Tip #11 Stay Top of Mind When at the Bottom of Your Budget

February 24, 2020
6:33 pm

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Tip #11: Stay Top of Mind When at the Bottom of Your Budget

In my first executive director role, I took over for a founder who had built the organization from the ground-up. Relying on what he knew to work, he emphatically suggested that I take out annual TOMA ads in the local newspaper during the year-end giving season.

TOMA Ads? As he calculated how much I should invest in each advertisement, I tried to solve the acronym puzzle without the not-yet-conceived luxury of a smartphone or Siri…

To Order More Ads?

Tired of Making Assumptions?

Traditional Over Modern Advertising?

These were my best shots. I’d studied Marketing in college, including the “4 P’s,” but somehow, I’d missed this acronym. Later, when I called to place the ad, I had the nerve to ask the account executive at the paper. She graciously explained that TOMA meant Top of Mind Advertising.

The ads were small business-card shaped black and white images with our logo in them. Nothing fancy, nothing compelling, simply a reminder that we were in business. I may not have known the acronym for what those ads were called, but I knew enough to recognize they were a poor investment. We gradually shifted the ads to branded quotes from the people we served, and ultimately, the organization moved away from using them. They were costly. The return on investment was squishy at best, and possibly non-existent.

Today, there are many ways to retain top of mind status while not breaking the bank. Here are a few suggestions to get you started…

Invest time in garnering earned media. Earned media is publicity received without payment. The best example is a press release sent to the media that is published. Earned media takes ongoing attention and there are many tricks to be tried. Check out the Meet the Press West Michigan event if you’re looking to grow in this area, as well as last week’s article from Craig Clark.
Utilize your social channels. Post regularly and stay on-brand. Consider developing “social media buckets” to help brainstorm relevant, branded, content. See the sample guide created for your fellow member, GEMS Girl’s Club that I’ve added to the Exclusive Content Page.
Stay in touch with your audience. Make sure your email and print touchpoints are scheduled regularly and don’t go more than a month with no correspondence. Check your engagement by using an email platform that tracks clicks and opens.

How do you stay top of mind? Visit the discussion forum on the Exclusive Content page to share your ideas!

– Katie Appold

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