Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Listening Beneath the Surface

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So many readers enjoyed my post “Are You Listening, Nonprofits?“, I thought you might like a little more advice about social listening.

Submarine using sonar

Most social media is below the surface

Craig Jamieson is a submarine fan, and he tells us that social listening is like sonar.  Use it to find:

  • Conversations that reveal something about the people who support you or the people you serve.
  • Mentions of your organization. Ever wonder whether people out there really know about your organization?  The one who mentioned you does! Write them back.
  • Praises and problems. Visibly thank people for saying good things about you.  Visibly respond to requests for help or criticism of your organization.
  • What your audience wants to hear.  If people “like” something on social media and it relates to your mission or your community, why not post something about that too?
  • Opportunities. Your elected officials are probably online.  So are your funders, your donors, your collaborators, and your competitors.  Listen to what they’re saying to get a better sense of what your organization could be doing.

You can do all this with tools that you have at your fingertips, like Google Alerts, Facebook and Twitter lists, and keyword searches.  If you want to make your sonar run by itself, you can invest in tools specifically designed for social media monitoring.

Either way, a human being still has to listen.  So, turn on your sonar and run silent, run deep until you find the right conversation to enter!

 

 

20 Ways to Thank Your Donors Throughout the Year

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thanksgivingIf you’re a nonprofit, every day is Thanksgiving…or should be.

Yes, I know it’s been months since your last appeal.  You sent a thank-you letter to each donor back then.  (In fact, maybe you sent the ideal thank-you letter.)  But have you been ignoring them since then?

You neglect donors at your peril.  Donors notice when and how often you’re in touch.  If they say, “That organization only writes me when they want money!”, how likely are they to respond the next time?

Have you heard the rule that you should thank a donor seven times before asking him or her for money again?  Maybe you wondered how in the world you’re supposed to do that.  How many ways can you say thank you?

Here are 20 creative ideas for showing your gratitude, courtesy of our friends at Lifehack.

  1. Make a gift bag. It doesn’t have to be expensive–just personal.
  2. Give a toast. You don’t need a special event–you could do this over lunch. Make a video and send it to the donor.  Picture the smile when they see it!
  3. Write a poem. Say why they deserve your thanks.
  4. Send them custom gift labels.
  5. Give a gift card. (Get the gift card donated, too.)
  6. Send a hand-written letter.
  7. Use social media to give thanks in public.
  8. Make your own digital greeting card.
  9. Make a Youtube video.
  10. Bake cookies.
  11. Make surprise gifts for guests at your events.
  12. Put together a flower basket.
  13. Take a picture. Again, it doesn’t have to be professional, just unique.  The camera on your phone can capture priceless moments!
  14. Pay it forward.  Show them you care about what they care about too.
  15. Do something special for them.
  16. Help them when they’re the ones who need help.
  17. Be there for them.
  18. Listen to them.
  19. Say it another language…especially if they speak it.
  20. Show them some #donorlove, without being asked.

You can’t do all twenty for all your donors. Fine.  But which ones can you do?  Make a plan to say thank you to as many of your donors as you can, each month.  When annual appeal time comes around again, they’ll think of you as a friend.

Why Your Nonprofit Blog Shouldn’t Be About Your Nonprofit

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Is your nonprofit’s blog mostly about your nonprofit organization? Then there’s a reason your audience is so small!

I know. You’re proud that you made the effort to create a blog at all. You work really hard at posting something  every week. But who’s reading anything you post?

Take this advice from Jayson DeMers, a Forbes magazine contributor:

Ask yourself a few questions: What are your favorite types of blogs? Which ones do you subscribe to and look forward to reading? Which ones do you consider a good use of your valuable time?

Although I can’t guess which specific blogs are your favorites, I think I can predict, with a good deal of accuracy, which types of blogs aren’t on your list:

  • Those that are exclusively about products or services
  • Those that are constantly and explicitly trying to sell you something
  • Those that are essentially a platform for the business or blogger to broadcast their marketing message

Let’s translate that into nonprofit.

  • If you feel bound to write a blog post about each of your programs, you’re boring your readers.
  • If you’re asking for money, time, or action in every post, you’re irritating your readers.
  • If you sound like you’re speaking French–because every post says “We, we, we”–you’re ignoring your readers.

No one has to read your blog. Your board members may read it just to see what you’re doing. Your most loyal friends may read it because they care. But most people have too many other things competing for their time. Unless they can see right away what’s in it for them, they will go elsewhere for their fun.Continue Reading

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