Post by Mary Jo Johnson

The biggest asset of a nonprofit or social enterprise is its employees. The knowledge and experience its people bring will determine its institutional knowledge and dictate the direction in which it needs to head. This knowledge is ever-changing and needs to be both accessible and adaptable. So it’s critical to establish processes that determine how knowledge is disseminated throughout every effective organization.

This is where knowledge management comes in. 

What is knowledge management?

Knowledge management is the process of creating, structuring, using, sharing and retaining knowledge within an organization. Or simply put, it is the handling of knowledge and resources in an efficient manner inside an organization. 

Knowledge management has three main components:

1. Accumulation
2. Storage
3. Sharing

By accumulating knowledge from the various experiences of employees and creating a platform to store it with the goal of sharing and disseminating that knowledge to people, you’ll create and enable a learning culture. 

Tapping into two types of knowledge

There are two types of knowledge within the knowledge management sphere. The differences between them is a fundamental concept of knowledge management. 

1. Explicit knowledge. This is the type of knowledge that is codified and easy to teach. This is what’s found in books, mathematical equations, processes, memos and the like. This type is easily shared. 
2. Tacit knowledge. According to Michael Polyani, tacit knowledge is “things that we know but cannot tell.” This is knowledge gained through experience and practice, like learning how to balance on a unicycle.

Knowing the distinction between these two types will help greatly when coming up with strategies for sharing knowledge across the organization. 

The cycle of knowledge management

The cycle of knowledge management has seven stages:

1. Acquisition. Acquiring knowledge either through research, training, and education (explicit knowledge) or through daily experiences and know-how (tacit knowledge) should be done across the organization — individually or as a group. Gathering and exploiting knowledge is the first step of the knowledge management cycle. The tendency of a nonprofit organization (NPO), the vast majority of which have modest resources, is often to pass on this knowledge verbally when it would serve the organization better to codify it.
2. Codification. This is the process of putting the knowledge that’s acquired into words. Not all knowledge can be translated into verbal or written language, however. This step involves creating job aids, training materials, write-ups, tests and other printed or written material or any form of media for consumption.
3. Storage. This step is where repositories come in. These can be databases or manuals where people can go to access codified knowledge.
4. Retrieval. This is the act of accessing stored knowledge. Retrieval should be simple and efficient.
5. Distribution and presentation. This is making all that knowledge accessible to the people who need it. Knowledge can be presented in different formats and in different ways. This could come in the form of reports or training modules and presentations.
6. Application. After knowledge is gained through distribution and presentation, it is now time to apply what was learned. This is where an NPO will plan its activities according to the knowledge it has gained.
7. Creation. Because of the application of knowledge, an NPO can now gain new experiences that will give way to the creation of new knowledge from the new experiences and the cycle starts all over again.

Knowledge management tools

Knowledge management tools are systems used by organizations to share information. These can be customer relationship systems (CRMs) or knowledge bases or learning management systems (LMS). A good knowledge management tool like Slab will allow you to integrate all of the organization’s tools in one knowledge base and allow everyone in the organization regardless of tech-savviness to easily search, access, use and create content.

How nonprofits can take advantage

Revenue generation

As all nonprofits know, fundraising and revenue generation are key to helping the organization function and achieve its overall mission. Having a knowledge management tool allows an NPO to keep track of all its data regarding donations and incoming revenue, as well as to keep track of potential sources of additional revenue, not to mention the knowledge and connections that every fundraising event and outreach program will create for the organization. Knowledge management systems allow organizations to keep their books organized and accessible to the people who need them.

Volunteer and paid employee engagement

Volunteers participate in and support NPOs and their efforts to provide for their causes without expecting monetary compensation, and these volunteers have a wealth of knowledge and experience. Codifying their knowledge into a knowledge management tool can ensure that the explicit knowledge that the volunteers bring can be cascaded across the organization. The same goes for paid employees. Engaging both the volunteers and employees through knowledge transfers will not only broaden their experience but will also develop a culture of learning for the organization. This ensures growth for both the NPO as a whole and the employees and volunteers individually.

Sustainability

Sustainability is not just about going “green.” Sustainability for nonprofits means that the organization will endure changes in economy and political climate. It also means that the founders, stakeholders, donors and volunteers find long-term value in the organization. It also means that the NPO needs to take care of its assets, a.k.a stewardship.

A good knowledge management system will help an NPO achieve long-term viability by making knowledge and data easily accessible. Donors and stakeholders need reports and write-ups about the activities and programs of the NPO they support. They need to see that their donations are going to the right place and that the assets of the NPO are well taken care of and accounted for.

