Collaborative Content Creation: Partnerships That Pack a Punch!

We know there's a lot of noise in digital marketing, and one of the biggest challenges for any nonprofit is to discover how to cut through it. Has your organization ever considered collaborative content creation? Collaborations can happen in several ways. For example, you could develop a strategy for user-generated content (UGC), but the truth is that the sky’s the limit. Your nonprofit can collaborate on content with just about anyone. So, let’s explore some tips to make it work for your organization. 

What’s Collaborative Content Creation?

Again, it's tough to cut through the endless streams of posts, articles, tweets, Stories, Reels, etc., that organizations create to raise brand awareness. Of course, one old-school approach is word-of-mouth marketing, but another is collaborative content creation. When you decide on a joint strategy, your nonprofit can amplify its brand and message.

In short, all you have to do is team up with anyone aligned with your mission. So, you can get your supporters to create content, but you can also partner with other like-minded nonprofits or even institutional funders. For example, you can create a partnership with a corporate funder and do great things together in this game-changing approach to marketing.

4 Ways to Create Collaborative Content

When you establish a strategy for collaborative content creation, remember that it’s a way to change things up. That’s the bottom-line point of collaborative content creation. So, think about the types of partners you want to align with for this content. You have to genuinely collaborate and have fun doing it. When you do that, your audience is going to pick up on a different vibe in your content, and they'll be curious to see what you're doing. 

Here are four ways to create compelling collaborative content.

1. Unite Around a Common Goal

Imagine speaking to your best corporate funder about a collaborative content creation campaign. Let’s say your organization wants to focus on sustainability — even if it's not your mission. It's simply a value. The chances are one of your corporate funders also focuses on sustainability as a value for corporate social responsibility and social good.

In that case, join forces like Batman and Robin. Do a campaign together around how any organization can lead on sustainability and bring together your skills and resources. Think about great storytelling ideas you can share as partners, such as videos, social media takeovers and webinars.

2. Tell Stories

If your nonprofit masters storytelling, you can do fantastic collaboration content creation. It's like going from a TV to a high-definition cinema screen in your home. So, when partnering with a corporation, other nonprofit or even a school, think about the resources you have on hand to tell a story. Also, consider all of the ways to share a story (i.e., videos, social, blogs, webinars, etc.).

If you want to engage your audience, keep in mind a few things about storytelling. For one, think of a hook that works and will get attention for your collaboration. Remember that you always want to capture emotion first. Inject the content collaboration with authenticity and warmth to make it relatable and unforgettable. Finally, always remember to include calls to action. 

3. Create Ownership and Value Add

When developing a partnership for collaborative content creation, it's vital to give your nonprofit partners ownership and value add. Perhaps you work with youth. In that case, team up with a sports equipment manufacturer. Then invite the youth in your program to design sports gear the manufacturer creates in collaboration to promote giving everyone ownership. 

Of course, you also want everyone to feel there's value in a collaborative content creation partnership. So, cross-promote your partner's and your content using a multichannel marketing approach. By leveraging each other's audiences and fresh content, you mix things up, allowing you to provide more value to your audiences. 

4. Plan a Nonprofit Palooza

Tying it to an event is a great way to have fun with collaborative content creation. So, imagine Coachella as you create your own nonprofit palooza. Nonprofits are great at planning events, so think about doing something fun, unexpected and exciting for a good cause and content generation. Also, make it a point for people to participate in person and remotely.

What form can your nonprofit palooza take? There are so many ideas! You can have a fun run, for example. If you know a few great local bands, you can have a music night at a local venue to celebrate your collaboration. An event allows you to create great collaborative content and allows your audiences to participate and experience it personally. 

The fact is that collaborative content creation is an excellent way to add flavor to the secret sauce of digital marketing. You break the mold when you partner with an institutional funder, nonprofit, school or even by inviting content creation through user-generated content. In other words, you find a fresh approach to get your message across, and that's what you need to do to break through the marketing noise.

The preceding blog was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.