe we didn’t even know what a podcast was. And now, 350 new podcasts start every day. There are currently over 250,000 unique podcasts on iTunes and 42 million Americans listen to a podcast each week. That last number represents 15% of the population and, for comparison sake, only 3% of the population goes to the movies each week.

As content consumers, we are hungry to find ways to consume content in a faster way, and podcasts resolve that tension for us. We no longer have to sit in front of a screen to read or even watch something. We can now consume content while exercising, running errands, folding laundry, or hiding in the closet from our kids.

As you can see from these stats, podcast consumption is a steady growth of opportunity to reach and influence your audience.

Q. What is the biggest mistake you see people making in regards to podcasting?

A. I think that one of the biggest mistakes I see people make in the podcast industry is jumping in without ever clarifying the "why." They fail to ask some important questions in the beginning. Is this just a hobby or will you treat it like a job (even if it doesn’t pay yet)? Either answer is fine, but it defines your approach. What is your purpose in starting the show? What do you want the audience to receive as a result of listening to the show? Many people fail to sit down and think through the nature of their show. Without clarifying those answers, some shows trail off after some time because even though hosting a show can be convenient, it is also time consuming.

Knowing the answers to those questions pushes me to create content in certain ways. It helps me think through why I do what I do; what kind of ads I’ll allow on the show; and encourages me when comparison wants to steal my joy.

 

Q. What is your best piece of advice to people thinking of starting a podcast?

A. One of my favorite podcasts is Off Camera with Sam Jones. Each week, Sam sits down with a different celebrity to hear their story of how they started and how they came to where they are now. And one of my favorite episodes is his interview with Will Ferrell. At some point in the interview Will said, “Forgetting to have fun is the first step towards disaster.” That was it for me. Podcasting is meant to be fun, encouraging, and entertaining. It’s an easy platform to literally speak into someone’s life. And yes, we need to clarify why we do it, but we also need to remember to have fun. I’ve been podcasting for two years now. I don’t get a full-time salary, but I still have fun each time I sit down to have a conversation around my table.

 

Q. What is one thing readers can take action on this week?

A. No matter which end of the spectrum you are on, decide this week to investigate some podcasts. As leaders, innovators, and people who care deeply for others, podcasts are great for you personally. There are many shows out there that can encourage you through their stories of starting social enterprises or nonprofits, or of working to make a difference in the world. Allow their stories to inspire what you do.

And podcasts can also be a piece of your marketing puzzle. Maybe you can speak into a certain niche, so starting a show might be beneficial. Or maybe advertising on certain show would help get your business in the ears of new listeners. Or maybe you could be a guest on a show in order to promote what you are doing. The possibilities are endless.

 

Q. Anything else we should keep in mind?

A. If you are thinking about starting a podcast, my friend Jacey Verdichio created an excellent resource to walk you through everything you need to know from clarifying your why to launching in iTunes.

Terrific information. Thanks, Sarah!

And if you're in need of a few more convincing stats on podcasts, check out this infographic. It's pretty compelling!

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Sarah Bragg launched a successful podcast, Surviving Sarah, in 2015 where she invites guests to join her around her kitchen table to talk about surviving life so that women will be inspired, informed, encouraged and entertained. 

In addition to that, she is an author, speaker and content director for Orange. She and her family reside in Marietta, GA.

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PIN THIS POST FOR LATER:

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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12 Epic Marketing Ideas Your Nonprofit or Social Enterprise Will Want to Copy

If you’ve got something new to promote, like an event, product, fundraising campaign, book, awareness campaign, or course. . . . pay close attention. We’re about to discuss 12 epic marketing ideas your nonprofit or social enterprise will want to copy.

Before we do that, though, let me make a couple of things clear.

Creating and promoting something new, also referred to as a “launch” in the marketing world, can present its own opportunities and challenges.

On one hand, they're often exciting, and a great chance to build buzz and get people's attention. On the other hand, they're usually short-lived, so you have to make them count because they may only happen once, annually, or at most, a couple of times per year. So, you need to maximize your time and effort with strategies and tactics that support your social impact goals.