Conclusion

Knowledge management and knowledge management tools play a vital role in helping to buttress nonprofit organizations’ operations by making data easily accessible and therefore easily disseminated.

Take advantage of tools like Slab to enable team members to find vital information fast, without having to use multiple platforms and learning to navigate new tools. This helps foster growth through creating a learning environment in the most efficient way.

The post How nonprofits can benefit from knowledge management appeared first on Socialbrite.

Post by Nancy P. Howard

SEO might not seem like something that’s top of mind for many nonprofits. SEO … isn’t that something that tech or marketing firms do? Well, if your goal is to get your campaigns and your organization’s mission to show up in the search rankings, then search engine optimization needs to be a priority.

Below we outline a time-honored strategy that explains how to make your website or blog’s home page and key pages turn up higher in Google search results and in other search engines. The key trick is strategic use of backlinks.

What is link building and why is it important?

Link building or growing a backlink profile is the process of collecting links from other websites that are directed to the nonprofit’s website or blog. So, for example, Forbes could be citing an article with expert opinion from the nonprofit’s website and linking to this article.

If a certain nonprofit’s website has a good backlink profile, it is likely to rank high in search engine results for different keywords. Higher search rankings mean that there will be more traffic with the click-through and conversion rates improving as well. There are different tactics that can help build a good backlink profile.

Now, easier said than done. How do you accomplish that?

Here’s a classic 3-minute awareness video from The Girl Effect with more than 2.4 million views.

Blogging and content creation

1One of the best ways to attract attention to a nonprofit is by having a blog on the nonprofit’s website. A blog will then have to be populated by articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, webinars, podcasts and so on. It isn’t necessary to have all of the types of content, but variety can still be quite beneficial.

For example, a video about the importance of protecting wildlife can bring awareness to the issue. It will also help a nonprofit dedicated to protecting tigers living in the wild generate more traffic to its website and encourage more people to support the nonprofit by sharing the video or donating even a small amount that could help out a lot.

Understanding what every content type is for will allow the nonprofit to better structure their strategy that will make the content’s impact bigger. Here are some ways to use content more effectively and efficiently:

• Articles: Create high-quality and informative articles that become cited by reputable websites or online outlets.
• Videos: Videos have the potential to go viral, potentially drawing traffic and tons of backlinks.
• Infographics: There is no easier way to break down a process to its core elements than by using an infographic. If the infographic clearly explains how drugs impact a person’s life, it will often be used by different relevant websites and blogs to support their content — and will link back to your nonprofit’s website.
• Webinars/podcasts: Though webinars and podcasts are not as common with nonprofits (it depends on the niche), they can still be very effective for bringing awareness to the cause and to the nonprofit hosting the webinars or podcasts.

Collaborations and partnerships

2As a nonprofit, you know that you can’t just always be asking for support from donors or other stakeholders. Sometimes you have to extend a hand and work with others.  Collaborations and partnerships have the potential for offering advantages for all parties involved.

The best way to find organizations or individuals to collaborate or partner with is by searching on social media platforms. This ensures that the potential partner has a sufficiently large online presence that will benefit your organization’s need for greater exposure online.

Once a list of potential partners is finalized, reach out abuot the prospect of a collaboration. Mutual shout-outs, hosting an event together, or other ways to partner should all be on the table. And an easy win-win is to get a backlink to your site or ongoing campaign as part of the collaboration.

Gaining backlinks

3An interesting way of gaining backlinks that has recently become more popular involves contacting the website where the backlink will be located and asking for the backlink directly. It seems a bit unusual, but from an SEO perspective it makes sense:

• Content research: First, it’s necessary to do some research and find the highest-ranking articles on a certain topic. The best situation is when these articles are a few years old. Then, it is crucial to locate the backlinks these articles got from other websites because these will be the websites to contact in the end.
• Content creation: The next step is content creation when the nonprofit creates similar articles to the one it located during research. The articles created by the nonprofit need to be the better versions of the originals with such things as extra research or statistics, improved visuals, more timely content, and so on.
• Contacting: Once the articles are published on the nonprofit’s website or blog, the final step is contacting the websites that linked to the original article and asking them to change their link to a backlink to the nonprofit’s improved article.

Donorbox wrote a guest blog post for Socialbrite that included some of its notable campaigns, including one for the Salvadoran American Humanitarian Aid Foundation.

