Whether she knew it or not, Lady Gaga offered some great advice to non profit marketers in a recent interview when she said, “There is magic in reality.”
Here’s how this relates to you: the reality of the person doing the marketing (that’s you, if you’re reading this) is different than the reality of the person to whom you are marketing. If you want to be able to engage people who care about your cause, you’ve got to figure out what the magic of their reality is. As forward and uncomfortable as it may sound, you’ve got to get in their heads.
If you are the one in charge of marketing your non profit, you–by definition–lack perspective. (No offense. It’s just how it is.) You’re thinking about, reflecting upon and proactively doing something about getting people’s attention. The person on the receiving end is wondering if they should have a second butterhorn for breakfast. They’re in a different head space. Your job is to get into their head space.
Here are two resources for helping you get into the heads–and hearts–of people who want to help you advance your mission:
- Here’s a super helpful article by non profit marketing pro par excellence, Nancy Schwartz of Getting Attention.
- And here’s a Tune Up Tuesday video that gives you a fun, easy exercise for putting the power of personas to work for you.
Have you made personas for your organization? Any other ideas for how to get in the heads of people who care about your cause?