When I talk to community-based nonprofits that serve local or regional areas about content marketing or thought leadership, I often hear excuses like, “We aren’t the experts. The national groups are. Why would anyone listen to us about this issue, when we just serve this little corner of the world?”
While national groups may have easier access to national data or trends, it doesn’t mean that people trust them more, or what to hear from them rather than you.
After a recent conversation with a local nonprofit that I think is poised to do some really amazing thought leadership marketing that could get national attention — but who demured because “no one wants to hear what we have to say” — I decided to commission a national poll.
Using Google Consumer Surveys, I asked:
Think about an important issue to you. Would you rather get info on that issue from a local charity or a national charity?
1113 American adult Internet users took the poll. Guess where they’d rather get information on issues they care about? Yep, local charities, by a landslide.
The older you get, the more true this becomes.
Local nonprofits are missing HUGE opportunities to communicate on their broader issues with supporters and influencers.
People care what you think. Sure, go get some of that national data from the larger groups, but YOU use it to communicate, adding your own local spin and stories.
People trust you on the issues they care about. So stop focusing on just your tiny little part of it and share. They are waiting to hear from you!
