We know that nonprofits rely on email and meetings for internal communications — in fact, they over-rely on them! I encourage you to add two different communications channels to your internal comms mix, in addition to email and meetings: Instant messaging, whether you use Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger/Workplace or some other similar…
What are your internal communications goals? Not sure? It’s time to figure it out and create some, just like you create goals for external communications. Nearly 40% of nonprofit communications staff say that internal communications to other staff and the board are an essential or high priority. For nearly everyone else, it’s a low or…
When communications directors are lobbying their executive directors to approve their enrollment in our Communications Director Mentoring Program, we will occasionally get questions like this: Will participating in this program guarantee this, that or the other? Executive directors who don’t really understand communications, marketing and fundraising Of course, the answer is No. Mind you, there…
If I were starting from scratch with social media, or revamping a social media strategy, here’s what I would focus on in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Facebook The majority of the content created for Facebook would be uploaded video and live streams. The majority of time spent on the platform would be in Groups.…
If the process of getting copy edited and approved is a bit of a nightmare at your nonprofit — or it’s just not as simple and efficient as it should be, you aren’t alone! During today’s webinar on the seven styles of nonprofit writing, I talked about coaching others on writing and working through collaborative…
My favorite definition of a story comes from The Elements of Persuasion: “A story is a fact, wrapped in an emotion, that compels us to take an action that transforms our world.” Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman All of the five words I have in bold are essential to nonprofit storytelling success. Your stories need…
I love this quote from Thomas L. Friedman: “In the world of ideas, to name something is to own it. If you can name an issue, you can own the issue.” This is an incredibly powerful strategy for those of you who feel like you should be in charge of various aspects of communications or…
Ever been asked to create a marketing strategy or a communications plan for your nonprofit without any further guidance? You aren’t alone! Let’s sort it all out, so you can figure out what you really need to create. First, let’s address the definitions. Right or wrong, marketing and communications are often used interchangeably in the…
Successful social media strategies demand authenticity. But what does that actually look like when you are juggling a million different tasks, trying your best to stay strategic, and work in a boring office environment that’s not exactly photogenic? Here are 15 ways to bring some authenticity by doing a quick recorded or live video or…
While Instagram is definitely a visual platform and photos are best, you can still manage a successful Instagram strategy without photography. Just take a look at the ACLU’s feed and stories. Most of the work they do is legal in nature, so it’s not like they have tons of great photography options. Instead, much of…
When you want someone to do something, you have to ask. And how you ask matters. Whether it’s clicking on a button or link to donate, volunteer, register or do anything else, when someone takes that action online, we call it a conversion. Conversion copywriting is one of the seven writing styles that all nonprofit…
If you are looking for marketing, fundraising, and communications inspiration outside the nonprofit sector, I suggest you look to political campaigns before looking at corporate ones. They usually start scrappy, focus on issues, and want to recruit individuals for small-donor donations, volunteering and advocacy. Sound familiar? Every time we have a presidential election in the…