Guest blogging

4Last but not least, guest blogging is somewhat similar to tactic No. 1 above, but in this case, the content is created for other websites instead of for the nonprofit’s website or blog. Then, this content is used to link back to the nonprofit’s website, as long as the website where the content is published allows the guest post to include backlinks.

It’s important to understand though that guest blogging can only be effective for collecting backlinks if the websites where the content is being published are relevant to the niche of the nonprofit itself. So, for example, if the nonprofit is concerned with lifting the ban on certain dog breeds, guest blogging is appropriate on websites that are connected to this cause (e.g., a website dedicated to the joys of big-game hunting probably won’t be suitable).

Backlinks are only as good as the websites they come from, which is why approaching the process of selecting websites to guest blog for should be done with rigor. It’s crucial to check the policies of the website, its rankings in search results for different keywords, and the relevance of the topic the guest article will be about.

Increasing online presence

5To put it simply, the more online presence the nonprofit has, the more backlinks it can get on a regular basis without having to use any special tactics. The problem is that to increase online presence, all the tactics covered in this article have to be used in the first place.

But once the nonprofit has a big enough online presence and perhaps even a healthy social media following, it’s much easier to continue getting backlinks regularly just like big brands usually get backlinks because of their reputation.

Final thoughts

All in all, using backlinks to improve the SEO rankings of your organization’s website is not only possible but likely if you use all the necessary online marketing tactics sketched out in this article and create an effective digital marketing strategy.

Nancy P. Howard has been working as a writing expert at Online Writers Rating for a year. She is also a professional writer in such topics as blogging, IT and marketing. She loves traveling and photography and always is eager to meet new people.

The post How nonprofits can skyrocket SEO rankings with backlinks appeared first on Socialbrite.

Editor’s note: Wiza is offering its Pro account for free (with 100 email credits) to any nonprofit. Head over to Wiza.co and let the team know that Socialbrite sent you.

Post by Stephen Hakami
Founder & CEO, Wiza

You may have heard about about the tactic of sending cold emails, but you’ve written it off as a marketing strategy for your organization.

It sounds a bit questionable, maybe even a little spammy. But might it actually generate more donations?

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: yes, and there’s a great way to go about it that doesn’t violate the recipients’ trust. 

Why try the cold email approach?

People like to support causes they care about, especially if they have money set aside for charitable giving. But if they don’t know about your nonprofit’s needs or cause, how will they support you?

Your communication or marketing team knows it’s essential to get the word out. So we’re here to suggest that sending personalized cold emails can be much more effective than sending mass emails. Let me explain. 

Cold emails are very effective at generating donations because you can personalize them. 

They also provide a helpful means of learning more about potential supporters. By emailing, you can easily track open rates and responses to your cold emails. You can see what content and information resonates with potential supporters — and what needs work. 

So how do you actually reach out to your potential stakeholders with cold email? 

How to send cold emails for your nonprofit

Below are some cold emailing techniques specifically tailored for nonprofits. Whether you’re just getting started or you already have a strategy in place, these tips can help you get the most out of your email performance.

Personalize it

The key factor to a successful cold email campaign is personalization. 

With mass emails, it’s not really specific to the recipient. But when you send cold emails to individual leads, you can use their name, reference their professional career and even mention causes they’ve listed on their LinkedIn profile.

Use this knowledge to your advantage. Seeking to make each email personal not only gives you more promising leads to begin with, but it also increases your chance of getting a response. 

Optimize your subject title and opening line

If your subject line piques the recipient’s interest, you’ve got them hooked. Then you just need to reel them in with the opening line of your email. 

But how do you improve your subject line and first sentence?

Tips to increase your open rate

Here are some suggestions:

• The subject line shouldn’t focus on you, it should focus on them. Try these as titles:

• • “I have a question for you”
  • “How do you ___?”
  • “What causes will you support this year?”

• Don’t start your email with your position title or even your nonprofit name. Instead, try these:

• • “I noticed you were interested in ___”
  • “It looks like you might care about [this cause] …”
  • “Are you looking to get involved with [a movement]?”

Tell a story

Storytelling is a powerful tool. If your nonprofit helps people in need, share those stories in your cold emails. This will help people connect with your mission and get on board with what you’re doing.

It will also show them how important their support is to your organization.

So instead of just saying, “Your donation will help feed one person for six months,” share how an individual was helped by people’s donations. Show them rather than just tell them. 

You’d be surprised at how many people are happy to share their stories about how your nonprofit helped them. Share those stories with potential supporters so you can get more donations and, in turn, help even more people.

