10 Steps to Launch a Digital Communication Strategy for Your Nonprofit

Raising awareness for your nonprofit and its initiatives while showing the real impact of your work is a challenge many organizations face. Where should you begin, and how can you go about developing an effective communication strategy for your nonprofit organization?

Adopting an effective communication strategy is essential to amplifying your impact and boosting awareness. In fact, beyond providing greater exposure for your nonprofit, a digital communication strategy can also help address several common issues: staff shortages, limited financial resources, and more. So where do you start, and how do you go about building and implementing an effective communication plan for your nonprofit? How can you make the most of various techniques to reach a wider audience and foster lasting engagement? Here are our best tips to guide you.

 

What Do We Mean by a Digital Communication Strategy for an NPO?

First and foremost, when we talk about digital communication, it’s important to remember that it’s more than just sharing information. Communication is a powerful tool that allows you to meet your organization’s needs and tackle key challenges. It should be aligned with your NPO’s overall strategy and work hand in hand with your marketing efforts. A strong communication strategy means delivering the right message, at the right time, to the right people, in the right channels.

A digital communication strategy is a plan that helps your nonprofit connect with members, donors, and supporters through online channels like your website and email. It ensures your message is clear, consistent, and effective at building engagement and advancing your mission.

 

Why Should Your Nonprofit Develop a Digital Communication Strategy?

As an NPO manager, it’s important to understand the difference between having a digital presence and having none at all. More than just a tool for visibility and performance, your online presence helps establish your organization’s credibility and legitimacy on a broader scale.

Google processes over 80,000 searches every second, which adds up to 6.9 billion per day. Whenever we have a question or need information, our first instinct is to search online. That means there’s a good chance that someone, whether they’re a potential member, donor, partner, or volunteer, will look for information about your nonprofit online. If they can’t find you, they may feel frustrated, move on, or worse, form a negative impression of your organization and its legitimacy.

That’s why your digital tools should align with the clear communication goals set by your organization.

Acting as a guiding thread, your nonprofit’s communication strategy helps keep you focused and ensures your organization’s actions are aligned with your mission and vision. To start on the right foot, we recommend defining SMART goals: goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Of course, reaching those goals takes more than just good intentions. It requires the right tools, thoughtful planning, and the proper resources. So, let’s dive into the different communication channels available to you as a nonprofit organization!

 

What Digital Communication Channels Are Available to Your Nonprofit?

When building your nonprofit’s communication strategy, one common mistake is thinking of the internet as a single, unified media channel. In reality, the web offers a wide variety of distinct media types that can each play a role in your outreach efforts.

These channels generally fall into three categories:

• Paid Media: This includes advertising platforms where you pay to promote your content, such as LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.
• Owned Media: These are the channels you control directly, like your website, email newsletters, or social media profiles.
• Earned Media: This refers to content created by others about your organization, such as online reviews, forum discussions, media coverage, or social media mentions. While you can’t directly control these channels, they’re crucial for building credibility.

 

Your Website and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The internet gives your nonprofit the power to expand its reach. As the digital face of your organization, your website should be clear, inviting and easy to navigate. A poorly designed, or worse, non-existent, website can damage your brand and online reputation, calling your organization’s legitimacy into question. On the other hand, a solid website is a great way to make a strong first impression and build trust with people who may not yet know you.

As a nonprofit, you likely don’t have time or money to waste. If you want to build an attractive, functional, and user-friendly website, there are many tools out there, such as Yapla, that can help you easily create and maintain a professional site tailored to your NPO’s needs. (We’ll go into more detail on that later in the article.)

If you want to take it a step further and fully leverage your website to increase brand awareness, you’ll need to invest in search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of optimizing your site so it appears prominently in search results online. For nonprofits, especially smaller, local ones, local SEO can make a big difference. It’s all about optimizing your site for people physically located near your organization.

Although SEO can seem like a complex topic, you don’t need to be an expert to use and benefit from it. Even learning the basics can bring significant value to your organization.

For instance, maintaining a blog allows you to publish content that improves your visibility on search engines like Google, helping drive more traffic to your site. A blog also helps position your organization as a leader in your field, which further boosts your visibility and credibility as an organization.

 

Smart Social Media Strategies for Your Nonprofit

LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter): Social media platforms can be powerful tools within your digital strategy, if chosen wisely. You don’t need to be on all of them. Simply focus on the platforms most used by  your target audience.

Each channel has its own structure, communication style, and trending formats. More importantly, each one operates under its own algorithm. Just like SEO with Google, your visibility on social media will depend on how well you understand and adapt to the unique behaviours and expectations of each platform.