There are definite trends you want to ride when it comes to launches (ex: email sequences and social media blitzes), but you'll also need to be creative. Innovative ideas are more likely to make people take notice—and bring in the sales and donations you want. 

Below you'll find 12 unique marketing ideas for your next launch. But, here's my caveat: don't just copy and paste. Put your own spin on them. They'll only be successful if they align with your mission.

(PSST: This post is part of a series about launch marketing for cause-focused organizations. Read Part 1 and Part 2. Or take it to the next level with my launch strategy guide.)

Nonprofit or social enterprise Event Marketing

Idea 1: Meet Ups

I was the Event Marketing Director for The Orange Conference for almost six years. And during that time, one of my favorite event marketing strategies was to host local meet ups all over the country. The catch: we didn't have staff all over the country. So, we let people in our tribe host them for us.

We hosted several meet ups here in Atlanta, where the nonprofit is headquartered, as well as in locations across the US where we did have staff. But there were a lot of places we obviously couldn't reach on our own, and our fans were more than happy to jump in.

They wanted to meet others like them in their hometowns, and we were thrilled they wanted to connect with each other. So, we provided downloadable flyers, social media images, guidance, and even allowed each gathering to give away a ticket to the upcoming event.

Whether people came to win a free ticket or to network with peers, these meet ups built community among the people who showed up—and got people excited about our event. Plus, it was a really fun way to empower our fans.

It also goes to show you that launch events don’t have to be a huge production.

Idea 2: Membership

It can be very difficult to get and sustain momentum for your nonprofit or social enterprise when your entire business model rests on one, big event. Yellow Conference is one of those. Yes, they have a regularly-updated blog, social media, and things like that, but in a sea of events, blogs, and social media accounts, your message can get lost or forgotten, even by your fans.

One of the ways they fight through the noise is the Yellow Collective. It originally began as a subscription box, which I thought was very clever for their business model. In its second year, it has evolved into a membership group that includes many of the original elements: in-person, at home, and online resources. And it also includes discounted tickets to their annual conference.

They've done a really great job at keeping their community connected throughout the year so that, when it's event launch time for their next conference, their fans are already primed and waiting.

Fundraising Campaign marketing

Idea 1: Get Out of the Office

Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery. For Atlanta Dream Center's "48 in 48" fundraising campaign, the founder of the nonprofit lived on the streets for two days. One of their three, primary ministries focuses on homelessness, so it made perfect sense with their mission.

And because the founder actually had the past experience of being homeless himself, it magnified and personalized the cause. He made the issue relatable and gave first-hand insight. Leading up to the event, a lot of buzz was generated among their supporters because it was not something you expected to see from a nonprofit founder.

During the 48 hours, he also did multiple Facebook Live videos so that people could follow his experience, and that generated additional donations once people saw it in action. He talked about his life, what he was seeing, and interviewed others on the streets with him (with permission, of course).

It was a brilliant way to shed light on their mission, and give people an up-close encounter they might not have otherwise.

Idea 2: Shared, Uncommon Experiences

Similarly, Nicholas House has an annual fundraiser where their supporters can sleep outside in an effort to raise awareness about homelessness. Each participant is asked to raise $2,500, taking some of the annual fundraising responsibilities off of the organization itself.

What I liked about this nonprofit’s event, in particular, is that my friend who participated is a board member. Often, events like these attract more adventurous high school and college kids. But seeing adults and their families involved was special.

Yes, the environment for this fundraiser was more controlled than the example above, but it was a more approachable way to bring others in who may not ordinarily be up for that type of experience.

And having individuals raise support on their behalf provides more "social proof" for the nonprofit because someone else is doing the talking. My friend’s fundraising letter conveyed her heart and excitement for their work—and that's not something you can force or buy.

