Managing Marketing Amidst Nonprofit Chaos

Okay, you’ve identified your overarching message, you know your audience, and your mission statement is solid.

You’re ready to take the marketing arena by storm! Except… life happens.

The grant you rely on every year has moved its deadline up a month. Your venue just canceled because of a COVID outbreak. Ticket sales are sluggish. Payroll needs to be processed. You’re juggling grant applications, donor meetings, and board prep. And let’s not forget—you still need to market your events!

“We’re going to need a bigger boat!”

So, where do you find the time to develop and execute a marketing strategy when you and your small team are already overwhelmed? Marketing is as much an art as it is a science. In the nonprofit arts sector, we’re not just selling tickets—we’re selling the ephemeral joy of the arts. So how do we compete with Netflix, YouTube, a girls’ night out, or a big sports game?

The Next Few Articles Will Cover:

• Content ideas for social media that fit your nonprofit’s unique goals.

• Tools to help you streamline content creation and make marketing easier.

• Quick strategies to develop engaging and effective marketing materials.

Essential Tools to Streamline Your Content Creation

Say what you will about AI—it has its pros and cons—but for a small arts nonprofit juggling thousands of tasks, it’s a game-changer for marketing professionals. Here are a few AI-driven tools that can save you time and increase engagement:

• Queso.ai: Helps create short, engaging video clips from longer footage—ideal for pulling highlights from performances, artist talks, or workshops.

• Headliner: Perfect for nonprofits with podcasts or recorded interviews. It generates audiograms and transcripts, making it easier to repurpose content.

• ChatGPT: Your brainstorming buddy! Helps craft social media captions, blog posts, ad copy, and more in minutes.

• YouTube Audio Library: A free source for royalty-free music and sound effects to enhance your video content without copyright worries.

Next we’ll break down social media algorithms and how they impact your marketing efforts. You’ll learn how platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram prioritize content—and how you can use that knowledge to expand your reach. Don’t miss it!

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Tanesha Ford is a nonprofit marketing professional with nearly 15 years of experience helping arts organizations work smarter, not harder. As the founder of For de Arts, Tanesha specializes in empowering small but mighty arts nonprofits with tools and strategies that drive real impact.