Alert leads of your events

Do you have an event coming up? Reach out to your leads and let them know. With this method, there’s a clear call to action: Come to our event. This especially works if it’s a free event that encourages donations.

This could be anything from a holiday event to a food drive to an auction. Whatever it is, make it clear in your email what they can expect if they come. Also, tell them what they’ll get out of it.

Then, as the event date approaches, send them a reminder email to elicit a higher response rate. 

Send a thank-you email

When someone donates to your organization, make sure you thank them personally. Even if you got the chance to thank them in person, still send a personalized follow-up email. 

Here’s what to include in your thank-you email:

• Say thank you at the very beginning of the email
• Tell them how their donation is helping, reinforcing their decision
• Ask them to share on social media what your nonprofit is doing

So, yes, you should be cold emailing leads as a nonprofit. And, yes, they can generate more donations, if you do it well. Using these methods, you’ll be able to improve your cold emailing strategy.

Image at top: Victoria Nevland / Creative Commons BY NC

The post Why nonprofits should send cold emails appeared first on Socialbrite.

Five tips on how to up your email marketing game in the year ahead

Post by Evaldas Mockus, Omnisend

Whether you’re a nonprofit, a social enterprise or a small business, beginning an email campaign can be a daunting affair. This is especially true for organizations new to email marketing. Before you do anything else, you should get a handle on email deliverability best practices to bone up on how to reach new subscribers as well as how to pump up those email open rates.

Once you’re ready to go, here are some key points to remember in planning and executing an email campaign, whether it’s a fundraising blast, an update for your stakeholders or a branding exercise to introduce your nonprofit to new audiences.

Consider your audience

1Before you even think about hitting send, you need to do some homework. Start by conducting some research into your target audience’s demographics and preferences to see which messages might resonate with different constituents, whether they’re your members, donors, volunteers or partners.

As you consider your constituents and their needs, ask yourself these questions.

• Who is my target audience?
• What would my constituents want from an email newsletter?
• How can I give my constituents what they want?

You need to consider your audience’s desires if you want to create an effective newsletter. Brainstorm ideas about how you can provide value, information and messaging about what they’d want.

Cross-promote

2You can cross-promote your email newsletter through other channels. You can start your email campaign growth by targeting people who’ve already donated or expressed loyalty toward your organization. They already have an interest in your cause or mission, so they may want to receive emails from you. From there, they can share your nonprofit’s mission with their friends and expand your reach.

You can cross-promote in lots of ways online. If you have a social media following, make a post on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account about the new email campaign. For effective cross-promotion, you should consider a social media scheduling tool. This will encourage your current followers to sign up for your newsletter when they’re most likely to be online. You can also make your email newsletter sign-up a noticeable part of your website, drawing in more of your customers.

Provide incentives

3People like to have a reason to join an email newsletter. After all, they are giving and trusting their personal email accounts to your organization, so you need to give them a good reason to join.

There are different ways you can provide incentives for your members, so here are a few ideas.

• Provide exclusive information that they can’t get anywhere else.
• Offer something exclusive through the newsletter — perhaps a chance to meet your executive director or contribute their ideas for a cause.
• Enter each email subscriber for a chance to participate in a real-world event.

You can try a lot of creative approaches to providing incentives for your members. Find the ones that work best for your organization.

Provide a call to action

4Whatever else you do in your newsletter, each email you send should include a call to action. A CTA drives your subscribers to take specific real-world actions on behalf of your nonprofit or your cause. CTAs can vary depending on what you want to achieve and what you want your subscribers to do.

A CTA can be as simple as encouraging people to click on a link to following your social media accounts to contributing to your cause. Make sure the call to action is clear and simple for it to be effective.

Improve your campaign & open rates

5After you prepare the emails and send them out, you need to see how your subscribers react to your emails. What is your open rate? Your click-through rate? Your ROI? These metrics will help you identify ways you can improve your campaign going forward. You can adjust the length of the email, experiment with the subject line, change the CTA and make other necessary changes.

Don’t forget to ask your constituents’ opinions. Surveys work wonders at collecting data for you. See what they think about the contents of your email newsletter or your organizaion’s plans and priorities. Keep in mind that you may need to provide an incentive for some people to participate in surveys.

While you may reach a point where you’re happy with your email marketing, you should always seek to improve it. While it’s near impossible to be perfect, you can always strive to provide the best newsletter possible. Keep improving and developing your email marketing to maximize your profits and bring success to your organization.