 

Book marketing

Idea 1: Blog Book Tour

Unless you have the full might (and budget) of a traditional publisher behind you, it can be difficult to get the word out about your new book. And, even so, today's publishers want authors to take an active role in their own marketing. Enter the blog book tour.

My friend Katrell, who owns Dr. Bombay's tea shop here in Atlanta, participated in one of these for her book. She didn't have a big name or a big audience, so this was a fantastic way to spread the word without traveling around the country to book signings and interviews. Even though it was set up by her publisher, it would be relatively easy to pull off for just about anyone.

For a blog book tour, you'd simply set up a series of book reviews, guest posts, or author interview posts during a defined time period leading up to the book release, such as one to four weeks. This strategy definitely helped expose her to new audiences and sell books.

(Psst: You can also do this with podcasts!)

Idea 2: Galley Copies

If your social impact organization has one or more large events each year, you probably already know that it's best to release new products there, while you have a captive and engaged audience. But once-in-a-while, the timing just doesn't quite work out.

This was the case for the latest book by Growing Leaders about inspiring and mentoring today's students. So, what they decided to do was to give all 200+ attendees at their annual conference a galley copy of the book.

This opportunity allowed them to promote the book and build interest for it's release the following month. They also had a special pre-launch price with bonuses, which were designed to further entice attendees.

Nothing replaces a face-to-face pitch, and by giving out galley copies, they were still able to capitalize on a live audience for future sales.

Awareness/Community-Building Campaign MARKETING

Idea 1: Recreate an Experience

Some causes are sensitive in nature, and require you to protect those you help by offering them anonymity. This could include victims of sex trafficking, domestic violence, or issues involving children. Not only do you want to avoid capitalizing on someone else's tragedy, but you want to keep them safe.

Street Grace launched Suburban Horror Story as a way to accurately portray the issue of sex trafficking for the community without disclosing names and faces. You could watch videos online that were recreations of actual events, and also learn more about the issue. They also had guided "tours" to houses where arrests had been made to show real-life scenarios, as well as talk about warning signs and the experiences inside.

This gave those in attendance (donors, potential donors, and media) an up-close look at the problem, and showed them how they could be involved in the solution. It was a very effective way to talk about the people behind the issues without actually involving victims.

It’s a captivating idea on it’s own, but the quality (and frankly, scariness) of the website did a lot to stir up interest for people to take a tour, learn more, get involved, or even donate to the nonprofit.

So, make sure that even when you're promoting an in-person event, the promotional materials, like the website, do a good job of drawing people into your cause. This site did a fantastic job. They could've just splashed up a single page with stats and a description, but they definitely took it further to great results.

Idea 2: Take Advantage of (or Declare) a Holiday

I've talked about the idea of taking advantage of holidays—both official and unofficial—on this blog and my newsletter before, but it's always important to bring it up again. Because there are so many to choose from!

People love celebrating special occasions, so take note of any that you can work into your launch marketing plan. It often gives you a new way to talk about what you're doing.

There are, of course, plenty of legit options like Christmas, Halloween, and Fourth of July that might play nicely with your marketing and promotion. And how about #GivingTuesday to kick off your year-end giving campaign? Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Black History Month, and White Ribbon Against Pornography are a few others.

However, there are plenty of wacky or unofficial observances as well. For example, you can try World Kindness Day, Adopt a Rescue Pet Day, Digital Detox Day, or Read a Book Day. There is literally a day, week, or month for just about anything you can think of.

There may be even times when you need to create your own holiday. When I worked at Captain Planet Foundation, we created a Captain Planet Day. We had a formal ceremony down at Atlanta's City Hall, received a proclamation, and the whole nine yards. It was to celebrate a milestone in the foundation's history, but also garnered attention for the organization as we kicked off promotions for the annual fundraiser.

SOCIAL IMPACT Product MARKETING

Idea 1: Giveaways and Contests

My friend, Jen, just wrapped her first successful Kickstarter for her physical product called the Hope Deck. One of the strategies she used to get attention for her campaign was by doing free giveaways on influencer social media accounts.

