Marketing and Communications
Marketing and communications help your organisation share its purpose, connect with the right audiences, and build trust.
Good communication is essential for engaging service users, funders, stakeholders, local advocates and the wider community.
What is Marketing and Communications?
Marketing and communications are about how your organisation shares its purpose, connects with people, and builds understanding and trust, both within your organisation and with your wider connections.
It includes:
- communications planning and strategy
- branding and visual identity
- writing and storytelling
- websites and digital content
- social media and email communications
- media and public relations
- stakeholder and community engagement
- promoting services, programmes, and impact
Together, these help ensure your message is clear, consistent, and reaching the right people.
Why Marketing and Communications Matter
Clear communication helps organisations:
- explain what they do and why it matters
- reach the right audiences at the right time
- build credibility and trust
- strengthen funding and stakeholder relationships
- reduce confusion and improve engagement
For the social and community sector, strong communication is often essential for impact and sustainability.
Tips for Marketing and Communications
- understand your audiences
- clarify your key messages
- choose the right channels (email, social media, media, website)
- keep language clear, inclusive, and accessible
- align communications with your organisation’s purpose
- keep brand consistent for external communication
- it is often worth investing in digital tools like MailChimp for e-newsletters and Canva for digital notices and images to ensure a professional finish – look to upskill in these with online tutorials or other training that is offered
> NOTE: These digital tools often have low-cost or free options for Not-for-Profits. See the Business Heroes Directory for those that do.
Communications Strategy and Planning
Useful guidance and tools for developing structured, well thought out communications.
Strategy and Planning – a selection of videos, articles, and templates to assist you with all aspects of developing and writing your communications strategy and plan – Community Comms Collective
Communications Planning – a communications plan template to set out how you are going to engage with your audiences and stakeholders for a specific event or campaign, or as a roadmap for the year ahead – Community Comms Collective
Your Communications Plan – a guide to the process, all the things to think about and templates – CommunityNet Aotearoa
How to Effectively Communicate Your Strategy – short video to clarify how to communicate your strategy – OnStrategy I Virtual Strategist
Writing, Content and Plain Language
Good writing is at the heart of effective communication.
Plain language – guidance and resources to promote clarity and improve skills in written communication – Community Comms Collective
Content design guidance – use this guidance to help you design useful, readable, and inclusive content for your users, based on best-practice advice for the public sector digital content – Digital Government
Free tools – free tools to help you write clearly, make a good impression, and meet your communication goals – Write
Writing Words for your Website – a one hour webinar walking you through the fundamentals of content creation, how to find the phrases to tick Google’s boxes (aka SEO), creating a content plan and common content mistakes – TechSoup
Media and Public Communication
How to work with media and share your message more widely.
Communicating via the media – information on how to communicate with newspapers, online, TV or radio to get your message out. Includes a media release template and a media interview checklist – Community Resource Kit, via CommunityNet Aotearoa
Media Contact List – this is regularly updated – Community Comms Collective
Marketing
A marketing plan centres on your services, and involves finding out more about your customers needs, how you will develop services to match their needs, and how you will let them know about your services.
Essential elements of a marketing plan – a short article on all elements of a marketing plan – Community Resource Kit, via CommunityNet Aotearoa
Developing a Marketing Plan – Te Papa National Services
Understanding Digital Marketing for Non-profits – an hour presentation – Aro Digital, via CommunityNet Aotearoa
101 Digital Marketing & Fundraising Best Practices for Non-profits – this series helps resource-constrained community organisations, which often have to juggle time, money, and resourcing – NZ Navigator Trust via CommunityNet Aotearoa
Other Useful Websites & Reading
SociaLink Workshops – we often run training and development workshops on communications.
Business Heroes Directory – this directory, facilitated by SociaLink, has local organisations who can help you with aspects of communication – e.g. signage, promotional items, event promotion, marketing, printing, web-site design, local newspaper promotion – and are prepared to give you a special offer or discount.
Look under the Categories Creative and Web and Professional Services.
Community Comms Collective – This charitable trust provides free expert communications volunteers to help community organisations with marketing strategy, media relations, and websites.
Communications Resources – a comprehensive range of resources and tools, some specifically developed for community organisations – Community Comms Collective
Communication Articles – CommunityNet Aotearoa
> NOTE: CommunityNet Aotearoa is a mine of information about a wide range of topics to help charities and not-for-profits.
Communication TED Talks – a collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Communication – TED