Cracking The Code: Media Relations 81809

Cracking the Code: Media Relations Mark Gilman President Decus Communications www.decusllc.com [email_address] Lisa Sommer Media Relations Manager Michigan Nonprofit Association www.MNAonline.org

Why Decus works for non-profits …
Lighthouse of Oakland County
Salvation Army
American Lung Association Midwest
Family Connection – Hope Hill
Sphinx Organization
Charlotte Rescue Mission
USO
Media Relations: Telling Your Story

What is your message?
If the goal is to increase donor gifts by 10%, most managers rush to main-stream mediums (radio, billboard, newsletters, and telemarketing) as a solution. What sounds good on paper may not actually work in practice.
This approach, utilizing for some an insider messaging, delivers a stream of messages from the organization to the targeted audience with little regard for their current circumstances. Without this understanding, the channel proposed may not be suitable for the intended audience.

By starting with the donor (outside-in) and their behavioral circumstances, you will effectively gain their attention, mind, and heart
When generating a marketing plan, start with your donor base and work your way back to the organization. This exercise will unveil the most direct and meaningful approach to achieving your objective. You might save yourself time, energy, and valuable resources in the process!
But here’s the caveat – new donors vs. current donors -Reliance on current donors without developing new donors (pipeline) is death for any non profit.

So you need to ask yourself, Is your organization’s message compelling and meaningful?
A lot of nonprofits utilize volunteers or “friends” who can acquire an occasional story in the local paper or regional magazine. And unfortunately it’s usually event driven.
If scarce monetary resources are one of your dilemmas, believe it or not, it’s actually less expensive to hire a marketing public relations firm to build earned media campaigns than it is to buy advertising.

What is your Value Proposition?
A value proposition (elevator speech) accomplishes two strategic objectives: Defines what your organization can do better than anyone else and secondly, why that’s important to the donor. If your mission/vision statement is not clear on that point, how can the rest of your organization and donor base feel the same way?
Ask your organization:
Does all your collateral material mirror what you do?
Are all of your people on message?
Differentiators?

Public Relations and Earned Media
Public Relations is the means in which you get your message out in a traditional sense.
TV
Radio
Newspapers
Magazines
E-newsletters
New Media – blogs, social networking sites, podcasts, YouTube
Earned media (or free media) is a category of Public Relations and refers to favorable publicity gained through promotional efforts other than advertising, as opposed to paid media . It’s specifically driven by positive word of mouth you don’t pay for. Either through online marketing and conversation, articles, and polling.

Public Relations and Earned Media
Earned media often refers specifically to publicity gained through editorial influence, whereas social media refers to publicity gained through grassroots action, particularly on the Internet . The media may include any mass media outlets, such as newspaper , television , radio , and the Internet, and may include a variety of formats, such as news articles or shows, letters to the editor , editorials , and polls on television and the Internet.

Overreliance on Statistics
Many nonprofits rely way too much on statistics and laundry lists. "We served 900 people, fed 3,000 families, transported 2,289 seniors, etc. etc." Readers are given no context to interpret such numbers.
But here’s the problem with numbers. Think of yourself as the consumer – the consumer here being donors, potential donors, politicians and people who want to give you grant money.
So thinking from their perspective - Is 900 good or bad? Is 3,000 more or less than last year? Is 2,289 more than nonprofits your size in comparable communities? Such numbers are numbing, not persuasive. Nonprofits have the most compelling stories in the world to share, and when they default to such laundry lists and abstractions, they forfeit their most precious communications asset: human stories of lives changed by the nonprofit's services.

Ask yourself, Is your organization’s message compelling and meaningful?
A lot of nonprofits utilize volunteers or “friends” who can acquire an occasional story in the local paper or regional magazine. And unfortunately it’s usually event driven.
If scarce monetary resources are one of your dilemmas, believe it or not, it’s actually less expensive to hire a marketing public relations firm to build earned media campaigns than it is to buy advertising.

I do have ONE caveat. IF you use numbers – USE SIMPLICITY.
This past Easter we put out a media alert for the Charlotte Rescue Mission about Easter feeding. Three sessions, do it every year, blah, blah. A lot of non profits feed the hungry in Charlotte. But we did a little math and determined we were actually going to dole out ONE TON of food. ONE TON. No zeroes, no decimal points, no percentage points. ONE TON .

You are a Brand
Every aspect of your messaging, both visual and intangible, should specifically point to your mission.
EVERY message you produce (business cards, newsletters, website, etc.) culminates into a single, brand position. Each additional layer of messages you generate are either acknowledged or disregarded by the donor based on your original pronouncement. Be mindful of the context and character your organization delivers.
When you think of Overnight Package Delivery, does Fed Ex come to mind? The Ultimate Driving Machine? Does BMW sound familiar? How about Just Do It? Try Nike.
UPS is my favorite example
On the Non-Profit side,
Breast Cancer
Salvation Army

Story Creation
The Heroes
Who are they? What are they trying to achieve? What person, historical figure or even animal might represent these heroes? The hero does not have to be you or your employees. He or she might be a supporter or someone we are trying to help.
The Villains
Every story needs a bad guy. Every struggle has to have a villain. Who stands in your hero's way? Are they identifiable individuals or a set of problems that can be personified in a character or person? Villains should be bad but you don't have to vilify them or personally attack other people.
The Catalyst
The catalyst is something or someone who shifts the balance and begins to resolve the conflict so that the hero can prevail. Who, or what, is the catalyst in your story? How can the listener of the story be the catalyst or help the catalyst to come about?

