An Evolved Nonprofit Marketer: A Unicorn
People are your nonprofits’ most important asset. As the approaches to digital strategy and technology are evolving, nonprofits’ staffing needs are also changing. Whereas in the past, nonprofit marketers were sought out more for their creative skills, today’s most successful candidates combine strategic thinking, tech savvy, creativity, and soft skills.
Whether you are a hiring manager seeking out the right talent for your organization or a professional looking for ways to hone your skills, here are our observations about skills and qualities of a successful nonprofit marketer today.
Strategic Thinker. Today’s more advanced strategies leverage complex segmentations, marketing automations, and cross-channel efforts, all of which rely on sophisticated technology ecosystems. The marketers at the center of it all play a strategic role. They have access to more data and nimble reporting that allows them to establish clear plans and experiment to improve performance in a fast-moving environment. The most successful hires are individuals who embrace this strategic role. They are comfortable making decisions and are proactive.
Problem Solver. Marketing today is not always a prescriptive process. Nonprofits are seeking out marketing staff with critical thinking skills to identify creative approaches when there is no playbook, making decisions and implementing solutions.
Creative Brain. Changes in strategies have redefined creativity. Marketing used to mean catchy taglines and creative direction for graphic design. Today’s creative marketers are the ones who can apply that same outside the box thinking to segmentation, channel selection and innovative use of technology.
Technology Power User. In the past marketers leaned in on marketing strategies, while data and technology were siloed and managed by others on staff. More accessible technology has democratized access to information. Successful marketing efforts are data driven. It is vital for marketers to be comfortable using technology and understanding data, from hands-on use of new tools to quickly accessing information, making necessary adjustments, and understanding capabilities to inform their thinking and planning.
They Have Soft Skills. Collaboration is central to the work of today’s nonprofit. Marketers able to understand pain points of their colleagues and audiences and have the finesse to work well with others are an asset.
