Marketing 101 Archives - Page 8 of 10

Jolkona’s Social Media Goodness

August 5, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

Every once in awhile, you come across an organization and you think: “Dang, they’ve got it going on!” One Day’s Wages, Not for Sale, and the Surfrider Foundation all come to mind. (And keep your eye on a child’s right if you want to see some serious awesomeness…)

Seattle-based Jolkona is one of those can’t-take-my-eye-off-of-you organizations. And Laura Kimball, their Director of Communications & Social Media, elevates “social media goodness” to new levels. So I asked if she’d be willing to tell us how Jolkona has used social media to go from relative obscurity to can’t-be-missed powerhouse in such a short period of time.

Here are her top tips:

DO be human: This isn’t a new piece of advice, per se, but Laura and Jolkona show you how to do it on a platform like Twitter, which many think of as a glorified spambot fueled by ego-maniacal dolts.
DO get management genuinely on-board. Again, we’ve heard this before, but Laura explained how. Position it as an extension of your other efforts, as a logical extension of existing conversations, instead of New, Shiny, Possibly Distracting thing. If you’re meeting resistance, try something small and show the results. Make it easy for them to see how it relates to organizational goals and invite them into the conversation.
DO measure. Laura first joined Jolkona as a volunteer. She spent six months trying, tracking, and bench marking. Then she knew what worked and what didn’t. Which topics got the most comments on their Facebook page? Which Tweets sparked interest? Which blog posts got people excited? It’s not enough to have a bunch of fans and followers–engagement drives action which leads, eventually, to results (whatever that means for your organization). Measure early and often.
DO train volunteers well. It’s tempting to bring on volunteers and expect that they’ll just handle all the social media, liberating you to do other tasks. Laura explained that it doesn’t work that way. Her advice? “Make sure they’re social media savvy. This is easy to figure out because you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook, etc. You can tell if they genuinely love social media.” Once you’ve found a volunteer who is enthusiastic about social media AND your mission, plan on some QT. “Sit side by side with them at first. Explain to them why you use certain words and not others. Share your philosophy. For instance, Jolkona will never use .@ to get into someone’s stream. We care about conversations, not getting noticed. These nuances are what create your on-line personality and that reflects your values. Volunteers shouldn’t have to guess that stuff. Take the time to train them.”
DO create a social media persona. Are you a 26 year old music-crazy tech geek or a 57 year old gardening fiend? This informs both which channels you chose and how you act when you’re there. The persona can be used on-line and off to bring consistency across platforms.
DO give people trust, access, empowerment, autonomy and accountability if you ask them to contribute to your social media efforts. Laura uses these five elements as a filter. “When something isn’t going well, it’s usually because one of these isn’t happening,” Laura explains matter-of-factly. “And so we fix it.”
DO play! “No one has this all figured out. That’s what makes it fun. Try stuff. Social media is very forgiving. If you mess up, say so, and move on,” Laura counsels.

When I asked Laura what the biggest challenge she’s faced so far has been, she laughed and said, “Giving up control of Jolkona’s Twitter handle. Since it had been me from the beginning, it was scary to open it up. But it’s going great! It had to happen.”

A big THANK YOU to Laura for giving us access to her great, big brain. Check out Jolkon’s site for a serious dose of inspiration.

Tell us: In your social media experiments, what have you tried that has worked well or totally flopped?

Seth Godin in Seattle

June 24, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

Seth Godin’s brain processes information at warp speed. Today, members of his tribe–myself included–got to see his brain in person. Well, we didn’t actually see his brain because that would be icky, but we got to see his brain in action. Meaning he answered questions for 2 hours straight.

The questions ranged from personal (e.g. how do you produce so much quality content every day?!) to thought-provocating (e.g. from Lara Feltin, Co-Founder and CEO of Biznik who asked about assets and freemiums). Here were some of my favorite quotes and take-aways:

“Find music for your listeners, not listeners for your music.” In other words, bring as much value as you can to people who are already engaged with your organization, rather than chasing after people who may or may not be interested. Susan Howlett and other fundraising thought leaders have been pounding the ‘retention’ drum for quite awhile. Seth would definitely second that.

“Let’s slather some Facebook on that.” This was probably my favorite quote of the morning. Facebook is huge and nonprofits should be using it to its full advantage. However, Facebook isn’t a silver bullit. Yes, you’ve heard this before…but have you ever thought that maybe you’re using Facebook as a scapegoat for a poorly designed (or not done) marketing plan?