It’s also important to tailor your content to the specific features and audience of each network. Beyond just posting, being active on your accounts (by engaging with others) can have a real impact. Take the time to follow other active players in your field and interact with their content. This kind of engagement helps grow your reach and builds stronger connections within your community.

On Facebook, for instance, you can create or join community groups that are interested in your cause. These groups are a great way to stay up to date with relevant news and share your own updates—like volunteer opportunities, membership drives, or donation campaigns. Just be sure to respect each group’s rules. Some may not allow content that promotes an organization or appears too sales-focused.

Another key element of building your NPO’s presence on social media is staying informed about new features and changing trends on each platform. Take TikTok, for example: its popularity has soared in recent years. Known for its ability to reach massive audiences in no time, TikTok is now being used by nonprofits like Operation Red Nose, whose well-known designated driver program becomes especially relevant during office party season and the holidays.

In less than three weeks, Operation Red Nose gained over 540 followers, a strong testament to TikTok’s organic reach.

How did they do it? By rolling out a smart, well-executed digital communication strategy:

• They effectively paired trending audio with content that matched their niche.
• Their mascot appears in every video—no coincidence, as it’s a familiar and beloved figure in Quebec.
• They leaned into humour, which consistently performs well on TikTok, to reach their audience and raise awareness.

 

Advertising with Google Ad Grants

Advertising can be a powerful communication tool when it comes to boosting your visibility. For NPOs, the Google Ad Grants program offers a unique opportunity: eligible organizations can receive up to $10,000 per month in in-kind advertising credits to use for pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, along with full access to Google Ads.

We dive deeper into how Google Ad Grants work for nonprofits in our webinar: SEO, SEA, or Ad Grants: Choosing the Best Strategy to Boost Your Nonprofit’s Visibility.

 

Emails and Newsletters

Whether it’s simple emails or regular weekly or monthly newsletters, email remains a valuable communication channel with plenty of potential for nonprofits.

With a solid contact list, you can effectively share your content and build lasting relationships with your community, without overwhelming your audience or spamming their inboxes.

The goal isn’t to send out sales-driven messages, but rather to keep your audience engaged by regularly sharing meaningful content. To do this well, you’ll need the right tools to make the most of your contact base.

And no matter which communication channels you prefer, don’t forget to repurpose your content (videos, visuals, articles) into different formats and share them across your best performing platforms. Not only will this increase awareness of your nonprofit’s, but it’ll also save you time by getting the most from each piece of content you’ve already created.

That said, picking a few tools at random won’t be enough to build an effective communication strategy. Your approach needs to be thoughtful and, most importantly, it should grow and evolve with your organization. Creating a TikTok account or redesigning your website isn’t a strategy in itself. These actions only make sense when they’re part of a well-planned digital communication framework. And that’s exactly what we’ll dive into in the final section!

 

10 Practical Steps to Build Your Nonprofit’s Digital Communication Strategy

By carefully working through each of the following steps, you’ll reduce the risk of confusion, mixed messaging, and ineffective communication.

 

1. Assign a Project Lead

Before anything else, it’s essential to appoint someone to take charge of your communication strategy.

This could be someone fully dedicated to managing the project, or a current team member who’s already involved in other areas (like your secretary or treasurer). If you go with the second option, be mindful of the workload; this responsibility can be demanding and should not be underestimated.

You can also recruit volunteers to help support these efforts. Many communications students are actively looking for hands-on opportunities to apply what they’re learning in school.

Looking for more tips on finding volunteers? Check out our article 6 Tips for Recruiting Volunteers.

 

2. Assess Your Nonprofit and Its Environment

Before you dive in, take the time to conduct a full analysis of your organization and prepare a tracking and evaluation plan. To do this effectively, it helps to return to the basics by asking yourself these three key questions: 

• What is your mission: Why does your organization exist? What is its core purpose? (e.g., Fighting poverty or social exclusion)
• What are your current challenges: What issues could seriously impact your organization if left unaddressed? (e.g., Lack of funding or staffing to sustain key initiatives)
• What have you already implemented to tackle these issues: What were the outcomes?

It’s equally important to take a look at your nonprofit’s external environment to identify potential opportunities and threats—factors that could either support or hinder your success. Make sure you stay up to date on news related to your stakeholders and other players in your sector.

This situational analysis will help you define clear communication goals and choose a method that aligns with your NPO’s overall strategy.

