At For Momentum, one of the things we always teach our clients is the importance of working with non-cash assets in bringing a cause partnerships to life. There is often a gold mine of value if you would only look closer and dig deeper when contemplating partnership activation strategies. Content marketing can be one such hidden treasure. In today’s marketing landscape, demand for compelling content continues to soar for both corporate brands and nonprofit organizations. So, here’s your chance to be a hero. You can work with your partners to develop compelling, custom content that engages your various audiences appropriately across various platforms.
According to a recent study conducted by the Content Marketing Institute, 92% of nonprofits are currently using some form of content marketing. And, 78% of CMOs think custom content is the future of marketing. Here are a few thought starters and examples to help you leverage corporate partnerships in your search for content marketing gold:
- Be Proactive: Ask your partners about their content marketing goals, learn about their key target audiences, preferred platforms and current efforts. Brainstorm with them.
- Reimagine Your Organizational Assets from a Content Marketing Standpoint: Take a fresh look to uncover what might be considered a “content asset.” Many times something your organization takes for granted could actually be very valuable to various audiences. Can you package your unique expertise in a way that is appealing to your partner’s stakeholders? Create a tool or helpful checklist to educate and engage consumers? Are your organization’s visual assets appealing? If so your partners may enjoy how shareable they are on social media – so build a strategy around that.
- Reimagine Your Partners’ Assets: Think about what your audiences/communities would find meaningful or entertaining as it relates to the partner. Can your restaurant partner share cooking tips or create a special recipe related to your organization? Would a sneak peek behind the scenes be interesting to your audience? Look for an angle that connects the dots between the partner and your organization while providing value to your stakeholders in a satisfying and meaningful way. The partner will love the exposure. The content should be designed such that the target audience loves it and it meets your own content objectives as well.
- Co-Create Content: Build a resource together. For example, Let’s Talk RA is a co-branded microsite that provides a downloadable Let’s Talk RA Kit and videos to help people get the facts and tips they need to live a full life with rheumatoid arthritis. This joint effort by the Arthritis Foundation and Bristol-Meyers Squibb captures names and email addresses and is easily shareable on social media.
- Think “Stakeholder Experience” When Developing Content: There are endless possibilities for compelling content experiences. Be creative. I bet you have overlooked opportunities to use content marketing to tell your brand story or partnership story. Take a lesson from these successful pioneers who know that nothing is off limits when it comes to creating “quality content,” that’s right, not even annual reports or safety instruction videos:
- 12 Lessons From Warby Parker’s Annual Report by Forbes
- Virgin America’s Safety Video Creates A Shockingly Brilliant Customer Experience by Forbes
Purpose-driven content marketing strategies offer an opportunity to meet consumers where they are with content they care about. Work with your partners to develop great content that appeals to the all-important-Millennials and other target audiences you share. The following Infographic, also featured in my previous post Infographics To Inspire 2014: Content Marketing, Millennials, #GivingTuesday, takes you through some of the research driving this trend. And, if you’d like to experience more of For Momentum’s content, click here to download our FREE resources.
Go for the gold!
