Katy Teson With half of the year behind you, summer can be a turning point for your nonprofit communications. Are you losing momentum when it comes to meeting your goals? Are you on target for where you want to be but feeling uninspired for the road ahead? Infusing bite-sized pieces of nonprofit marketing training into your day can help you assess where you’ve been and where you want to go in the months ahead.
We commonly hear from folks working in marketing and communications that they haven’t had much time to work on their professional development goals. In turn, marketing plans start to seem repetitive and lacking that creative spark. And from there, it doesn’t take long for marketing staff burnout to burden your personal and professional life.
So if you feel like you haven’t had the time or energy to pursue continuous improvement in your work these days, explore a list of resources and nonprofit communications training tips that can help you move you and your marketing efforts forward in manageable and impactful ways.
Nonprofit Marketing Training Resources
Jump right into marketing training and professional self-reflection with the resources below. Have something to add to our list? We’d love to learn about your suggestions in the comments.
[Report] The Nonprofit Communications Trends Report
Unlike other reports and research out there, the Nonprofit Communications Trends Report looks at what’s working in marketing these days as well as who is working and how. The 2022 report is based on responses from 537 different nonprofit marketing folks and includes data on the size and structure of communications teams, their strategic plans, where time is spent, and benchmarks you can use to assess your organization and make the case for changes.
[Book] Impact with Integrity: Repair the World Without Breaking Yourself
Serving in a mission-driven organization isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, even when you know that the work is needed and the outcomes are impactful. According to the publisher, Becky Margiotta’s new book “is a call to action, but also an invitation to reclaim your agency and mobilize your creativity in order to enact meaningful, efficient, and effective social change.” If you’re looking for a way to reset your approach to nonprofit work – and do the inner work that enables change – consider picking up a copy as part of your summer reading.
[Podcast] Nonprofit Word Salad
Podcasts are perfect for nonprofit marketing training on the go, and if you’re looking for something a little different, be sure to check out I Was Told There Would Be Snacks: A Nonprofit Podcast. Marketers should heed the warnings and tips in the Nonprofit Word Salad show, where guests Sammy Moon, Executive Director of Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy, and Juanita White, Director of Partner Services for Momentum Nonprofit Partners, talk about the word choices we make and the jargon that loses people along the way.
[Podcast] Nonprofit Themes in 2022: How are we showing up?
Feeling out of touch with the larger nonprofit community? In this episode of the Good to Growth Podcast from Nonprofit Hub, hear from Jonathan McCoy and Becky Endicott, founders of We Are For Good, as they round up big picture issues and trends in the sector today. The conversation includes thoughts on young donors, the role of tech in capacity building, prioritizing mental health and more.
[Webinar] Finding & Living in Your Zone of Genius
In this recorded Bloomerang webinar with Jarrett Ransom, you’ll learn how to better leverage your skills and those of the people across your organization by finding the areas where people thrive and best contribute. For nonprofit marketers, you can identify opportunities to delegate projects, find alignment with your colleagues, and track areas of your work that you’d like to develop or expand on.
[Webinar] How to Manage Social Media for Your Nonprofit in 20 Minutes Per Day
Social media management can take up more time than you’d like, sometimes at the expense of higher priority marketing work. But given that you shouldn’t quit it completely, is there a way to do it better? Tune into this 4aGoodCause training with nonprofit social media expert Julia Campbell to get up to speed on the latest trends, the four key pillars of social media management, and how to keep social media on the rails in less than half an hour a day.
[Tutorials] Canva Pro for Nonprofits Design School
We often recommend Canva to our clients, both because it’s a free marketing tool and because it makes processes like photo formatting quick and easy. Like any tech, there is a learning curve and you might be missing out on some of the functionality that can streamline your marketing and content creation. Canva Pro for Nonprofits offers a series of short tutorials that get you oriented to what’s possible on the platform and suggest ways of adjusting your marketing processes to get things done quicker, collaboratively and on the go.
[Courses] Google Analytics Academy
Have you been looking at website data to see how your marketing efforts or a specific campaign are doing this year? We know that Google Analytics can be intimidating even for seasoned marketers, which is why we typically suggest the free online courses offered by Google Analytics Academy. Self-paced and with practical exercises, Google Analytics for Beginners is a good choice for website managers or anyone with a website role who wants to get a tour and become more comfortable with the terminology and reporting.
While summertime can be quiet for some organizations and pedal to the metal for others, there are options for nonprofit marketing training that can be done in a few minutes a day. Or listened to via headphones while you plant that backyard garden or take a walking break. Finding moments to recharge and hone your marketing will serve you well once the hustle of year-end giving starts to trickle in along with cooler nights and shorter days.
Which of these resources and training opportunities resonate with you this summer? Are there any marketing topics or skills that you’re hoping to learn more about in the coming months? Feel free to ask for recommendations (and share your own) in the comments section.
Comments