Should Nonprofits Use AI? Benefits and Strategies for Effective Marketing
Should my nonprofit be using AI in our marketing efforts?
Great question, thanks for asking!
And the answer is a big whopping YES. AI tools can help solve the age-old problem of not being able to hire someone to take on marketing leading to team members that are stretched too thin while being asked to take on tasks they aren’t skilled at. With limited time and resources, nonprofits are one of the industries that can benefit the most from utilizing AI. It isn't just a nice-to-have but a must-have for nonprofits looking to thrive in a digital world. No more shying away because it sounds too techy or out of reach. I’m here to walk you through how AI can improve the way you connect with supporters, maximize engagement, and make those daunting marketing tasks a breeze.
“You should be running to use AI and save time, money and increase the quality of your marketing.”
Why Nonprofits Should Embrace AI in Marketing
You have limited budget, staff, and time on your hands, and now there are tools that can help you better do tasks you aren’t skilled in and drastically decrease the time you spend on your marketing. AI isn’t just about automating tasks; it’s about enhancing your ability to connect, understand, and engage with your audience more effectively than ever before.
Many nonprofit team members (possibly yourself) are assigned marketing tasks, but have no marketing or communication experience. Attempting to learn a new skill set and find time to execute it on top of your normal duties often results in social posts not being scheduled, emails not being sent, blogs not being drafted and the list goes on. This plan leads to nonexistent marketing or lower quality content, making your marketing less effective. Don’t know how to draft a press release? Need help creating social media content? Want to fine tune your brand voice? AI can fill your gaps in knowledge and speed up content creation, taking the stress off of your team and giving them back time to focus on their actual job duties. All without having to hire another person to do the job.
I polled some experienced marketers and small business owners and asked them how long it took them to do some basic marketing activities. They said it took them on average 30 minutes to create a social media post, one hour to draft a blog post and one hour to write a marketing email. This doesn’t include the time it takes to schedule or manually post on social platforms, upload to your website or send out through your email provider. If it takes marketing professionals that long to complete tasks they are trained and skilled in and that are a large majority of their job, just think how much time it takes your team members who don’t know where to start or are trying to squeeze marketing tasks into small amounts of “free” time. ChatGPT (and other AI tools) can draft all this collateral in less than a minute. Including time to review, perhaps rework some parts of the drafts, you are still getting the task done and content created in a very small fraction of the time. The time saving benefit of using AI alone should be enough to entice you to use it.
AI tools are often free, or the cost is much less than hiring a new team member to support your marketing efforts. Lessen your stress and create better content, faster with the help of AI. You should be running to learn how to use AI in your organization!
The ways you can utilize AI are basically endless, but if you need some ideas to get started, here’s a list of my favorite ways to enlist the help of AI.
You should be running to use AI and save time, money and increase the quality of your marketing. Run with me, and I’ll help you use AI effectively.
AI Vocab You Should Know
Artificial Intelligence: The simulation of human intelligence in machines. It allows computers to learn, think, and act like humans, making them capable of performing complex tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible orrrr like you, makes complex or minuscule tasks easier so you can get things done faster.
Large Language Models: I asked ChatGPT to explain LLMs and this is what I got, “Large language models, such as GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), are trained on extensive datasets containing text from various sources, enabling us to recognize patterns in language, understand context, and generate human-like text. We don't access external sources during interactions but rely on the patterns learned during training to respond coherently and contextually. Our ability to generate text stems from predicting the most likely next word or sequence of words given the input provided, allowing us to produce responses, answer questions, and generate content. While we continually learn from the data we're trained on, we don't actively update ourselves during interactions.”
Prompt: What you ask the AI tool to do, aka what you are prompting it to do.
Output: What AI tools give you in response to your prompt or what you asked it to do.
How to Get High Quality Results from AI Tools
The first rule of thumb when using an AI tool is to change the way you talk to it. It’s not like a Google search where you put one question or demand in and get back a list of possible answers. Take ChatGPT for example, there’s a reason the word chat is in the name, because you need to talk to and with your AI tools. Treat it like you would a new intern or co-worker. You’d provide all the necessary details they need to complete a task, you’d ask them if they have any questions and you’d review their work and provide feedback. You should be doing the same with AI tools.