How about you? What steps have you take to up your nonprofit’s game when it comes to email marketing?

The post The ultimate email guide for 2020 appeared first on Socialbrite.

Post by Melissa Mauro

Every nonprofit organization knows how much volunteers can help advance your mission. But attracting qualified volunteers can be a daunting task. The last thing you want to do is bring aboard eager but untrained volunteers whose involvement is more trouble than it’s worth. That’s a lose-lose proposition.

To take advantage of the grassroots energy for your cause and put it to good use, I put together this guide to help any organization looking to attract the best volunteers for your cause in nine simple steps.

Write a solid volunteer job description

1The first step is straightforward. Write the job description for a volunteer role just like you might craft any other job description for your team members. It’s important to attract recruits whose goals align with yours and who’ll be satisfied with the role they play. Include as many details as possible so the person can see whether she’d be a good fit.

When I did so on behalf of one of my nonprofit clients, I also focused on the key skills the volunteers needed to have. You don’t want someone whose skill set doesn’t meet the requirements of the position. Consult with department heads to determine where a volunteer would have the most positive impact.

Plan the onboarding process

2It’s also a good idea to consider creating a volunteer handbook. I didn’t make one myself at the beginning but then learned that it could actually be very useful. This will, however, depend on the resources available to you.

Alternatively, there is the option of creating a formal in-person training program. The point in any of the paths to take is to get the recruits on board with what the organization is about and what cause it’s working toward.

Identify the best recruitment method

3Determining the recruitment method is no less important. There are a variety of such methods, so it was crucial for me to know who I want to recruit and what they will be doing in order to understand how I will be doing it.

After I completed step one and two, I had a general idea of which recruitment methods wouldn’t work for me. In my case, I knew that I needed younger people to volunteer for me, so I decided to use social media to spread the word about my organization and the cause we were working for. The target audience influences the recruitment method.

Use your social networks

4Before I started actively looking for volunteers with the help of the job description I created, I first decided to check if there was anyone in my social network who would be interested. And I was right because there were, indeed, people who gladly volunteered for some positions I was looking to fill.

Sometimes, the best candidates could be very close and we just don’t pay enough attention to realize that. I asked my colleagues, friends, and even family members. Then, I asked my current volunteers, clients and individuals who were affected by the problem I was trying to solve.

Target the right volunteers

5Once I filled in some roles after asking around, I started looking for volunteers directly. I first looked in schools and universities as they are usually full of enthusiastic young people. I got in touch with the Student Service departments of such institutions in my area.

I also asked some local businesses, clubs and community groups. I found some volunteers at these places, too, as there are always many companies looking for opportunities. Company volunteering is a very popular practice.

Offer opportunities online

6While my first two methods of looking for volunteers were effective, I still wanted to find even more potential candidates. This is why I decided to look online and offer opportunities there. But unlike the first two methods, this one had its own advantages.

Looking for volunteers online can help find the professionals who can’t be found by simply asking around. Most employees in serious companies don’t have enough time for volunteering, so reaching them online is a better approach than doing so in person.

Explore small-scale volunteering

7Small-scale volunteering or micro-volunteering is based on the concept of people being able to volunteer for smaller periods of time to perform fewer tasks. This idea of micro-volunteering has gained popularity in recent years, so it’s worth trying out.

The aim of micro-volunteering is to make the whole process of volunteering easier. People are given a series of small tasks that they can complete at any time and places the way the volunteers themselves want to.

Nonprofit organizations get many opportunities from micro-volunteering as the tasks they offer can range from spreading a petition to collecting rubbish in the local park. It doesn’t take too much time and doesn’t place as much of a demand on the volunteers or the organization.

Set out the expectations for the position

8To make the volunteers in my organization happy, I clearly communicated my expectations to them. Sharing the expectations about the project you are working on is essential for the volunteers to feel like they are valued and to understand the cause they’re working on behalf of.

Every nonprofit has its own expectations and predictions about what will be the result of its actions and campaigns. These concepts about the future must always be shared with the volunteers so there is a clear aim in their heads.

Make it enjoyable & monitor their performance

9The secret ingredient to making the volunteering enjoyable is to make it fun and pay attention to your recruits. It’s important to get down to business in the right moments. However, joking around and enjoying the job is also a part of the process.

It’s crucial for the volunteers to be happy about working with the nonprofit. This will make them come back to help in the future. Returning volunteers are just as important as new recruits because they can teach the latter ones all they must know.

