Beyond the Overhead: Reimagining Marketing as Your Nonprofit's Superpower with Noah Barnett, VP of Marketing at Feathr
We at Rogue Creatives have recorded the fifth episode of Nonprofit Connect, your go-to podcast (don't fact-check that) hosted by yours truly, Matt Barnes.
In this episode, I’m joined by Noah Barnett, VP of Marketing at Feathr, a groundbreaking nonprofit marketing platform committed to bridging the connection gap between organizations and their communities. As the VP, Noah serves as the compass guiding the ship, instilling strategic direction for the entire crew.
Let's dig into some of the highlights from our conversation.
Marketing overhead? Think again!
We've all been there, scrolling through budget spreadsheets with the 'marketing' row sandwiched somewhere in the middle, seen as an expense, a necessary evil. But what if I told you it's not an evil at all, but rather the superhero your nonprofit has been crying out for? Noah stands staunchly by this belief. He says, “If marketing is seen as mission-critical, organizations will grow, impact will grow.” It's not merely about amplifying your cause; it's about fostering engagement with your community and propelling action.
Introducing the Good Marketing Framework
Spearheaded by Noah and his team at Feathr, they've constructed an ingenious toolkit known as the Good Marketing Framework. To break it down, it's a five-stage guide (identify, understand, connect, activate, learn) engineered to empower nonprofits to engage more effectively with their communities. Noah puts it best: “The great thing about it is it's not only attached to the top of the funnel or driving advocacy or cultivating your current donor base, you can actually apply the Good Marketing Framework at every engagement stage and build out an impact-driven marketing plan versus an unreliable one.” This tool ensures that nonprofits aren't merely hollering into a void, but rather fostering meaningful dialogues that ignite action.
Fumbles on the Nonprofit Marketing Pitch
Now, this is where it gets a tad spicy. In spite of this spot-on roadmap, numerous nonprofits stumble over their own laces. How come? They either undervalue marketing, misconstruing it as mere overhead rather than, as Noah so eloquently puts it, “Marketing's importance… It's not a means to the mission. It's actually mission critical." Alternatively, they kick off their journey from the wrong end of the trail, homing in on their objectives or favored channels, instead of laying the first brick with a solid understanding of their community's needs and motivations.
The Magic of Storytelling
And of course, what's a nonprofit without its stories? As Noah succinctly puts it, "It really comes down to the stories." He emphasizes the clout of storytelling, harnessing narratives that exhibit tangible change and energize audiences to take a stand. It's not about guilt-tripping your audience into a one-time donation; it's about extending an open invitation for them to join your journey and become part of the transformative success story you're writing each day.
Listen to the whole episode!
Right then, dear reader, I’ve given you a valuable lesson when it comes to your nonprofit marketing. But do you know where you can find more gems like this? That's right, tune into the full episode of Nonprofit Connect with Noah and yours truly, or better yet, connect with Rogue Creatives directly to see how we can improve your nonprofit’s story to raise more revenue.
What are you waiting for? Go, go, go. Listen to Nonprofit Connect!