She used both existing relationships and good ol' fashioned research to locate a handful Instagram accounts that fit her target market and were interested in doing a giveaway. Jen allowed them to give away a couple Hope Decks in exchange for pointing them to her account or campaign page. It was that easy.

This allowed her to easily expand her audience, and when she started promoting her campaign, she had a lot more eyes on it. And it made a difference! 

Idea 2: Giveaways for Reviews

I'm surprised at how little this strategy is used, so I thought I'd bring it up. I think most of us feel we need to bootstrap everything and get by on our own, but why? Getting help is often way better.

Now, I do know that people often launch in a rush or last minute and that may be a factor. (That is definitely one way to sabotage your launch!) 

But when you can get someone else to talk about your launch—you should!

Yes, sometimes you may have to pay or ethically bribe people to review your product, but again, use existing relationships and do your research for free or budget-friendly opportunities. There are so many blogs, magazines, newspapers, social media accounts, and YouTube Channels. A few of those leads are likely to respond and participate.

A client and I recently talked about this because she's releasing a very cool new product that creates culturally smarter kids. She thought that she would have to pay for people to review or talk about her product, but I named a handful of people in just a few minutes who would do it for free because of the product’s target market and social impact focus.

Put your thinking cap on, or ask around, and I bet you'll come up with your own list, too.

Tip: We often want to target the Oprah's of the world so we can make it to the top faster, but these folks are just plain hard to reach. Find people with a few thousand followers, or depending on your product, up to 100K followers. Often the "littler guys" (micro influencers) don’t get contacted as often, would love to participate, and have very engaged fans who would love to hear about your product.

nonprofit or social enterprise Course marketing

Idea 1: Facebook Groups

Facebook groups have become ALL. THE. RAGE. over the past couple of years. But course creators are cleverly using them to their advantage now as well.

Typically, they are meant to accompany an online course, or at least that's how I see a lot of them playing out. Especially when the courses are written or video-based, this allows the creator to interact with the students, and students to interact with each other. I am a member of a couple of these, and they're really fun.

But there are other ways to use them as well. Take the Myth of Balance, for example. Originally, it was released as a book. It's very short and practical, but the transformation isn’t in the information—it’s in the action.

So, the author created a Facebook Group to serve as the outlet for the course, which he calls a workshop series. He can release worksheets, conduct Facebook Lives, ask people about their progress, and coach them through obstacles right there in the group rather than having to build an online platform for the course (and pay those fees). Much easier and more DIY.

In the Myth of Balance launch, we used a lot of traditional marketing techniques to get the word out initially. Most other course creators do the same. But the difference in having a Facebook Group is that you don't have people going through the course on their own and then moving on with their lives.

Instead, you have people interacting with the course creator and other students, getting results due to the community and accountability, and afterward, you literally have a group of evangelists to help you promote when you're ready to relaunch!

Idea 2: Involve Others and Let Them Promote

Putting a course or curriculum together is no joke. I plan to do it in the future, but find it overwhelming to even think about. And then, when you have your shiny, new course, you still have to get the word out! It's a long process.

But the folks at Plywood were really smart. They have a lot of knowledge and know-how on their staff. However, they also know that one of their strengths is their ability to connect people and showcase others.

So, for their video-based curriculum course, they featured not only the founder, but individuals from their community. Each module features an interview with a different nonprofit or social enterprise leader putting that week's lesson into action.

Besides making content creation easier, Plywood now also has a group of people willing to help promote the course because they’re featured in it! The founders in the videos are well-known in the Atlanta area, with their own distinct audiences, which helped get the word out quickly about this curriculum.

By now you'll definitely notice a theme about recruiting others to help you spread the word. It's just one of those techniques that can look different each time, and is always effective.

What about you? What unique launch marketing ideas have you come across?

(PSST: This post is part of a series about launches. Read Part 1 and Part 2. Of if you’re ready to take it to the next level, check out my launch strategy guide, Promote With Purpose.)

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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