Final thoughts

It’s not that hard to attract volunteers for a good cause as long as there is some value to offer in return. This method worked for me and I am sure it will work for others who encountered the same challenges while looking for volunteers for their nonprofit organization.

The post How to attract the best volunteers for your nonprofit appeared first on Socialbrite.

For most nonprofits, the best ways to raise money online is with a fundraising email strategy (email revenue grew by 25% in 2015).

Yes, your donation page is absolutely important in terms of converting donors, but email is the most effective way to send qualified prospects to your donation page.

Email subscribers, by definition, have given you permission to tell them about your cause. Many times, they are waiting to be asked.

But are you asking effectively?

Here are four common fundraising email mistakes you should definitely avoid:

1. Blasting your list

All subscribers are not created equal.

When you blast your entire list with the same fundraising email, you risk alienating some of your most important supporters. For example, monthly donors and prospective donors should receive very different fundraising messages.

Tailoring your message for each audience will increase engagement and donations. This all starts, of course, with proper email segmentation.

2. Making it about you

Bragging about your nonprofit is not fundraising.

It’s easy to assume that people want to hear about your nonprofit since they joined your email list. But your nonprofit is simply an agent of change.

What supporters really want is to change the world in ways they care about. They want to be an active participant, not a sideliner.

Connect your donor to the impact by telling them what they did, not what your nonprofit did. Check out this example from ALS Worldwide:

3. Not welcoming new donors

Every time someone makes a donation, it’s the beginning of a relationship. You have to set the tone. You have to make a good first impression.

When someone gives, you should immediately thank them and reinforce the impact they just made. For example, check out this email from the Community Music Center of Boston:

4. Sending only one email

Email is very different from direct mail.

Direct mail is effective, quite frankly, because it sits around the house – on the kitchen counter, on the coffee table, in the bathroom. In other words, it creates a constant presence in the mind of the potential donor.

But email is very different. A single email is often deleted, ignored, or even unnoticed by potential donors. To create a constant presence about an appeal, you need to send multiple emails.

What else? What do you think?

The post 4 fundraising email blunders you should avoid appeared first on Socialbrite.

When we think of nonprofit branding, what generally comes to mind for nonprofit professionals is a process, often conducted by an outside agency to work on improving an organization’s brand. Many of the products that can come out of that creative process are a new logo, a competitive analysis, branding/style guide, a new website, all assets that can really generate a lot of excitement for your nonprofit and help align your mission, goals, and communication.

But what happens after the branding agency has been paid and you have a spiffy new website, logo, and some persuasive new messaging? How do we get our staff and directors on board with messaging and concepts that have emerged from this creative process? What can we do in the day-to-day of our work and routines as an organization to integrate that new brand into our work and ensure that it aligns and supports our values every day?

Below are five ways that you can keep your nonprofit brand alive and thriving from the inside and out.

Feedback

1Creative branding processes can be exciting and a bit controversial, causing apprehension on the side of some staff members and directors. Is it too different than what we had? Will it confuse program partners? Does it feel authentic? These are some of the questions that may arise along the way. That’s why it’s important to check in with them not only during the creative branding process but also afterward.

When the dust has settled and we’ve got our plans and new branding assets uploaded to the shared drive, how are they feeling about it now? Has anything changed now that we’re in the implementation stage?

You’ll have a better experience integrating your new messaging if your staff and directors are continually on board and feel confident moving forward with it. Does anyone feel uncomfortable proceeding and integrating any parts of the new branding or messaging? If so, why? Asking these questions is key to continual improvements on the living brand and also key to staff buy-in. It can also unearth a lot of useful information that can actually help you move forward.

Training

2There has to be more than the distribution of a style guide and messaging points to really get staff to learn how they can integrate the new branding into their daily work. Consider having a communications training on the new branding guidelines.

Discuss what parts of programmatic and donor messaging need to change and what areas don’t.

How do we integrate our new messaging in a way that feels authentic for everyone?

What parts of our boilerplate and core messaging has changed now and can we all agree to move forward in the way we speak about the organization, so there is consistency across all departments in the nonprofit?

Messaging Toolkit

3While you may have a new style guide, logo, and messaging, perhaps it’s time to revise or create an internal messaging toolkit that will make it much easier for staff members to access the new messages when staff members are writing a grant proposal or program update. Ask program staff how they think they’ll need help integrating the new messaging into their existing work. Ask your fundraising folks what they think will change when they meet with new donors now? Have them write out a few scenarios and include them in the toolkit. In this way, people feel armed, included in the process, and confident that they have a tool to help them move forward.

