Ep 292 | When to START or Stop Your Marketing Plan with Corey Morris

Are you feeling uncertain about your nonprofit's digital marketing strategy? Wondering if you should stick with your current plan or pivot to something new? You're not alone. In today's rapidly changing digital landscape, it's crucial to strike a balance between consistency and adaptability.

What you'll learn:
→ The importance of documenting your marketing plan and sharing it with your team
→ How to balance long-term strategies (like SEO) with more nimble approaches (such as Google Ads)
→ Leveraging the $10,000 monthly Google Ad grant for nonprofits
→ Creating content that can be repurposed across multiple channels
→ The value of focusing on quality over quantity in your marketing efforts

Evaluating Your Marketing Efforts
Corey shares his insights on how often you should review your marketing activities:

For ongoing campaigns: Evaluate at least quarterly, potentially monthly for high-volume efforts
For specific events or initiatives: Conduct a retrospective after each occurrence
Consider setting aside 5-10% of your budget for testing new ideas

“It's not about doing three blog posts a month and seven social media posts a week just because somebody said you should. It's about doing things with conviction and purpose.” – Corey Morris

This episode provides practical advice for nonprofit leaders looking to refine their digital marketing approach. You'll learn how to make data-driven decisions, adapt to changes in your organization and industry, and ensure your marketing efforts align with your overall goals.

Ready to take your nonprofit's digital marketing to the next level? Listen to the full episode for more valuable insights and strategies you can implement today.

Want to skip ahead? Here are key takeaways:
05:46 Evaluating Marketing Strategies and Balancing Channels Having data behind your marketing strategies helps you understand what you keep doing and where you pivot. Creating a balance between long-term and more agile strategies can help you balance what you need now while working towards longer term projects. 

13:27 Leveraging Google Ad Grants and Content Strategy When utilizing Google Ad Grants, create versatile content that can be used across multiple channels. Understand where your audience is and focus on quality over quantity in marketing efforts.

22:01 Adapting Marketing Strategies to Organizational Changes Adapt marketing strategies to align with changing organizational goals. The START framework emphasizes the need for strategy before tactics. Don't forget about the importance of connecting marketing efforts to organizational outcomes and preparing for unexpected “trigger events.”

30:07 Evaluating Marketing Efforts and Frequency of Review Review your marketing activities quarterly at a minimum, with more frequent reviews for high-volume campaigns. Balance consistent strategies with the flexibility to adapt to new opportunities or challenges.

Corey Morris
Corey is an experienced industry speaker, best-selling author, and the owner/leader of VOLTAGE digital marketing agency.

His new book, The Digital Marketing Success Plan (available on Amazon), published in July 2024 and details why companies need a documented, objective, and accountable digital marketing plan in today's era of unprecedented change in the digital marketing industry. He provides the context for why having a plan is important, real stories, and “how to” content for creating and implementing a plan leveraging his five-step START Planning process.

Learn more at https://voltage.digital/corey-video-mtg
https://www.facebook.com/voltagekc
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreymorris/

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-click
Learn more about The First Click: https://thefirstclick.net
Schedule a Digital Marketing Therapy Session: https://thefirstclick.net/officehours