Definition: “the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings .”
- Ben Parr
http://www.benparr.com/2008/08/its-time-we-defined-social-media-no-more-arguing-heres-the-definition
In other words, social media describes the tools people use and the ways people share ideas online.
It’s about relationship building!
What is Social Media?

Building relationships with media and the public
Listening to what others are saying about your organization/cause/community need
Telling your story
Many Things Won’t Change…

Photo Sharing (Flickr)
Video Sharing (YouTube)
Social Networks (MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn)
*Social media will help you enhance traditional Public Relations efforts you are already doing.
The Tools Will Likely Change…

Social Media Tools
Social Bookmarking
Photo Sharing
Podcasting and Video
Blogging
Feed Reading & Sharing
Social Networking

What tools are you currently using?
How do these tools advance your mission or support your strategic plan?
What About You?

SERVE STRENGTHEN TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES http://www.commoncraft.com A Great Resource for Basic Videos:

Social Media in Plain English
http://commoncraft.com/socialmedia
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE
www.diosacommunications.com/nonprofit.htm - Various guides and webinars to online social media sites for nonprofit organizations

Connect with media through social media tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Opportunity to directly connect with the public – legislators, advocates, community leaders, etc.
Building the Relationship Virtually

Social Media Release (template: http://www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/smr_v1.5.pdf )
Photos – host virtually
Videos – host virtually
RSS feed
Online Newsroom
Basic Steps

Campaign Example
Special Olympics – Spread the Word to End the Word campaign http://www.r-word.org/
3.8 Million Impressions
55,000 Facebook Users
+ 10,000 Pledges
+ 100 Blogs
1,200 Tweets
16,000 Video Views

Examples – Nonprofits Using Social Networking Sites Facebook causes - Lupus Foundation http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2009/07/28/a-facebook-success-story-from-the-lupus-foundation-of-america/ Lupus Foundation increased online donations by 790% Special Olympics http://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympics Facebook App - Nature Conservancy & Lil Green Patch http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=7629233915#/apps/application.php?id=7629233915&v=info&viewas=0 $210,000 donated total by the Lil Green Patch community

Podcasting and Video
A program made available as a downloadable digital file. Typically a collection of all shows or episodes of a particular program series.
Videos can be uploaded to sites like YouTube.
To capture podcast – download to computer or MP3 player
Opportunity to tell your story in your words!
YouTube Nonprofit Channel – apply if you qualify! http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits
Call to action overlay
Donate button

Examples Charity: water – raised $10,000 from YouTube overlay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEnlrE4iMBU The Hiedelberg Project – campaign launched this week http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHGZPgPWw1M&feature=autoshare_twitter Special Olympics - Spread the Word to End the Word campaign http://www.r-word.org/ Southeastern MI Community Foundation: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCFSEM

http://www.youtube.com/nonprofits YouTube Nonprofit Channel Program

Blogs
Web site usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Reverse-chronological order
Ability for feedback
Opportunity to tell your story in your words!
Blogs in Plain English:
http://commoncraft.com/blogs
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI

Example - Blogs
Carbonfund.org:
http://www.carbonfund.org/blog/about-us/carbonfundorg-reaches-1000-followers/
Michigan Nonprofit Association
http://mnaonline.wordpress.com/
-Can contain a fundraising widget for raising money

Microblogging
A form of blogging comprised of user-created brief updates ~ 140 characters
The truncated nature of the updates allows for less sifting and faster, more direct transmission of information
Can be used as a sounding board, peer forum, news feed, etc. Must be interactive!
Relationship building!

Twitter in Plain English http://commoncraft.com/twitter or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o TwitCause http://twitter.com/TwitCause Twestival http://twestival.com/get-involved/

Charity: water http://www.charitywater.org/media/twitter_backgrounds.htm
Special Olympics - Spread the Word to End the Word Campaign http://twitter.com/FanCommunity
Grand Rapids GiveCamp http://twitter.com/grgivecamp
Carbonfund http://twitter.com/carbonfundorg
Example

Photo Sharing
Photos can be uploaded to sites like Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket;
tagged
Grouped
shared
Tagging allows photos to be organized by subject matter
Groups allow multiple users to upload photos that share a common theme
Examples: http://www.flickr.com/people/39938299@N05/

SERVE STRENGTHEN TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES http://www.flickr.com/MNAOnline Photo Sharing

What Is Social Bookmarking? vs. + + Traditional bookmarking Social bookmarking

SERVE STRENGTHEN TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES http://delicious.com/MNAOnline

Social Bookmarking – How Can It Be Used?

Examples
Special Olympics: Spread the Word to End the Word www.r-word.org
The Heidelberg Project http://heidelberg.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HeidelbergProject
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HeidelbergProj
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40887152@N07/
Lupus Foundation of America http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LupusOrg
Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/1510
Blog: http://lfa-inc.blogspot.com/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lupusfoundationofamerica/sets/

Examples
Carbonfund www.carbonfund.org
Blog: http://www.carbonfund.org/blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Carbonfundorg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carbonfund
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan http://www.cfsem.org/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCFSEM
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nonprofits#/pages/Community-Foundation-for-Southeast-Michigan/123865660803?ref=ts
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cfsem

Thank you!
Mark Gilman
President
Decus Communications
[email_address]
Lisa Sommer
Media Relations Manager
Michigan Nonprofit Association
[email_address]

Cracking The Code: Media Relations 81809

by Michigan Nonprofit Association Online

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