How to present and protect your Non-profit brand when using social media sites such as Facebook. This presentation includes the slides shown at Social Media Breakfast Maine and some additional slides as well.

1. Visible Logic, Inc.
142 High Street
Suite 615
Portland, ME 04101
207.761.4230
visiblelogic.com
IDENTITY
PRINT
PUBLISHING
WEB
Social Media :
Promoting and Protecting
Your Non-Profit Brand
Social Media Breakfast, October 2010
COMPELLING BRAND IDENTITIES IN PRINT & WEB

2. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit Brand
Emily Brackett
President
Visible Logic, Inc.
Graphic Design & Branding:
Logos, Web Sites, Print Marketing, Book Covers & Interiors
Brand Positioning & Strategy

3. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIntroduction
Social Media Overview
Branding: On- and Off-line
Identifying Yourself
Tips for Using Social Media

4. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit Brand
Social Media
Overview

5. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandSocial Media Overview
Major Social Networking Web Sites & Media
The major web sites and media
• Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, FourSquare
• Blogging
Other media
• MySpace, Gowalla, Plaxo, etc.
• Email marketing
• Forums
• Face-to-face networking

6. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandSocial Media Overview
Facebook
What’s On Your Mind?
Individuals
• Set up personal profiles
• You become friends with other people, and it’s reciprocal; the other person needs to OK you as a friend
Non-Profits
• Set up “company” pages (you can choose non-profit as your type)
• You can “like” a company, and it’s more of a one-way street. Gets your updates into someone’s news feed
Cause
• Could set up an “organization” type of company page
• You can “like” a company, and it’s more of a one-way street. Gets your updates into someone’s news feed

7. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandSocial Media Overview
LinkedIn
Network Updates
All individual accounts, very resume-like way of presenting yourself
• There are company listings in LinkedIn, (still labeled as beta) but you still only link with the
employees (You can follow companies)
• You are encouraged only to connect with people you know, then the connection is two-way
• The Q&A section is a good way to break out of the resume structure, prove your expertise, connect
with those outside your sphere
• Groups are forum-like spaces, and are also a good way to connect with others

8. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandSocial Media Overview
Twitter
What’s happening?
All accounts are individual
• There is only one kind of account with one user name & password
• Because they are individual accounts, there is some sense that tweets are coming from
an individual, but this is changing
• There are services which will allow more than one person to use an account
(and append initials, for example, at the end)
• You can follow as many others as you like, and it’s not automatically reciprocated

9. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandSocial Media Overview
Blogs
Company sponsored or individual
Blogs can be completely personal, or can have a corporate mandate
• Multiple authors can contribute to a company blog and therefore have their own voice and persona
• Commenting on other blogs is an individual activity

10. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandSocial Media Overview
Why Use Social Media?
• It’s free
• It’s where your volunteers, donors and sponsors are
• It’s a way to stay connected and top-of-mind
• It’s a great channel for sharing stories
• Connect with the cause that’s behind your non-profit

11. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit Brand
Branding:
On- and Off-line

12. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Your Brand is a Combination of:
The Identity you build and
The Perception / Messages that come from others
The Cause
An official “face” (Exec. Director, Founder, etc.)
Volunteers
Donors
Recipients / Beneficiaries

13. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause

14. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
OrganizationThe Cause

15. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
OrganizationThe Cause An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)

16. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
OrganizationThe Cause An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers

17. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
OrganizationThe Cause An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers
Donors

18. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
OrganizationThe Cause
Donors
Recipients
Beneficiaries
An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers

19. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause

20. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause Organization

21. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause Organization
An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)

22. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause Organization
An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers

23. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Donors
The Cause Organization
An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers

24. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Donors
The Cause Organization
An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers Recipients
Beneficiaries

25. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause
An official
“face”
(Exec. Director,
Founder, etc.)
Volunteers Recipients
Beneficiaries
Donors
Organization

26. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Organization
Identification Organization’s (Non-Profit) name / Logo or logotype
Visual Position Colors, imagery, typography and graphics that are applied to Web sites, marketing
materials, packaging, uniforms, corporate identity, also Twitter backgrounds, etc.
Voice May be dictated by corporate standards,
may be screened by marketing, lawyers, etc
Reputation Built by employees, volunteers, donors, beneficiaries, etc.
Social Media The organization should claim their own identities.
An organization’s brand may or may not be well developed.
There is sometimes concern about spending money on branding.

27. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Founder / Director / Publicity
Identification Your own name, but talking about an organization or cause
Visual Position Everything under the organization, but also your personal look
Voice May come across as from the organization or from the individual
Reputation Personal reputation mixed with organization’s reputation
Social Media A well-known face of the company should be identifiable in social media
In a grassroots organization the founder’s brand may be critical to the organization’s brand.

28. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Volunteers
Identification Each individual is unique, but may be part of an external organization
Visual Position Looking to the organization for guidance
Voice Will be their own unless otherwise directed
Reputation They should be role models / spokesperson
Social Media Some of your volunteers are very active. Learn how can they “work” for your organization
Volunteers are seeking your guidance on brand standards. Give them the correct brand identity
materials and the voice (content, message) they need.

29. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Donors
Identification May be individual or corporate
Visual Position May want to influence this, or may step out
Voice May want to influence this, or may step out
Reputation Involvement may be very personal or very affected
Social Media Some of your donors are very active. Learn how can they “work” for your organization
An important, large-scale donor may have goals for using donations as a way to build their own
brand (naming rights, etc.)

30. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Recipients / Beneficiaries
Name Generally individual
Visual Position Looking to you for support
Voice Has their own story. Help them get it out.
Reputation The recipients reputation reflects back on the organization’s
Social Media Some of your recipients and beneficiaries are very active.
Learn how can they “work” for your organization
This group can really be brand evangelizers. Like volunteers they are looking to you for brand
identity guidelines and maybe for content/voice.

31. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
The Cause
Identification May differ across organizations, groups, demographics, etc.
A few have their own brand identity
Visual Position Usually needs a brand identity (from a non-profit group) to hang on
Voice Has their own story
Reputation A string of personal stories
Social Media A cause may have a social media presence.
Learn how can it “work” for your organization
The cause is often what gets someone involved with your organization. But your organization may
not always be the beneficiary (some causes have the support of many organizations).

32. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandBranding: On- and Off-line
Does your cause have a brand identity?
Causes may or may not have their own brand identity. Generally, if a “cause” has a well-defined brand
identity it’s been the work of an organization who launched the brand.
A good example of a cause’s brand identity is the pink representing Breast Cancer. This is such
a universal phenomenon it can be found on everything from t-shirts to Kitchen Aid mixers.
Most causes do not have such a strong brand identity.
Causes that generate news also have a sort of brand perception (ie Hurricane Katrina,
Earthquake in Haiti)

33. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit Brand
Identifying
Yourself

34. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Online Specific Branding Elements
Domain Name and Handles
• Grab your name on all the major social media sites
• Grab your name, even if you won’t use the site immediately
• Consider creating multiple names if you use an acronym, or for key people

35. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Online Specific Branding Elements
Avatars, Favicons & Headshots, Key Visuals
• Have reduced the idea of a “logo” to a small, square icon.
• Use these consistently: Set up gravatars (globally recognized avatar), or recreate case-by-case on
different platforms
• Key personnel should use consistent and professional headshot photos
• Customize any areas that you can with your brand identity (ex: Twitter background)

36. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Online Specific Branding Elements
Content Rules... so Voice is More Important than Ever
• What topics will you discuss
• Is the message coming from an individual or from the organization?
• How can you make stories from multiple sources sound consistent?
• How can you encourage people to tell their story?

37. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
How are you presenting yourself?
• Are you large and established or small and grassroots?
• Can you afford to look “well branded?”
• Connect on the personal level.
• Be authentic.

38. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Promoting as a large, established organization
Positives
Larger geographic reach
Stronger infrastructure
Can work on a bigger picture
Can survive turnover
Lobbying, etc.
Larger net of connections
Negatives
Overhead, bureaucracy
Slow to react
Answering to multiple donors, board, grants,
etc.

39. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Promoting as a smaller, grassroots organization
Positives
Local, personal
Fast start-up
Direct benefit, immediate needs
Hands on
More deeply motivated connections (?)
Negatives
Lack of resources
Can they survive long term?
Dependent on a small handful of dedicated
people
What happens when key person leaves?

40. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Promoting on a Personal Level:
Founders, Volunteers, Beneficiaries
Can be overwhelmed keeping up with
social media
Lack of consistency
If the one person is the “face”, what if
they leave?
Negatives
Individuality, personal stories
Personal, human touch
Unique, one-of-a-kind
Positives

41. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandIdentifying Yourself
Promoting a Cause
The benefactor may not be
your organization
Negatives
Calls on people’s emotions
Can connect on both personal and
organizational level
Positives

42. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit Brand
Tips for Using
Social Media

43. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandTips For Using Social Media
How to cultivate your
Organization’s brand using social web
Maintain a consistent brand presence:
• Register your business name on all major sites
• Use your business name (with or without your own name in addition)
• Use a logo, rather than a photo for an avatar
Don’t go too far and be too impersonal or stiff

44. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandTips For Using Social Media
How to connect personal stories to your
organization’s brand on the social web
Encourage individuals to connect to your brand
• Have Facebook status updates built into event registration
• Have your social media icons visible in all materials
• Give people a reason to connect (matching donation, etc.)

45. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandTips For Using Social Media
How to integrate your cause’s brand with
your organization’s brand identity
• Connect with other non-profits to cross-promote (ie retweets, posting to each other’s wall, etc.)
• You can have multiple accounts.
(ie non-profit page and cause “organization” page on Facebook).

46. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandTips For Using Social Media
Compounding Effect
Social Media should be used to increase the effectiveness of all channels:
• Offline: connect in-person events before, during and after
• Online: Cross promote between your different channels
• Partners: Cross promote with other organizations that have ties to the same or similar causes

47. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit BrandTips For Using Social Media
Questions to Ask Yourself
• How can personal stories build your organization’s story?
• How does social media fit into my volunteering, fund raising or marketing plan?
• What am I doing outside of social media that needs to complement my online brand?
• How are my potential volunteers and donors using the social web?
• What kind of social media policy will we need?

48. Social Media: Promoting and Protecting Your Non-Profit Brand
Emily Brackett
Visible Logic, Inc.
visiblelogic.com
visiblelogic.com/blog
twitter: @VisibleLogic
facebook: Emily Brackett
facebook: facebook.com/VisibleLogic
LinkedIn personal: linkedin.com/in/emilybrackett
LinkedIn company: linkedin.com/company/204702