Marketing Resources

Greater Sage-Grouse

So your Chapter is doing fantastic conservation work, running top-notch education programs, and has an award-winning newsletter. Does your neighborhood, town, county, and region know about your great work? Ideally, you want to run into people on the street who often say these sorts of things about your Audubon Chapter:

• I have been seeing that Facebook ad about XX Audubon Society's upcoming bird festival and I've shared this great event with all my friends.
• XX Audubon Society seems very involved in the proposed new subdivision with regards to protecting bird habitat--I saw the piece on XX television news channel.
• We enjoyed your outreach table at the last Earth Day event and are looking forward to your International Migratory Bird Day event.
• I learned from your monthly e-blast that XX Audubon Society is seeking volunteers for the upcoming workday at XX sanctuary. I signed up my whole family!
• I picked up some of your Birds Mean Business cards at the XX Nature Shop and will be distributing them to all businesses at my favorite birding destinations!
• Thanks to your Twitter updates, I was able to see the first butterfly of the season with my daughter--thanks so much!
• I enjoy your weekly video blog and often share your posts through my social media networks.
• I was walking the XX River Birding Trail and used the QR codes on XX Audubon Society's interpretive signage to learn more about local birds on my smartphone.

Every non profit needs a comprehensive marketing plan and a corresponding budget (~10% of the total budget). There is a great deal of information already in print and on the web about how to develop a non-profit marketing strategy. The Chapter should already have in place a solid strategic plan and know what audience(s) it serves. From there, the Chapter's Marketing Committee can develop strategies to reach each audience.

Effective marketing involves building positive brand* recognition. Ultimately, you want the Chapter's brand to elicit feelings of trust, credibility, and clarity regarding any products and services that support your mission and identify your Chapter as distinct from other entities. It is worth spending the money up front to hire a good graphic designer to develop a consistent and high-quality look and feel for your Chapter logo, fonts and media templates.

*  The Chapter's name and any associated slogans, designs, symbols, and any other features

External Resources:

Graphic Design Style Sheets (Julia Reich Design)

Is Your Logo Effective? (Julia Reich Design)