“You can’t build a brand on-line. You can build the privilege of getting someone’s attention.” Seth is all about permission marketing. This is in sharp contrast to interruption marketing (think TV ads before DVRs and mute buttons), which was how all those mad men made bank. Permission takes time, yet it is enduring. For mission-driven organizations constantly worried about cash flow, this can be a tough pill to swallow. However, if you’re focused on bringing music to your listeners, it makes a ton of sense.

If you were there, what stuck out for you. If you weren’t there, anything you wish you could’ve asked Seth?

Leaders & Doers

June 21, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

At today’s Tune-Up Tuesday meet-up, leadership came up again and again. It’s one thing to set strategy and it’s another thing to implement the strategy. Marketing strategy is decided by leadership (usually) and marketing implementation is done by managers, coordinators, assistants, etc. (usually).

The thing is once you start implementing you put the strategy to the test. And sometimes it doesn’t pass the test so you need to revisit. And this is where it can go sideways.

For the one doing the implementation (a.k.a. the ‘doer’), they need input/buy-in from leadership. But it can be nigh onto impossible to get their attention if it’s not ‘strategy season’.

So what’s a doer to do? Make a specific, actionable suggestion for how to course correct and show exactly how it ties to organizational goals.

Example: Our fundraising goal for the year is to increase our median gift size from current donors. However, our Facebook objective is to acquire new donors. Given our limited resources, I suggest we adjust our Facebook strategy so that we deepen relationships with current donors rather than attract new ones.

Be concise and specific. Be clear on which changes require leadership sign-off and which ones the doer can venture forth and figure out. Role clarity is key.

Related note: The more your organization uses social media, the more you should be open to failure. It takes a lot of tinkering to figure out what works. If you’re afraid of failure, you won’t tinker. If you don’t tinker, you won’t figure out what works. Permission to fail is one of the biggest gifts a leader can give.

Lady Gaga on Nonprofit Marketing

June 17, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

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?

Portlandia Do Gooders

June 6, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

Last Friday, I found myself surrounded by 35+ of Portland’s most impressive do-gooders in the board room of the United Way of Columbia-Willamette. And they are doing some serious good, let me tell ya!

I was there thanks to an invite from WVDO and Creative Cares. We covered a lot of territory in our 7 hours together (here’s the Prezi so you can see what I mean) and this group gave me lots to think about. Here are a few of those thoughts:

Strategy THEN marketing: We started by setting marketing goals (a.k.a. 1E on the 1, 2, 3 Marketing Tree.) It never fails that some folks get really stuck on this part. Marketing is a means to an end. If you don’t know what the end is, it’s mighty hard to know how to get there. Look to your strategic plan or fundraising plan for goals that marketing might help you achieve. If you can’t clearly articulate your goals, stop spending resources on marketing. (Seriously. Stop. Now.) Use those resources to identify your goals and then turn back to your marketing.
Progress ≠ Change: We all want to make progress–it’s fun and gratifying! But we rarely want to make change. Change is uncomfortable. When you introduce something new–e.g. a new way to talk about your organization–expect resistence. Plan for that resistence.
Manage expectations: We were all fortunate that Ash Shepard, of NPower NW’s Portland office, was able to join us on Friday to share his wisdom and insight on using social media in your marketing. One of the points that really stood out was how mindfully we need to manage people’s expectations when we use social media. For instance, if you have a presence on Facebook but you really want to build community on your blog, say so. If you just have up a Facebook page without letting us know what to expect from it, we will expect that you have the same intentions as everyone else, i.e. to use Facebook to build community. If that doesn’t happen, we’re disappointed. Disappointment erodes trust. And that’s not good for anybody.

If you were at the training, what are your thoughts? If you couldn’t make it, do any of these points hit home or do they miss the mark for you?

The Story of Lance

May 23, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

When you tell your story, or the story of your organization, your believers see themselves as part of it. Honor that because you might just be someone’s story of hope.

Here’s what I mean.

In July 2000, my mum was bald. She had just gone through chemo for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She now has all her hair and is happy and healthy–thank goodness!

At the time, however, we didn’t know if the chemo would be successful. I was training for a marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team-in-Training. I needed a little hope to keep me going.

And so, when we found ourselves a few kilometres away from the Tour de France that summer, we trekked to see it. I didn’t know the first thing about cycling. That didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to see the peloton. I was going to see what cancer could look like on the other side of chemo. I was going to see hope on a bike. I was going to see Lance Armstrong.

Ever since that fated day, I have been one of Lance’s biggest fans. He is wowerful to watch on a bike and he has created an awareness about cancer that is rivaled only by Komen. His name has become synonymous with cancer, hope and living strong.

