“I am an AmeriCorps memberand I will get things done.”

“AmeriCorps Serving Here”

• Identification as an AmeriCorps Program or Member: “…must explicitly state that the program is an AmeriCorps program and AmeriCorps members are the resource being provided.”

• The AmeriCorps Name and Logo: Name and logo on service gear and public materials (but not fundraising collateral or items for sale).

Why Communicate?

“The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: DECIDE what you want.”

- Ben Stein, author & comedian

Key to Your Planning:• What do you want them to know?• What action do you want them to take?

Marketing vs. Branding

Marketing & Communications– What’s our story?– Who is our audience?– What do we want them to do?– How can we best reach them?

“Branding is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

– Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

Branding Examples

“We’re in the Customer Service business—we just happen to fly airplanes.”

In a word: Safety

Reasons We Communicate

Internal Audiences:• Deliver our mission more effectively.

External Audiences:• Invest in our mission: money, time, other

resources.• Change a behavior.• Increase our visibility: new/more stakeholders.• Civic engagement: vote, participate.• Support those that support us.

The Problem with Nonprofits…

A famous brand’s slogan, if written by a nonprofit executive:

“While an occasional disinclination to exercise is exhibited by all age cohorts, the likelihood of positive health outcomes makes even mildly strenuous physical activity all the more imperative.”

What we need to say…

The founder of modern management said …

“Marketing is so basic that it cannot be a separate function. It is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final results, that is, from the stakeholder’s point of view.”

“Nonprofit marketing is a way to harmonize the needs and wants of the ‘outside’ world with the purpose, resources and objectives of the institution.”

A Marketing Plan

… should:• Distill and propel your mission, vision.• Coordinate branding and message.• Educate, increase visibility.• Provide framework for decisions.• Benchmark performance and justify your budget.• Support your strategies for fundraising.

What’s Our Story?

Tool:• Real Time Strategic Planning tool – info we must know

and be able to articulate

Assignment:• Complete the form – 10 minutes

Marketing Tips

1. Develop a marketing plan with specific, measurable and realistic goals.

2. Build your brand by distinguishing your organization from others.

3. Frame your message to be relevant to your audience and make sure messages are memorable.

4. Use storytelling as a technique to inspire your audiences and personalize your organization’s messages.

5. Add communications to all grant requests.

Philanthropy

Cultivation

A brief introductory statement about the organization (your 30-second elevator speech).

How many people you serve, where, and how.

A recent success story you can use to illustrate the relevance of your organization.

How the person you’re talking to can support the organization.

Asking

Understand and speak to the WIIFM• Altruistic• Economic• Legacy

What about them identifies with your work?

What tools are you using or leaving with them?

Call to Action

Don’t lead with what drives you.

Lead with what moves them.

“Why me?” - Why should they care?

“Why now?” - Why a donation is needed right now.

“What for?” - Describe the impact of their gift.

“Who says?” - Use testimonials.

Stewardship

Staying in touch:• Quarterly• Diversify: phone, email, event, USPS• Staff and Board participation

Brand Ambassadors

Communication Vehicles

What are yours?• E-blasts, emails• Website, blog• Direct Mail: newsletters, fliers• Events and Presentations (in-person)• Social media: Facebook, Twitter• Video (YouTube)• Media and Public Relations• Texting• Phone calls, phone bank• Paid advertising

Social Media: Facebook

• 1.19 billion users worldwide• 73% of the U.S. adult population• Average time spent of Facebook per visit: 20 minutes• Average number of daily Facebook “likes”: 4.5 billion

Requirements for successful usage:• Average of 3-5 posts per week.• Consistent engagement with comments, likes and

shares to encourage followers to interact with the page.• Time spent: 2-4 hours per week

Hashtags: Facebook

You can also click on hashtags that originate on other services, such as Instagram. Every hashtag on Facebook has its own unique URL. Search for a specific hashtag from your search bar, for example, #NBAFinals or type facebook.com/hashtag/xxx into your browser (replace the x's with the tag you want to look up).

