Essential Nonprofit Communications Plan

It’s Really that Simple

March 15, 2012

Martha Wells Susie Bowie

The Essential Nonprofit Communications Plan

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion

that it has taken place.”

George Bernard Shaw

Let’s look at a plan.

What we’re covering today

• What’s a brand?• Your audiences• Message development• Goals vs. strategies• Tools & tactics

-Media relations 101 -Self-generated communication 101 -Successful partnerships

• Evaluation

How do you feel about plans?

Nonprofit Communicatio

n

Myths

Nonprofit Communication Myths & Stumbling Blocks

Myth 1:

“Because we do good work”

Myth 2:

“Who wouldn’t be interested?”

Nonprofit Communication Myths & Stumbling Blocks

Myth 3:

Your audience is everyone

Myth 4:

We need a billboard

What is a brand?

• What’s your nonprofit’s personality?

• What’s your position relative to competition?

• What brand characteristics are delivered well and not so well?

What’s in a communication plan?

M

The communications plan

• Situation Analysis

• SWOT

• Goals, Strategies, Tactics & Tactics

• Who’s responsible

• When it’s going to be done

The communications plan does NOT include

• Common sense

• Policies

• Internal processes (management)

PR & Marketing Basics

• Earned media• Paid media• Self-generated

communications

Communication does not equal management

Your Audiences

• Who are you talking to?

• What do you want them to know about you?

• What do you want them to do?

Emotion – Information - Motivation

Let’s do an exercise.

Did you just have a birthday?

Your 3 most important audiences.Are they internal or external?

Are you ignoring an important audience?

Internal Communication

Who are “internal” audiences?

Message

Staff

Clients

Board

External Audiences

Web

Exhibits

Members

Media

EducationPrograms

Publications

Donors Staff

Regulator

???

Peers

Clients

PublicOfficials

VolunteersBoard

It’s not rocket science!

MESSAGE

Making Internal Communication Work

Step 1. ASK! Need to know?

Want to know? Frequency? Method?

Step 2. PROVIDE!

Staff Meetings. E-Mail. Phone. Memos. Lunch room.

• Frequent & informal communication

• Formal presentations through Speaker’s Bureau

• Joining staff for donor meetings

• Sitting at tables at YOUR events

• Representing your organization at community events

Board Members are Ambassadors

Message Development

S

A few good message tests…

1. Is it personal?

2. Are you conveying uniqueness?

3. Is there a call to action?

4. Does it add value?

Where can people turn when they are

desperate for help with their housing

situation? Our team at the One Stop Center

provides friendly, caring, compassionate

assistance to people that come for help with

a wide variety of issues. No one chooses to

be homeless - it is not something young

children aspire to. But when it happens to

you or a loved one, we are here to provide

basic services and help people move on a

path to improve their situation, and

ultimately, to independence if possible.

Charis, age 12, was 20 pounds overweight and very

unhappy about it. Each day, she would endure

teasing and ridicule at the hands of her schoolmates.

She tried dieting but never seemed to have any luck.

At times, she even contemplated suicide. One day, a

counselor at the Boys & Girls Club gently suggested

that Charis try the Triple Play program. … After 4

months in the Triple Play program, Charis was at her

normal body weight and feeling very, very good

about herself. Her newfound love of fitness has even

led her to try out for the track team at school!

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and can happen at any age. It’s the 4th cause of death nationwide. More women die of stroke every year than of breast cancer. Approximately 2,800 strokes happen in Sarasota and Manatee counties annually. With over 8,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day for the next 19 years, that number will significantly rise!

Stories + Factsemotionheartconnectionself-identification

“proof”statisticsnumbersa need beyond one

Let’s do an exercise.

Is it your birthday next?

Creating a sound bite message for a new potential donor:

The 36-Hour Giving Challenge.

Goals vs. Strategies

Goal• What are you

trying to accomplish?

Strategies

• “Game plan” for accomplishing goals

Tactics & Tools

• Activities--how you execute your strategies.