Lance’s story of hope became my story of hope. It was a story about being able to not just survive cancer, but to thrive in its wake. It was a story about coming back from cancer and conquering mountains–both literally and figuratively–on sheer will, hard work and determination.

Then came last night’s 60 Minutes with its allegations and testimonials about doping. This is not the first time Lance has been accused of doping. Not by a long shot. (Skewering Lance has practically become a national sport in France.) The allegations have always been part of the story. As a believer, however, I simply convinced myself that the allegations couldn’t possible be true. There was no room for doping in a story whose power was predicated on its epic nature.

Now it seems undeniable that the story of Lance includes doping, drugs and EPO. It may still be a story of hope, but it is no longer my story of hope.

How Lance handles these latest accusations will determine his legacy because they will be some of the most critical chapters in his story. Lance is a masterful marketer. Can he be an honest storyteller?

With the Greg Mortenson scandal in full swing, Lance would not be alone in the “fallen philanthropic hero” category. What will that do for the cancer community? If he hadn’t done the drugs, would he have won anyway? If he hadn’t won, would he have been able to raise as much awareness and money for the cause? Impossible to know.

What I know is that I probably need to start looking for another story of hope. If you have one, please let me know. You’ll make my day… and probably the day of a lot of folks whose story of hope was the story of Lance.

It’s Not About the Grim Reaper

May 20, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

May 19, 2011 was Planned Giving Day here in Washington state. I confess I only knew this because the Washington Planned Giving Council was kind enough to ask me to come present at their conference.

What I realized in preparing for my talk and at the conference (which included a great talk by Lawrence Henze of Blackbaud, who wittily shared info from their cornucopia of white papers and analytics) was that planned giving isn’t simply about the grim reaper. It’s about legacy.

That word–legacy–is interesting. We generally hear people talk about leaving a legacy. To me, “leaving a legacy” sounds like you’re leaving your luggage or leaving Las Vegas. It sounds passive and doesn’t inspire action… until you’re dead, at which time it’s tough to take action.

“Building a legacy”, on the other hand, sounds important and epic. It sounds like something worth doing something about. It makes me wonder how I can build one.

Often times, we take phrases for granted because we say them so often. If we’re going to inspire people to take action, we’ve got to constantly revisit the words and phrases we use–both those that are said and read. Otherwise, people might get stuck on the Grim Reaper and never get around to building their legacy.

Relativity, Narrowness and Names

March 22, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

My son, who is three and a bit, is obsessed with organizing things by size. Cups, toys, trains. Is the red cup bigger than the yellow one? Is the brown bear smaller than the white one? It’s all about relativity. Why is this?

At a workshop I gave in Bellingham on St. Patrick’s Day, I shared that there were 36.5 million people of Irish heritage in the U.S. That’s nine times the population of Ireland. Which number do you think they remembered at the end of the workshop: 36.5 or 9? That’s right, 9. And not just because it’s smaller. But because it was relative. We train our brains from a very early age to compare and contrast. Absolutes are tough to wrap our brains around. My son will not grow out of his penchant for comparing; he’ll grow into it.

We spent a fair amount of time at Tune-Up Tuesday thinking about relativity as it relates (ha, ha) to messaging.

Lesson: use relativity to your advantage so people remember your organization and mission.

Two other key take-aways from this month’s meet-up:

Personas are powerful. They are also hard to do. They force us to be specific and think deeply about one type of person who cares about our cause rather than the universe of people who might. Lesson: Deep and narrow beats shallow and wide when it comes to messaging.
Names matter. A lot. If your organization goes by an acronym, be consistent about using that acronym. If you have an acronym AND you use the full name, you’re managing two brands. That’s expensive and erodes brand equity. Lesson: When it comes to names and acronyms, use one or the other but not both.

For those that were there, anything to add? For those that coudn’t join, what were you hoping to cover?

The Belief-o-Meter

March 15, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

Deep pockets don’t necessarily mean big gifts.

A deep belief in why and how your organization does its work is a much better predictor of deep engagement–volunteering, advocating, donating.

That’s why we designed the Belief-o-Meter. It’s a silly (yet seriously effective) way of reminding you to focus on your Believers. They are the ones who can–and will–help you advance your mission most dramatically.

If all this talk of believers, agnostics and atheists has you baffled (or offended!), watch this vid. You’ll learn all about these three important target participants categories and also get a specific suggestion for how to use the Belief-o-Meter on a day-to-day basis.

Do you believe the Belief-o-Meter can help you achieve your mission?