Social Media: Twitter

• More than 270 million active users.• 500 million tweets are sent per day.

Requirements for successful usage:• Average of 3-5 posts per day.• Good mix of original content, re-tweets and

replies.• Regular tracking of current topics on Twitter,

scanning newsfeeds and finding things to re-tweet.• Time spent: 1-2 hours per day

Hashtags: Twitter

• How to Use Hashtags– Don't string too many words together with a

single hashtag.– If you tweet with a hashtag on a public

account, anyone who does a search for that hashtag may find your tweet.

– Don't #spam #with #hashtags. Don't over-tag a single tweet.

– Use hashtags only on tweets relevant to the topic.

Website Example: City Year

“Federal investments in City Year are highly leveraged to ensure a maximum return on the taxpayer dollar.  For every federal dollar invested in City Year through AmeriCorps, an additional four dollars are raised in matching support through private and local resources.”  

Website Example: CAP Center

“With the help of AmeriCorps members, strategies such as home visitation, nurturing parenting, family resource centers, academic enrichment/school readiness, and foster youth mentoring can be addressed.”

Top 10 Uses of Visuals

1. Infographics

2. Enhance story telling

3. Highlight quotes and facts

4. Create a collection (think Facebook album).

5. Memes

Memes

Are often about showing our humorous side:

Top 10 Uses of Visuals, cont.

6. Document events

7. Showcase behind-the-scenes activities.

8. Make your website shine.

9. Organize and direct (e.g., spruce up website and emails with visual cues to help donors and supporters find what they need).

10.Spread the love.Network for Good

If it is a Pitch for Funding

Key Elements of Your Pitch• The problem you’re working to solve• The solution you offer• Why now?• What’s your mission and and how does it fit?• Who else does what you do / how are you different?• How have you tested your idea / approach?• What’s your impact / how do you measure?• What do you need?

Direct Mail

DO• Invest time in your database.• Include a call to action that is specific and immediate.• Use an emotional hook.• Personalize your appeal vs. “Dear Friend”.• Give donors option of online giving, even in print pieces.• Pay attention to detail.

DON’T• Make solicitations the only form of communication.• Be sporadic.

Media Relations – Do’s

Is it Newsworthy?

Do you have a Media Kit on your website?1. Make sure spokesperson has media training.

2. Have policy re who responds to media inquiries.

3. Know the media reps before you need them.

4. Make it easy for media to reach you, and respond timely.

5. Be brief.

6. Be on time.

7. Avoid jargon.

8. Be helpful, even if you need to refer them to another source.

Media Relations – DON’Ts

1. Ask to review or approve story before its published.

2. Say “no comment”.

3. Ask to speak off the record.

4. Ignore a reporter’s request for an interview.

5. Contact more than one reporter at same news org without telling them.

6. Have more than one person pitch the same news org.

7. Schedule a press conference unless you have news that warrants significant coverage.

Print Ad Principles

1. Capture reader’s attention like a stop sign and direct it like a roadmap.

2. Make an emotional connection before attempting to convey information.

3. Write headlines that offer a reason to read more.

4. Use pictures to attract and convince.

5. If you want people to read your text, make it readable.

6. Test before; measure after.

7. When everyone zigs, it’s time to zag.

Source: When Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes

PSAs

It is key that your language is simple and vivid:

1. A 30-second PSA is 60-75 words.

2. A 20-second PSA is 40-50 words.

3. A 15-second PSA is 30-35 words.

4. A 10-second PSA is 20-25 words.

“Not everyone can be a foster parent, but anyone can help a foster child.” – just 14 words!

Questions?

Thank You!

Kim Tucker

Executive Director, 3fold Connect

Connect is a community-building enterprise of 3fold Communications

kim@3foldcomm.com

Twitter: ketchkim

Direct phone: 916-569-8556