Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

How Small Nonprofits Light Up Social Media

by 6 Comments

Are you a small nonprofit organization, based in a single community?  Congratulations: you have natural advantages when it comes to social media.

What are your advantages?  The same strengths that social media maven Mark Schaefer sees for small businesses–only more so.

Local angle.  “I could care less about a tweet from a mega-brand,” Schaefer writes, “but I would certainly be interested to get to know a local shop owner in a personal way.” The people you serve, their families, your staff and Board, their families and friends, your city council, your school committee, and all your donors and volunteers are interested in you in real life.  They might be interested in you on Facebook or Twitter, too…but only if you show you’re interested in them.

Personal touch.  As a small nonprofit, you can know more of your supporters personally.  This one is always talking about raising a biracial child.  That one prides herself on her mouthwatering vegetarian recipes.  When you can provide useful information on a subject they care about , your supporters will notice.  (And they will always appreciate a compliment!)

Relationships. Businesses, and large nonprofits, are tempted to look at everything in terms of ROI, Return On Investment.  They miss the intangible results that small nonprofits perceive. If your supporters are telling you, “I loved that picture you posted,” or if they’re sharing information that you put out, or if municipal officials are treating you with more respect, you know you are building loyalty that will help you sooner or later.

Don’t Hide Your Light

“But I don’t know how to use social media,” you say.  “And I don’t have the time.”  You do know how to be social in real life, right?  A good consultant can train you on how to do social online.  A consultant can also help you use your time to best effect, or you can pay him or her to be your online voice.

Is it worth it?  Using social media well means getting closer to the people who matter most to your organization.  Yes, that’s worth doing.  You are ideally positioned to do it.  Go ahead: let your light shine!

G’day! A Nonprofit Tale of Two Nations

by Leave a Comment

Does your nonprofit organization want to be known and respected?  Why, and by whom?

The answer may vary by country–and how you answer determines how you should communicate with your supporters.

I recently spoke with Chris Gandy, a colleague and the founder of the Australian consulting firm Cause and Effective.  In Australia, it is common for not-for-profits to compete to receive funding from the government.  Few of these organizations obtain a significant portion of their budget by fundraising from the public.

That means that content marketing in Australia is aimed at a very specific audience.  The people that our friends Down Under want to impress with their organizations’ expertise are what we in the U.S. would call bureaucrats.  This audience expects subject-matter knowledge, well-substantiated claims, and detailed evidence that taxpayer money will be spent appropriately.

In the U.S., government is still the biggest source of funds for nonprofits, but its share is declining.  Over the last dozen years, I have seen nonprofits increasingly market themselves to donors, community-minded businesses, and philanthropic foundations.

These givers ask first, “What difference do you make?”, and only then, “How much do you know?”  And the rule of thumb in the U.S. is to win hearts first.  Once people want to support you, they will look for reasons to do it–and by providing those reasons, you clinch the deal.

Of course, bureaucrats have hearts, and donors have heads.  But getting the balance between the two right is crucial.

At your nonprofit organization, are you more American or Australian?  Which is more important to you: your prestige in your field, or your brand loyalty among your supporters?

G’day! A Nonprofit Tale of Two Nations

by Leave a Comment

Does your nonprofit organization want to be known and respected?  Why, and by whom?

The answer may vary by country–and how you answer determines how you should communicate with your supporters.

I recently spoke with Chris Gandy, a colleague and the founder of the Australian consulting firm Cause and Effective.  In Australia, it is common for not-for-profits to compete to receive funding from the government.  Few of these organizations obtain a significant portion of their budget by fundraising from the public.

That means that content marketing in Australia is aimed at a very specific audience.  The people that our friends Down Under want to impress with their organizations’ expertise are what we in the U.S. would call bureaucrats.  This audience expects subject-matter knowledge, well-substantiated claims, and detailed evidence that taxpayer money will be spent appropriately.

In the U.S., government is still the biggest source of funds for nonprofits, but its share is declining.  Over the last dozen years, I have seen nonprofits increasingly market themselves to donors, community-minded businesses, and philanthropic foundations.

These givers ask first, “What difference do you make?”, and only then, “How much do you know?”  And the rule of thumb in the U.S. is to win hearts first.  Once people want to support you, they will look for reasons to do it–and by providing those reasons, you clinch the deal.

Of course, bureaucrats have hearts, and donors have heads.  But getting the balance between the two right is crucial.

At your nonprofit organization, are you more American or Australian?  Which is more important to you: your prestige in your field, or your brand loyalty among your supporters?

Yes, I’d like weekly email from Communicate!

Get more advice

Yes! Please send me tips from Communicate! Consulting.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.