Content Creation Strategies for Nonprofits

Content Creation Strategies for Nonprofits Making the Most of Your Writing, Photos, Etc.

Want to Hear the Recorded Webinar? These slides come from a one-hour webinar I presented on July 23, 2009. Would you like to watch the recording and download the handouts, templates, etc.? Kivi Leroux Miller EcoScribe Communications and Register for a free membership at Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com to access these files and other free nonprofit marketing downloads.

Nonprofits Have Always Needed Content Newsletters, donor appeals, thank you letters, your website, and program materials are like bottomless buckets. Flickr: Tracy Hunter

And Social Media Makes It Worse And now you have to update your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc. too. Flickr: couragextoxlive

You Have Waaaay to Much to Do Flickr: sashaW

And Never Enough Time to Do It! Flickr: laffy4k

Content Creation as a Symphony Some people like this metaphor: content = musical notes; you = conductor. Flickr: PeteWright

Content Creation as Make-Ahead Meals I think this one works better for the overworked and underpaid! Flickr: pieterjanviaene

The Three Steps Flickr: Tiberiu Ana 1. Think Ahead & Get Organized 2. Make It & Bake It 3. Reheat & Remix It

1. Think Ahead & Get Organized

Who’s Hungry? Flickr: freeparking Who needs feeding, through which channels, and how often?

How Much 100% Fresh Content? Shoot for 50% and adjust from there Think about when you’ll reheat or remix it to get the other 50%. Flickr: nmarritz

Keep Track on Your Editorial Calendar Filling out your editorial calendar is like planning your menus for the week or month. Flickr: burningkarma

Pick a Realistic Time Frame • Quarterly • Monthly • Weekly Flickr: tanakawho

Several Ways to Organize Calendar • By Channel • By Audience • By Program • By Format (e.g. Standing Heads) Flickr: ifindkarma

Register at nonprofitmarketingguide.com to download this template.

Clearly Mark Priorities • Must Do • Like to Do • Fine to Bump Flickr: Sleeping Sun

Organize Your Ingredients Use categories, tags, and folders to organize your ingredients, including web pages, photos, etc. Flickr: Collin Anderson

My Favorite Tools • Delicious.com • Labels in Gmail • Also try: – Evernote.com – Webnotes.net

2. Make It & Bake It

Finding Ideas Inside • Brainstorming • Mind Mapping • Holding Pen or Tickler File (use those tags!) • Stories • Archives • Web and Email Stats Flickr: alexandralee

Finding Ideas Outside • Social media listening tools • Surveys • Aggregators (e.g. Alltop.com) • Mainstream media headlines • Trade news Flickr: farleyj

Go Long or Go Short • Both work for first use of the material. • Cut or stretch when you reheat/remix. Flickr: Robyn Gallagher

Got Writer’s Block? • Lists • How To’s • Reviews • Tips • Opinion • Q & A Interviews Flickr: psyberartist

Who Can Help Create Content? • Guest columnists • Experts • Board members • Partners • Clients Flickr: AlishaV

Managing Contributors • Make your expectations clear • Spell out the process • Give yourself a little cushion Flickr: DrBacchus

Putting Social Media into the Mix “Social media boils down to the marriage of two main concepts — content and conversation. Without content, conversation is mere networking. Without conversation, content is dead. It goes nowhere.” ~ Brett Virmalo Tippingpoint Labs http://blog.tippingpointlabs.com/2009/07/ Flickr: charlietphoto social-media-experts-dont-understand-social-media/

The Conversation as the Content • Highlight trending topics • Publish Q & A • Summarize debate Flickr: Kris Hoet

Let Conversations Bake into Content • Throw something out there and see what develops • Ask questions! • Refine your ideas based on comments, then write. Flickr: ifindkarma

My Favorite Tools • Blogging (Wordpress.org/com) • Live Radio & Podcasting (BlogTalkRadio.com) • Webinars (GoToWebinar.com) • Cheap Video Recorder (Flip, Sony Webby) • Screencasting (Camtasia, GoldMail.com) • Flickr - Creative Commons “By” License Flickr: Southern Foodways Alliance

3. Reheat & Remix It

Fearing Repetition? Flickr: CarbonNYC • Repetition has its benefits in marketing • But don’t just reheat all the time; remix too.

Go Back to Your Editorial Calendar • Reheat/Remix: – Into Different Channels – For Different Audiences

Make the Short Stuff Longer Add • Examples • Descriptive Details • Quotations • Opposing Points of View Flickr: Robert S. Donovan

Make the Long Stuff Shorter • Use just the headline as status update • Reduce paragraphs to bullets • Pull a teaser out with link to longer piece Flickr: Brian Teutsch

Change the Lead • Start article in a whole new way Flickr: Declan TM

Change the Perspective • Tell it from another point of view Flickr: nickfarr

Change the Format • Live Audio > Recorded Audio > Transcript > Text Everywhere Edit article into a • How-to • List • Opinion • Review Flickr: roger.karlsson

My Favorite Tools • Simultaneous Social Media Updating & Scheduling (TwitterFeed, Selective Twitter. Also ping.fm, HootSuite, TweetLater) • Transcribing Audio (VerbalInk.com) Flickr: Southern Foodways Alliance

Benefits of This Approach • Less Frazzled • More Time and Focus on Creating Great Content • Better Message Consistency across Channels You’ll still be on the content creation treadmill, but you’ll be much happier. Flickr: burge5000

Get Your All-Access Pass Get Full Access to All of Our Webinars, Live and Recorded, for 12 Weeks for $97. NonprofitMarketingGuide.com/pass

Let’s keep in touch! Blog: NonprofitMarketingGuide.com/blog Twitter: kivilm Facebook.com/nonprofitmarketingguide Contact me at kivi@ecoscribe.com to discuss how I can teach this or other nonprofit marketing training to your group, association members, or grantees.

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Content Creation Strategies for Nonprofits

by Kivi Leroux Miller

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