Accessibility

4I know this seems like a no-brainer, and for many, it will be, but can all staff members and directors access the new branding and toolkit easily? Is the shared drive a safe place for all or is it a messy, terrifying document vortex? I joke but in all seriousness, make sure your new branding assets aren’t located in a shared drive, in a communications folder within an agency folder, within a branding folder. At least for now, give it a prominent place, front and center, maybe even a colorful tag so that we all know where to go to find it.

Feedback

5I have “Feedback” on this list twice because once is never enough and I’ve found the internal continuous checking in of a nonprofit brand, is what makes the brand alive, hence a living brand. Like other alive things, it gets checked on periodically, we tweak as we go, we test, we ask questions if we feel something sounds clunky or isn’t getting the response we seek.

Have we asked our partners or trusted donors for feedback on the new brand yet – is it working for them? Outside checks with trusted partner organizations can lead to some great insights along the way.

Does it still feel core to who we are? If so, why? If not, why not?

Has your organization worked on “living the brand” and doing brand checkups periodically? If so, have you found value in it? Let me know in the comments!

The post 5 ways to create a living nonprofit brand appeared first on Socialbrite.

By Laura Mahler
Gaia Visual

Some methods of storytelling are more fruitful than others. And non-profits rely heavily on being able to tell their story really well.

For instance, studies into online donor activity reveal that video is currently the hot ticket to accessing hearts and minds: with a 64% higher response rate to ‘Calls To Action’ after watching, as opposed to other formats.

A tweet with an image will get around 150% more retweets than one without – imagery is one of the strongest means of storytelling in our world today.[1]

And prospective donors tell us this is true — 91% of audiences prefer visual or interactive messaging.[2]

Visuals provoke emotion and reaction in different ways to words. They capture moments that some words cannot. They have been used to tell some of the hardest stories in history, and illustrate horrors and atrocities across borders and languages.

Those seeking change have used images show these to the world. However, we are seeing that, over time, this method loses impact. In many cases, it is too easy to avert eyes and ignore the poster, message or advert. Too much, or for too long, and our emotional sponge becomes saturated with other people’s suffering.[3]

If someone has heard it before, it can be almost impossible to arouse a high emotional response and stimulate reaction. And statistically, those encouraged to act by guilt are unlikely to reengage. They seek to pay their dues and close the book.[4]

Instead, coinciding studies are finding that people want to share the stories & videos with their friends and followers that gave them a happy buzz.

These are positive stories: those with solutions or constructive arguments on world problems. These are the ones most likely to spread outside of normal news feed bubbles.[5]

Also, viewers will spend longer in general on stories that are more balanced and optimistic.[6] Brain mapping also shows consumers remember them for longer after viewing, again with the desire to share stories they think their peers will respond to.[7]

This all accumulates to mean that solutions-based visual storytelling is in many ways superior for reaching more diverse groups of people.

And maybe most importantly for the storyteller: this method leaves people feeling more empowered and incentivised.

Vast survey results into this show 12% more motivation and 10% more connectivity to their community after seeing balance and optimism.[8] When people feel involved, and see the payback of efforts others are making and the potential payback of their own actions, they are evidently more motivated to act, than when shown suffering and hardship – especially when served up in the enormous, ever ‘refresh’able soup of disaster headlines and bad news.

This is huge, ground-level, online activism. And it’s accessible and actionable by the billions of people online every day.

Positivity itself feeds physical and practical action, and this action actually continues to feed a personal positive outlook for an individual. This creates, for them, a powerful loop of positive action and, for the world, a powerful loop of positive change.[9]

Notes

[1] https://sumo.com/stories/visual-storytelling-marketing

[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/04/02/visual-content-the-future-of-storytelling/#4549af4d3a46

[3] Courtney Seiter (2014). The Science of Emotion in Marketing

[4] Natalie Nezhati (2014) Have the public had enough of manipulative charity marketing? New Internationalist Blog

[5] Jonah Berger, Contagious: Why Things Catch On

[6] https://www.constructivejournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Publishing-the-Positive_MA-thesis-research-2016_Jodie-Jackson.pdf

[7] http://cn.isr.umich.edu/publications.html

[8] http://michellegielan.com/resources/research/

[9] https://www.constructivejournalism.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Publishing-the-Positive_MA-thesis-research-2016_Jodie-Jackson.pdf

Laura Mahler tells visual stories for and about nonprofits, NGOs, charities – really anyone doing something to make the world a bit better! If you’d like to see how she can tell your story, you can see her work on Instagram @gaiavisual and @filmthechange or visit Gaia Visual website.

