You might think you don’t need a marketing campaign because it’s too complicated, too expensive or too much of a drain on your time, especially if your charity, group or organisation is small or new. Surely the really big VCSE organisations make all the noise, right?

Try to push those doubts out of your mind, because it is possible to promote yourself with a marketing campaign, whether you’re a community group, a fledgling social enterprise, or a very local charity. You just need to have the right tools and guidance to succeed, which is where Voscur comes in.

From press releases to beginner-level software, it’s all covered on this half-day marketing campaigns course, held on Thursday 12 September, from 10am-1pm, in St. Werburgh’s Community Centre.

You’ll learn what makes a campaign eye-catching, how to develop a marketing plan, and how to gather information and content to make your campaigns more relevant.

Great marketing campaigns can achieve any or all of the following:

• Brand awareness – people who haven’t heard of you now know who you are and why you exist; they might follow you on social media, read your newsletters or tell a friend about upcoming events.
• Community growth – the community you serve is directly helped by you raising its profile and getting others involved. You could even collaborate with another organisation that has similar aims, to combine your efforts and apply for grants or share projects.
• Press coverage – local or national newspapers, magazines and websites write about you; local radio stations and news bulletins feature you. This might be a profile of your organisation, a news story, or a case study of someone you’ve helped.
• Recruitment targets – more people applying for volunteer or staff roles; better quality candidates for interviews; lower staff or volunteer turnover, as the right people don’t feel the need to move on.
• Increased donations – people feel motivated to donate after learning about your work. They could donate their own money, or ask people to sponsor them in a charity challenge with you as their cause.

Luckily your marketing campaign doesn’t have to involve spending a lot of money. This training course will teach you the best ways to spread your message whilst sticking to a budget; you just need to bring some enthusiasm.

As with all Voscur training courses, members get discounted places on this course.

The question is: can you afford not to learn how to develop a good marketing campaign? Don’t try and do this on your own – Voscur’s half-day training course will reveal all the answers.