Everyone I’ve ever met working in the conservation sector has been awesome—and busy. I’ve met ecologists serving as educators, educators serving as marketers, and nonprofit founders trying to wear every single hat themselves.
I’ve also noticed that many organizations, with their limited resources, let their digital presence fall to the wayside. Websites become outdated or unnavigable, email newsletters are an afterthought, and staff members are too busy to share what they’ve been up to. In short, everyone’s too busy doing the work to stop and talk about it.
But now more than ever, conservation groups need a strong public-facing presence. Even organizations that don’t work directly with the public will be at a disadvantage when it comes to securing new grants, funding, or opportunities if they haven’t mastered that one pesky facet of every modern organization: their digital presence.
Fortunately, there are a few core principles that can instantly elevate an environmental nonprofit’s digital strategy and amplify their impact, like telling your stories, paying attention to your data, and taking advantage of quick wins that will boost engagement. By keeping these principles in mind with every post, update, or share, you’ll be well on your way to a stronger online presence in no time.
Tell Your Stories
People are moved by stories, not facts and figures. Save your stats on how many acres of land you restored or how many events you held for later—start by telling the full story of one of your successes. Give the backstory, share why you care, walk people through your hardships and how you overcame them, and invite them to celebrate your successes with you. Use “show, not tell” to convey why your mission is important and how your organization is making an impact.
And don’t forget the people. The main character in your story might be an endangered butterfly, but it might actually be the team working tirelessly to save it. Pictures can be worth a thousand words if used wisely. A photo of the butterfly is nice, but a photo of you, covered in mud, holding the butterfly, with a triumphant smile on your face—that’s impactful.
Use Data to Inform Your Strategy
Your organization likely adjusts projects and programs each year based on what’s working and what’s not. If you’re organized, you have some sort of documentation—or better yet, data—from which to make those calls. The same should apply to your digital strategy.
Is anybody reading your blog? Do people open your emails? Which web pages are getting attention, and which are being overlooked? All these data are available on the back-end of your platforms, and while some of it can be hard to digest, it’s worth the energy to dig in. Data-driven decisions are the best way to enhance your content strategy.
Which metrics to focus on depends on your mission. For example, if your goal is to raise awareness or education, you might look at social media engagement or blog post views, and give special attention to posts directly focused on awareness/education. If your goal is volunteer recruitment, track which channels send the most clicks to your volunteer sign-up page.
Don’t have the bandwidth to tackle this yourself? Ask for help. At Ampliflora, we can monitor your channels and guide you through the best decisions based on the available data.
Quick Wins to Boost Engagement
If you’re not ready to overhaul your communications strategy, there are still a few simple actions you can take to increase engagement with your digital content right now.
1. Update your homepage
If a full website redesign and reorganization is too much, just update the homepage. Include quick links to the most important (and most up-to-date) pages. Remove links to outdated resources until they’ve been refreshed.
2. Reuse your best content
Don’t have time to create new content? Revive old posts that are still relevant. Do a quick review to ensure nothing is outdated, then share it across all your platforms. One blog post can provide material for social media, an e-newsletter blurb, and more.
3. When you want something, ask
Including clear calls to action (CTAs) is Marketing 101, but it can feel pushy if you’re not used to it. You’re not being pushy—you’re making it clear how people can engage with your organization. Add a CTA to every blog post, encourage newsletter sign-ups on your site, and regularly ask for social media follows or donations.
4. Spotlight your mission
Every step of the way, it’s important to align your digital content with your organization’s mission. Be intentional about how you’re using your online presence and communications with the public to advance your goals.
Take the First Step
Building a strong digital presence is a marathon, not a sprint. Setting aside 30 minutes each morning to update pages, ask team members for photos, or review your analytics can make a huge difference over time. Once you’ve sharpened your strategy, the increased engagement will help amplify your impact.
If you’re ready to get serious about improving your organization’s digital presence, I’m here to help. Book a free 30-minute coaching call to see if we’re a good fit.