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You have big goals you’d like to achieve. But many of these goals have been on your list for the past few years.

If you’re so smart, why can’t you accomplish your goals? You’re smart, passionate and hard-working. But some days, you realize you did nothing towards your important goals.

What does it really take to achieve your goals? If it’s not brains, passion and hard work, what is it?

An 18-minute habit for getting important things done

Check out “18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done” by Peter Bregman.

It’s a pragmatic and entertaining book that can help you focus on what’s truly important, by practicing a simple 18-minute habit:

• Step 1 (5 Minutes) Set Plan for Day. Before turning on your computer, write down a short list of things you will do towards your big goals. Schedule these into your calendar, with the most important items in the morning.
• Step 2 (1 minute every hour) Refocus. Set an alarm to ring every hour. When it rings, ask yourself if you spent the last hour working on the items you wrote down in step 1. Were you productive? If not, recommit to winning during the next hour. Repeat this exercise every hour until the end of the work day. (disclosure, I’ve found that an alrm going off every hour creates more stress than it’s worth, so I checkin and refocus every 3 hours).
• Step 3 (5 minutes) Review. And the end the day, take time to review how you did. How did you find your focus? Where did you get distracted? How can you be more productive tomorrow?

Imagine feeling more happy and productive!

Rituals like the one described above make big changes in our lives because they change how we go about changing.

If you practice this 18-minute habit, I mean actually do it, you’ll get more done AND feel happier and more productive at the end of each day.

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Haters Back Off is one of my favorite recent Netflix shows. YouTube star Maranda Sings essentially plays herself – a terribly flawed individual hell-bent on fame and fortune, no matter what cost, in the age of YouTube. Two thumbs up.

On her way to becoming famous, Miranda has to deal with haters – online, in her family, and in her mind.

Haters gonna hate

So what is a hater? From the urban dictionary:

A person that simply cannot be happy for another person’s success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person.

Hater example:

How to Handle Haters on Social Media

As a nonprofit marketer, you are tasked with growing a community of dedicated supporters, while also creating a safe and respectful place for discussion.

As a community manager, you must have a plan for haters.

Here is my 5-phase plan for haters:

1. Have rules for haters

Set expectations for the community by stating clearly what’s ok and what’s not ok.

Your rules (aka social media commenting policy) should have three components:

1. Set the tone – Encourage lively discussion and invite a variety of differing opinions.
2. Set expectations – Clearly define the line that must not be crossed.
3. Consequences – People who repeatedly cross the line will be banned from posting comments.

Here’s an excellent example of a social media comment policy from the CDC:

A clear social media comment policy sets ground rules for your community while also helping moderators know when to delete comments or ban users.

2. Block hater comments

Protect your community from sticks and stones that haters like to throw.

Black, Jewish, LGBT, disability communities, etc. are all-too familiar with hate speech. Set up filters to block hateful or hurtful language from appearing in the first place!

For example, Facebook allows you to block hateful language in your Page settings:

If one of these words is used in a post or comment, it will not appear on your Page.

3. Ban haters

Many haters are repeat offenders. They feel better about themselves by making your nonprofit the bad guy.

Your rules should include a clear policy for banning repeat offenders.

The Humane Society clearly states theirs on Facebook:

• You can block haters on Twitter by selecting “Block” in the user actions on their profile.
  
• You can ban haters on Facebook by selecting “Ban” after hiding their comment.
  

4. Let your community deal with haters

Trust your community to moderate themselves. They will often deal with haters in strict but respectful ways.

Their responses to haters can range from simply correcting a fact, or taking part in a lively discussion. When this happens, let your community take the lead.

Your community is far more effective at changing minds (or at least defending your nonprofit) than you are.

5. Turn haters into lovers

Or at least likers.

Someone respectfully offering constructive criticism is not a hater. In many cases, they care as much as you do about the cause, but they have a different opinion.

If you shut down respectful criticism instead of engaging in constructive dialogue, you could turn those people into haters.Instead, use your wisdom to:

Instead, use your wisdom to:

1. Take a breath and come from a positive position.
2. Actively listen to those who respectfully disagree.
3. Express appreciation for their comment.
4. Seek to understand their position.
5. Quickly take action to correct or resolve the issue, if needed.

Often, feeling heard is enough to win them over, even though they still might disagree with you.

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