Goals

• The outcome of what you’re trying to accomplish vs. how you will accomplish it

• What’s going to change as a result of your communications/ marketing?

• Linked to your organization’s organizational objectives

• SMARTSpecific Measureable Attainable Realistic Timely

S

Strategies

• Big picture approaches to meet your goal, supported by tactics and tools.

• Media Relations & Paid Media

Print media, TV/radio

• Self-generated messages Newsletter, annual report, brochures, flyers, direct

mail Website, E-news, Social media

• Strategic Partnerships With other nonprofits, with businesses, with government, etc.

Tactics and Tools

Media Relations 101

M

Reporters are people who like to…

• Be approached as individuals, not as a “blast”.

• Receive information in certain ways.

• Know you are considerate of their time.

• Be called back. Now.

• Be thanked.

You have a job to do. They have a job to do. Are you helping them do their job?

Know what is news.Know what is not news.

• Know the beats and how your story relate.

• Calendar items are NOT news!

• Is your pitch interesting to anyone outside of your organization?

TIP: Relate it to a national or local issue that’s big right now?

Message Development

More Info and Build to Conclusion

More Information

Information

More Info and Build to Conclusion

More Information

Information

Message Development

More Info and Build to Conclusion(Your Point = Your Message)

More Information

Information

More Info and Build to Conclusion(Your Point = Your Message)

More Information

Information

Your Message = Conclusion

More Info

Basic Info

Don

’t B

uild

You

r C

ase

Use the Inverted Pyramid

Self-Generated Communications101

S

Integrate, integrate, integrate

Step 1. The right message for the right audience

Step 2. Delivering your message in the way(s) they would like to receive it.

• Links, QR codes on printed material

• Links to website/ FB from e-news

• Sign ups for e-news on website, printed materials and direct mail

Oneness in look

“By the time you’re getting sick of your logo, your audience is just starting to associate it with you.”

Oneness in look

Style guide• Core values

• Color palette

• Typography

• How to use your logo

5 key questions for your website

1. Can visitors easily find contact information?

2. How many clicks does it take to get the information you’re seeking if you are… -a donor? -a volunteer? -a client?

3. Are there pictures of people?Are they smiling?

4. Are you maximizing SEO?

5. Is there too much text?

Quick guide to effective e-newsletters

The subject line

• “Our Newsletter: Volume XVI” Really?

• Make me want to open it

The content

• Short articles, clickable to your website.

• Use the “does anyone care?” test

• Doesn’t have to be all original

• Ask what people want!

Quick guide to effective e-newsletters

The look

• Easy to click through

• Pictures

• Two-column

The frequency

• Twice a month is enough

Fundamental Principles of Social Media

• Add value.

• Have a personality.

• If you’re pitching for a need, make it timely, relevant and urgent.

• Use your networks.

• Same principles of audience, goals and strategy apply.

The new Facebook timeline

•Large cover photo taking up much of the vertical space of the top screen.

•Can highlight a key post at the top of your timeline for up to 7 days (call to action)

•People can see what their friends are saying about your org.

Thanks, Nancy Schwartz!

Engagement vs. Numbers

What’s more important

How many fans, or the quality

of your interactions with them?

Leveraging partnerships for communication reach

• Develop a clear partnership agreement -Who takes the lead -Single point of contact -What items does everyone have input on

• Reaching “alignment”

• Joint press releases

• Be careful of “sharing” distribution lists.

Crisis Communications

M

What you need to know about a crisis

• It can happen to any organization.

• One spokesperson.

• “No comment” or “off the record” will come back to get you.

• The truth always wins. Make sure they hear it from you.

• People assume what they don’t hear directly.

EvaluatingYourEfforts

1.Did our messengers know the message?

2.Did our messages reach our audiences with minimal ambiguity?

3.Did you accomplish your goal?

The 3 Key Questions of Evaluation

Quantitative:• Google analytics (website)• Click-thrus & opens (e-newsletter)• Readership (print publications)• Facebook insights

Qualitative:• Surveys (formal, informal)• Action based

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

That’s it.

Any questions?