 

3. Define Your Communication Goals

For most nonprofits, a solid communication strategy should include key performance indicators (KPIs) such as a target number of website visits per month or email open rates to help track what’s working and what isn’t. These benchmarks allow you to adjust and improve your strategy over time, fuelling future campaigns and initiatives.

In practical terms, your NPO’s digital communication strategy should focus on three main objectives:

• Raise awareness about your organization or cause (e.g., growing your audience and making more people aware of your mission)
• Build affinity for your organization or cause (e.g., nurturing loyalty among members, donors, or partners)
• Drive action in support of your nonprofit (e.g., recruiting new volunteers or generating more charitable donations)

 

4. Establish Your Target Audience

To establish, or refine, your target audience, you need to understand what motivates someone to join or support your organization. What are their interests, needs, and desires?

Your audience can be defined broadly (e.g., parents or women in general) or more narrowly (e.g., parents of children struggling in school).

Next, try to gather more detailed insights about your members, such as:

• Age 
• Income level 
• Interests
• Purchasing habits

The goal is to create clear audience profiles. When you know exactly who you’re trying to reach, your communication efforts become much more focused and effective.

 

5. Determine Your Key Messages, Tone, and Brand Image

Once your target audience is identified, you can tailor how you communicate—from sharing your story to promoting your mission and spotlighting specific initiatives.

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes, especially those you’re hoping to reach. What would interest them? What would be useful? What might make them smile or engage with your nonprofit?

If you’re not sure what kind of content your community wants to see, consider sending out a short survey or directly asking for feedback from a few of your members or donors.

 

6. Set a Budget

Your digital communication strategy is starting to take shape—but do you have the resources to bring it to life? Will you rely on a volunteer, a team member, or hire an external provider to help implement your plan? Whatever route you take, it’s important to determine the budget you can realistically allocate to this project.

If your NPO has little or no budget for communications, you’ll need to prioritize your objectives.

Would your time and resources be better spent managing your social media platforms or launching a recurring email campaign? Knowing your audience will help you better prioritize your efforts.

And don’t worry if you can’t implement every idea right away. It’s perfectly normal to start small and adjust your plan along the way!

 

7. Plan Upcoming Initiatives and Organize Your Content Production

Now it’s time to get down to business and bring your digital communication plan to life. This is the stage where you define what actions you’ll take on each communication channel, including the tactics you’ll use.

It can be helpful to revisit your communication audit to assess what’s already been done and decide what’s worth continuing. You may also identify new tactics you’d like to introduce into your plan.

Keep in mind that some of your tactics may be short-term—used during specific campaigns or events—while others will be ongoing. For instance, you might run a contest to give away tickets to an upcoming event as a way to promote ticket sales and drive urgency.

Bring your communication plan to life by building an editorial calendar for your upcoming initiatives. It may be hard to plan a full 12 months in advance—and that’s okay. You can outline key themes or major content ideas without locking yourself into a hyper-detailed schedule. Remember, your plan should be flexible. As you measure results, you’ll adjust both your strategy and your editorial calendar accordingly.

Consider working in 30 or 90-day blocks. This approach is easier to manage and keeps your team focused. Just make sure you’re looking ahead so you don’t run out of time when the current cycle ends.

To manage your digital communications calendar, you can use tools like: 

• Asana 
• Trello
• Notion
• Or even a simple Excel spreadsheet

To build your calendar, start by listing the key dates tied to your campaigns, events, programs, and any recurring initiatives you can already anticipate for the year, then work backwards from there. Make sure to schedule the content creation start dates for each of these so that your materials are ready to go when it’s time to communicate.

For example, if your annual membership drive happens every September and one of your goals is to grow your member base, you can start planning your communication campaign around May or June. That way, you’ll be fully prepared to launch your campaign over the summer or in early September, depending on your sector and what’s most relevant for your nonprofit.

Lastly, before hitting “publish” on your website, social media, or email newsletter, take a moment to proofread your content. Typos and copy-paste errors can easily slip through unnoticed. Reviewing your work is a crucial step that shouldn’t be skipped. After spending hours on a project, your brain tends to gloss over mistakes, so we strongly recommend reviewing with fresh eyes—or asking someone else to proofread for you.

 

8. Measure Your Efforts and Track the Progress of Your Communication Strategy

Of course, don’t forget to define and track the key metrics that matter! Every strategy should be measurable and open to iteration. This is how you’ll refine your communication plan and move closer to your goals.

Remember, your strategy isn’t set in stone. To remain effective, it needs to evolve based on what you observe in the field—and that’s where performance indicators, or KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), come in.