If you’ve used an AI tool before and were dissatisfied with the results, it most likely was user error. To really make AI tools work for you, you need to draft effective prompts (what you are asking the AI tool to do). Your output is only as good as your input, meaning if your prompt is weak, your output will also be meh or not even close to what you wanted. Drafting effective prompts is important because AI tools don’t have the life experience, background knowledge and context about you or your organization. Drafting effective prompts is crucial to using AI effectively because using AI won’t save you time if you have to edit or rewrite every output. Here are the components of a good AI prompt:
Background Info: Remember that the AI doesn’t know anything about you or your organization so you need to provide it with as much information as possible. This information should at minimum include: an overview of your organization, your programs, services, mission statement, goals, etc. A bit about your brand identity, a detailed description of your target audience(s), your key messaging and content examples (social posts, blog posts, press releases, etc.).
This initial prompt is usually lengthy and one you’ll want to use at the beginning of any new chat, so I suggest drafting and saving it in an easily accessible document so you don’t have to draft it again and again.
Ask: Clearly state what you're trying to achieve with the AI. This includes the specific task or output you want from the AI.
Role: Tell the AI who to be. Remember large language models have a HUGE knowledge base, clarifying this role helps tailor the AI’s responses to reflect the level of expertise, tone, and perspective needed for the task, ensuring the content is produced with an appropriate voice and knowledge base.
Purpose of the Content: Outline the main goal of the content you are asking the AI to generate. This could be to educate, inform, inspire action, etc.
Target Audience: Define who the content is intended for. Include details like demographics, interests, and behaviors to ensure the content is tailored appropriately.
Call to Action: Specify what action you want the audience to take after engaging with the content. This could be to donate, volunteer, register, etc.
Details: Provide additional specifics such as the desired length of the content, the format, which platform it will be posted on, and any other relevant details that will help the AI generate the most accurate output.
Here’s an example of a weak prompt:
Draft me an Instagram post about the benefits of hiring a contractor (like myself).
Here’s an example of a stronger prompt:
Help me create some social media content. Act like an expert social media strategist and draft me an Instagram caption geared towards nonprofit executives in Utah about the benefits of hiring a contractor like myself. I want the post to be compelling and the call to action to be to book a call with me. Give me two options, a medium and a long caption length. Do you need any additional information before we get started?
Learning how to draft detailed prompts is the key to getting an AI tool to create on-brand content that sounds like your organization and helps you reach your goals.
How to Integrate AI into Your Nonprofit's Strategy
Integrating AI into your nonprofit's strategy doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s a structured approach to help you get started and ensure you're making the most of this powerful tool:
Assess Your Needs: Begin by conducting a thorough analysis of your current marketing tasks. Identify areas that require the most attention. If you’re not sure, ask the AI tool where to start and how it could help you identify these areas of improvement.
Select the Right Tool: Choose an AI tool that best suits your identified needs. My favorite is ChatGPT!
Get Acquainted with the Tool: Start chatting with your chosen AI tool. You can start by asking it to tell you how it works and what its capabilities are. Then start talking to it as you would a co-worker and work through your questions, content creation, etc. Perhaps set up a few pilot projects to see how it performs.
Refine Your Prompting Skills: While experimenting with your AI tool, focus on refining your prompting skills. Effective prompts are key to obtaining useful outputs from AI. If you need help creating prompts, you can use my AI Prompt Builder.
Establish Success Metrics: Before integrating AI into your marketing efforts, establish clear metrics to measure success. These might include engagement rates, conversion rates, or time saved in content production.
By methodically assessing your needs, choosing the right tool, and systematically measuring outcomes, your nonprofit can effectively harness the power of AI to enhance its marketing strategies and achieve greater impact.
Work smarter, not harder by embracing the help of AI in your marketing efforts. If you've stuck with me this far, you're equipped with the knowledge to start using AI like a pro. Remember, starting small and growing your AI skills can turn your marketing from meh to memorable without breaking the bank or burning the midnight oil.
Get stared using an AI tool and dive into crafting those killer prompts! To help you dip your toes in without getting overwhelmed, easily craft effective prompts with my AI Prompt Builder, and start amplifying your marketing efforts!
