The 9 Clouds team loves to volunteer.

From serving at The Banquet to collecting books for REACH Literacy, we’ve been trying to incorporate more volunteer activities into life at 9 Clouds.

Our team enjoys volunteering so much, we got to thinking about how we could incorporate volunteering into the services we provide here at 9 Clouds. So in February 2018, our inaugural Marketing from the Heart program was launched.

The goal of this program is to support the greater Sioux Falls community with digital resources. To do this, we provide free marketing services to a local nonprofit for six months.

Find out who we helped during our first round of Marketing from the Heart, what we learned, and how you can apply to be our next recipient.

Apply for our Marketing from the Heart program »

Marketing from the Heart, Round One

Image credit: The Lost and Found Association

We were ecstatic about how many local nonprofits applied for Marketing from the Heart. These organizations recognize the importance a strong digital presence can have on a community.

After reading through all the applications, our selection team chose the first recipient of our Marketing from the Heart program: The Lost and Found Association.

Lost and Found works to help young adults facing depression and suicide ideation the campuses of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and South Dakota State University in Brookings. The Lost and Found team was looking for some help communicating its vision of compassion, understanding, and inclusion to those struggling with depression and suicide ideation.

We first sat down with the Lost and Found executive director, Erik Muckey, to learn about the organization’s biggest challenges and to discuss how our services could help Lost and Found continue to be a strong mental health advocate for the college community and beyond.

Erik and the Lost and Found team were most excited to utilize specific targeting options in Facebook ads to spread their message to the people who needed to hear it most.

Throughout the next six months, the 9 Clouds team spent about 6.5 hours a week helping Lost and Found optimize its digital presence by creating Facebook ads, blog posts, and landing pages to educate students and parents about various mental health topics.

We also spent time improving the Lost and Found website with search engine optimization (SEO), both to increase website views and to help viewers find what they need.

As our time with Lost and Found comes to a close, Erik had nothing but kind words to say about his Marketing from the Heart experience:

“Lost and Found’s partnership with 9 Clouds was hugely successful, and we now have a coherent marketing strategy established. Website traffic improved, and our reach on social media increased significantly, getting us the engagement we had been looking for. Working with 9 Clouds also increased our ability to fundraise! As an executive director, I now feel more comfortable taking the tips and tricks 9 Clouds taught me along the way and applying them to future marketing work for Lost and Found.”

It’s been a blessing to work with Lost and Found for the past few months. We’re excited to see the organization build upon its already strong digital presence!

Marketing from the Heart, Round Two

We weren’t exactly sure what to expect from our inaugural Marketing from the Heart program, but it’s now safe to say that our first experience offering free marketing services to a local nonprofit was a success.

We’re ready to help another local nonprofit spread its message by building a solid online presence. We’ll do this by working pro bono two hours a month for each 9 Clouds employee for a period of six months.

During this time, we’ll work to meet the nonprofit’s greatest online needs. Throughout our six months together, we’ll optimize the nonprofit’s digital presence and also train someone at the organization, so they can continue to build on that success.

Some applicants may already have a great website but simply need help building their social presence, while other applicants may be starting from the ground up.

No matter where you are digitally, there’s always room for improvement.

Apply for Free Digital Marketing from 9 Clouds!

If you think that your nonprofit could benefit from free marketing services, consider applying to be the next recipient of our Marketing from the Heart program.

On your application, please tell us about yourself, the marketing you’re currently doing, and the goals you want to achieve.

We can’t wait to see your application!