Knowing how to increase membership in nonprofit organizations is essential to their survival. To grow, thrive, and continue fulfilling your mission, your nonprofit needs to find innovative ways to attract new members and retain existing ones. Below are three tips that work.
Tip 1: Use social media as a marketing tool
Social media is where most people consume news, learn about events, and find organizations like yours. Traditional methods like direct mail still have a place, but social is where the action happens – and that isn’t changing. Up to 16% of membership associations use social media to find their target demographic and drive renewals, according to Associations Now.
Before you build a social strategy, get clarity on what you’re trying to achieve. Common goals nonprofits use social media for:
- Sharing news
- Brand recognition
- Educating about the cause and mission
- Fundraising
- Volunteer recruitment
- Donor recognition
- Employee recruitment
Once goals are set, define KPIs that measure long-term, sustained interactions with audiences. A Facebook post may generate likes, comments, and shares – and those translate to “awareness,” the first step in increasing membership. A post with a clear call-to-action (a sign-up link to your site) lets you measure conversion from casual viewer to new member. For more on social tactics, see our guide on 4 ways to grow your nonprofit with social media marketing.
Tip 2: Learn to use Google Analytics
To track conversions properly, get comfortable with Google Analytics. It shows you how people find your website and what they do once they arrive.
If a Facebook post drives 500 link-clicks to your site and only three people convert to new members, Google Analytics tells you how long visitors stayed, how much of the page they viewed, and where they navigated next. From that you can draw real inferences about how well your website actually generates new memberships – and where to fix the funnel.
Tip 3: Use a CRM purpose-built for nonprofits
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is fundamental to membership growth. A good CRM gives you a bird’s-eye view of your members and tracks every interaction with existing and prospective members. Where legacy systems leave information about constituents fragmented across spreadsheets, a real CRM unifies it. Understanding your membership pipeline at a glance helps you optimize how you tap, nurture, and serve prospects, donors, and members.
For more on choosing a platform, see our guide on how to choose CRM software for your nonprofit and how a CRM helps with membership management. GiveLife365’s Membership Management is built for exactly this – give us a shout via our contact page if you’d like a walkthrough.
