Crafting a Winning Content Strategy for Nonprofits with Ann Lambert
In the nonprofit world, a strong content strategy is essential for communicating your mission and connecting with your audience on social media. To gain deeper insights on the subject, we turned to Ann Lambert, a rising expert who leads organic socials at jack.org, a nonprofit dedicated to youth mental health in Canada.
In this illuminating interview, Ann shares her strategies for creating impactful, resonant and mission-aligned content. From understanding your audience’s shared values to developing a cohesive, credibility-building narrative, Ann’s advice is invaluable for anyone working hard to put some good into the world – one message at a time.
Q: How did you come to lead social media efforts at jack.org, and what inspired you to specialize in this field?
My academic background is a combination of sociology, communication, pop culture analysis and journalism. Leading socials at jack.org feels like a beautiful combination of all those disciplines!
I landed some content creator gigs in school and realized I could definitely see myself pursuing social media. I’ve been making videos on mobile devices since my iPod touch days and I basically grew up on Instagram, so it felt like a natural fit.
I also loved writing academic essays in undergrad, which lends itself really well to what I do at Jack.org – and what I want to specialize in going forward – which is thought leadership content writing.
I’m obsessed with the creative challenge of writing social media content that’s evidence-based, nuanced, concise and engaging – all to support a great cause and channel my optimism for a better world!
Q: What are the biggest challenges nonprofits face when it comes to creating effective content?
Funding funding funding.
It’s hard to see returns on your social media content if you don’t have at least one employee who’s only doing social media. And so many nonprofits simply can’t afford that.
Unlike the corporate world, where you can easily measure the link between content performance and profit, it’s difficult to prove that you’re delivering on a change-driven mission with social media statistics.
The result? Social media usually gets a small piece of the budget cake… and you can’t blame them, honestly! It requires a lot of time, skill and resources and it’s a marathon to manage, not a quick win.
Q: What are some of the key elements of an effective content strategy for nonprofits?
I would say the key is a healthy balance between program promotion and thought leadership.
Of course you want people to participate in your programs, attend your events and donate to you. But if you want social media to be worth your investment, self-promotion can’t be the only thing you’re using it for.
Your loyal audience will be happy to hear about your programs and support your work. But the audience that doesn’t know or care about your mission yet? They need to be called in with content that informs, entertains or educates them.
That’s where thought leadership content comes in: stories, statements, facts and voices that are evidence-based in nature, related to your mission, and easy for a broad audience to understand and enjoy.
Not sure what to write about? Start with the “mission, vision, values” page on your website and the research that’s been referenced to design your programming. Look for stories, facts, definitions, core guiding beliefs, and visions of a better future that you could expand on through social posts.
Q: What role does storytelling play in your content strategy, and how can nonprofits leverage storytelling to enhance their impact?
Social media storytelling is very formulaic. It’s also super easy to evaluate which formulas do and don’t resonate with your audience by looking at your post metrics, and adapt as needed.
At Jack.org, most of the storytelling I’ve done has been in the form of Instagram carousels. I’ve seen consistent success with a formula that looks something like this:
A concise, attention-grabbing title slide that sparks curiosity and makes an overt or implicit reference to our cause and/or values.
A few slides of easily-digestible content that entertains or teaches something new to the people who have a stake in our cause.
A call-to-action or a tie-in to our programs sprinkled in the middle or placed at the end of the carousel. You can do this on every post or every few posts, but the key is making sure the self-promotion comes after the entertainment or educational value. Otherwise, your post might feel like an ad (which social media users are already bombarded with, so they'll scroll fast).
I find that this storytelling formula enhances our organizational impact by:
Increasing organizational awareness: By piquing someone’s curiosity with the title slide and convincing them to stop scrolling, they now know we exist. Maybe they’ll follow us too. More awareness = more support for your work and a wider audience to monetize through sponsorships.
Credibility and relationship building: entertaining, informing and educating people about your cause builds an audience’s trust in your NPO’s expertise while also making your brand enjoyable to interact with.
Inspiring Action: by tying in a program or a call-to-action, you either inspire an impactful action now (like a donation or program sign-up) or plant the seeds for it down the line. The reader will – consciously or unconsciously – associate your NPO with the entertaining or educational thing they just read, and might be more inclined to act next time they hear from you.
Q: How can an equity-driven content strategy help a nonprofit connect with its target audience and promote its mission?
Nonprofit success on social media all boils down to your ability to connect over shared values.
Values get people fired up.
Values spark political debates between strangers on Twitter.
Values will make a passive doom-scroller repost something to their story.
Values motivate most charitable donations.
By talking about topics that relate to your values and strategically targeting the people who share them, you’ll build the network of support you need – the one you’re on social media to find.
And when you prioritize equity as one of those values, you gain so much trust and credibility, especially from passionate, young audiences (the ~leaders of tomorrow~ who also happen to be the most active on social media).
Q: What advice would you give to a nonprofit just starting out with their content strategy?
I’d say pick one social media platform and really commit to doing it well. Maybe two at most, especially if you don’t have a dedicated social media person on the team.
Before you start posting to socials, identify your purpose for doing so. Is it a desire for donations? Brand awareness? Program participants?
Then, identify your target audience. How old are they? What field(s) do they work in and how much money do they make? What are their common values, pain points and interests? What are they motivated by?
Once you’ve figured all of that out, pick your platform(s) wisely. Here’s my take on each one:
TikTok
Best for connecting with young people and reaching a wide audience that enjoys interacting with your brand
You need to commit to a consistent content creation grind to get anywhere with Tik Tok, so I don’t recommend it if you’re short on time, staff, expertise and/or resources.
Great for promoting programs and thought leadership to adult audiences with economic power. You won’t reach many young people here, but you can definitely reach an audience that’ll donate to you.
If you want to reach anyone aged 50+, Facebook is definitely the best option.
Great for organizational awareness and program/event promotion because of its sharing functions.
If you successfully write content that resonates with your target audience, they’ll repost it to their stories, which puts your content in front of their followers too.
Not quite as great for fundraising because of the younger user demographic, but reaching donors here isn’t impossible either.
Instagram is my personal favourite to manage because there’s so much you can do with it: static posts, reels, carousels, story posts, community engagement through broadcast channels and question boxes, etc!
Great for B2B marketing because everyone on there is in ‘work mode.’
A place to build and maintain relationships with donors, partner organizations and corporate sponsors by interacting with their content and shouting them out on your page when it makes sense to do so.
Also useful for promoting events and programs that target working professionals in a specific niche.
Can be leveraged for fundraising too, given the economic power of its ‘professional’ audience.
Q: What future trends do you see in content strategy for nonprofits, and how should organizations prepare for these changes?
I think we’re going to see more nonprofits collaborating with influencers, content creators and brand partners in the future! I’m honestly surprised we don’t see this more often already.
Gen Z is a very opinionated, politically-charged generation, largely because of social media and how it’s made them so hyper-aware of the world and all of its problems. So many of them are impatient for change and desperate for some optimism. And so many of them love and trust the authentic, passionate content creators they follow.
For those reasons, partnering with content creators who share your values could carry a lot of potential for audience growth and credibility-building. Video content is great for reaching new people, and apathetic audiences are easier to engage using voices rather than written words (because frankly, social media is shortening people’s attention spans. We’ve gotta keep meeting them where they are).
Whether it’s by hiring a freelance content creator or partnering with influencers for a campaign, creator collaborations are an effective way to outsource the labour of content creation while simultaneously calling in the next generation of changemakers to support your cause!
Connect with Ann on LinkedIn here.
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