For each of your communication channels, you can identify which metrics to track to help you determine whether your efforts are working.

Here are some sample KPIs for the communication tools we discussed earlier in this article.

Website:

• Traffic: The number of visitors to your website. This is a great indicator of your site’s visibility—and by extension, your organization’s.
• Conversion rate: The number of people who took action on your site (e.g., subscribed, donated, purchased, downloaded) relative to total visitors.
• Click-through rate (CTR): The number people who click on links or CTAs (call-to-action) on your site compared to the number of visitors.
• Visit duration: The amount of time visitors spend on your website—a useful measure of engagement.
   

Social Media:

• Number of followers: Helps track how your community is growing over time.
• Impressions or reach: Measures how many people are seeing your content, and how visible your nonprofit is.
• Engagement rate on posts: The number of interactions (likes, shares, comments) relative to post reach—a great way to gauge how interested your audience is in your content.
   

Advertising: 

• Cost: The total amount spent on your ad campaigns. 
• Impressions: Just like on social media, this measures how many times your ads were displayed.
• Clicks: The number of times users clicked on your ads.
• CTR (Click-through rate): The ratio of clicks to impressions.
• CPC (Cost per click): The total cost divided by the number of clicks received.
• Conversions: The number of actions taken after someone interacted with your ad.

Emails and Newsletters: 

• Number of contacts.
• Open rate: The percentage of recipients who opened your email. This helps you gauge the effectiveness of your subject lines.
• Click rate: The ratio of links clicked to the number of emails sent.

 
Once your strategy is up and running, don’t wait to start analyzing the results. These insights will provide valuable information to help you fine-tune and strengthen your digital communication strategy.

 

9. Create Your Content Using Simple and Effective Tools

When it comes to content production, it’s all about finding the right balance between quantity and quality. It’s always better to focus on producing high-quality, relevant content that’s well-optimized and tailored to your target audience. This will help attract new visitors to your platforms organically—without you needing to chase them down. It also strengthens your organization’s image and positions you as a trusted expert in your field.

Keep things simple, and draw inspiration from websites and social media accounts that align with your mission or style.

And don’t worry—you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to create great visuals! There are plenty of free, user-friendly tools like Canva that make content creation easy. If you’re looking for more advanced design capabilities, you can explore platforms like Figma or the Adobe Creative Suite.

Need royalty-free images? You can find high-quality visuals on platforms like: 

• Unsplash (some free content)
• Shutterstock 
• Pexels 
• Pixabay 
• Stocklib

 

10. Use Yapla: The All-in-One Platform to Simplify Your NPO’s Communications

Yapla is an all-in-one platform designed to make life easier for nonprofit managers. With just a few clicks, you can create online registration and payment pages—for memberships, events, or charitable giving. Yapla also makes it easy to promote your campaign pages through various sharing options, including:

• Sending your campaign by email
• Embedding your page on your website
• Sharing your page on social media

Here’s an example of how this might look for a membership campaign:

In addition, if you haven’t yet chosen a tool to manage your memberships, ticketing, or fundraising campaigns, Yapla could be a great fit. It can also help you build your website or manage your email newsletter campaigns.

Easy to set up and use, Yapla allows you to launch your website independently. Here are a few examples of websites built with Yapla:

Canadian Network on Hepatitis C
Quebec Association for Adapted Sailing
Youth Media Alliance
Museum
Metal Manufacturing Alliance

Yapla also makes it easy to create and manage your email campaigns, offering a number of valuable features:

• Your contacts are automatically synced across the platform (members, donors, event participants, etc.). There’s no need for manual imports—your contact list is ready to go.
• You can segment your audience using the built-in filtering system.
• You get detailed stats on each of your newsletters.
• There’s no limit on the number of emails you can send.
• The system helps ensure compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR.

To help you get started with Yapla, feel free to explore the helpful articles in our online Help Centre, including:

• Getting Started with Yapla’s Website Template 
• Getting Started with the Newsletter Feature

 

Conclusion

Ultimately, crafting an effective digital communication strategy starts with a clear understanding of your nonprofit’s mission and goals. Taking a step back to reflect ensures that every message you share truly resonates with your target audience and drives impact.

There are many communication channels available—don’t hesitate to combine them, but make sure they’re tailored to your target audience.

In the end, creating a strong communication strategy isn’t difficult. Once the foundation is in place, it’s simply a matter of motivation, organization, and consistency to maintain and adjust it over time.

 

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Jamie Rubenovitch, Chief Marketing Officer