A presentation by the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia and Rock Paper Scissors to help nonprofits understand their brand impact on their organizations, begin building a Brand Commitment and Marketing Plan, establish the value of storytelling and its impact on marketing, and reconnecting with social media and how it impacts a nonprofit's efforts.
The Long, Hard Climb to the Top ( Of the Inbox)Amanda Sutt
Email Marketing is an art and sometimes it may seem like you’re trying to carve an immaculate sculpture while working with a Crayola marker. We get it. We’ve not only been there and emailed that, but from our experiences, we’ve created a strategy to help pull you out of your non-engaging email marketing quicksand and get you back on top in your client's inboxes.
Join us as we unpack the dos and the don’ts of successful email marketing campaigns.
It may seem as if there are no new and exciting ways to encourage interaction between brands and followers on Facebook. But have you really tried everything? One of the most overlooked and undervalued ways to increase customer excitement is by running a timeline engagement contest.
The Latest Updates to Instagram and what they mean for Business!Real-Time OutSource
Instagram has released a range of updates recently. In addition to a new logo and color scheme, they're also updating and adding to their business tools as well.
So what are all the updates, and what do they mean to you and your business?
Brands and consumers alike love collecting Facebook Likes on their posts, shares, and Pages. Sometimes, though, clicking the Like button is as awkward as leaving your friend’s high five lingering in mid-air. Fortunately, The Social Network recently rolled out Reactions, five new emoticons that give people a wider range of ways to communicate their post responses in a single click. The new Reactions have been a big hit with users, and here’s why brands should love them too.
Influencer marketing has proven to be extremely effective in modern-day marketing strategies. The use of an influencer can grant your business/brand a larger audience, as well as connect you with your target consumer.
However, influencer marketing strategies still need to be executed effectively, or campaigns can result in the opposite of the desired outcome. Here are some tips to keep your influencer marketing strategy on track to maximize success
Just when you thought Instagram couldn’t get any more awesome, the social networking platform rolled out Instagram Ads platform-wide.
Boasting a user base of over 400 million, the announcement flung open the door for marketers to use ads to reach customers in exciting new ways.
The Long, Hard Climb to the Top ( Of the Inbox)Amanda Sutt
Email Marketing is an art and sometimes it may seem like you’re trying to carve an immaculate sculpture while working with a Crayola marker. We get it. We’ve not only been there and emailed that, but from our experiences, we’ve created a strategy to help pull you out of your non-engaging email marketing quicksand and get you back on top in your client's inboxes.
Join us as we unpack the dos and the don’ts of successful email marketing campaigns.
It may seem as if there are no new and exciting ways to encourage interaction between brands and followers on Facebook. But have you really tried everything? One of the most overlooked and undervalued ways to increase customer excitement is by running a timeline engagement contest.
The Latest Updates to Instagram and what they mean for Business!Real-Time OutSource
Instagram has released a range of updates recently. In addition to a new logo and color scheme, they're also updating and adding to their business tools as well.
So what are all the updates, and what do they mean to you and your business?
Brands and consumers alike love collecting Facebook Likes on their posts, shares, and Pages. Sometimes, though, clicking the Like button is as awkward as leaving your friend’s high five lingering in mid-air. Fortunately, The Social Network recently rolled out Reactions, five new emoticons that give people a wider range of ways to communicate their post responses in a single click. The new Reactions have been a big hit with users, and here’s why brands should love them too.
Influencer marketing has proven to be extremely effective in modern-day marketing strategies. The use of an influencer can grant your business/brand a larger audience, as well as connect you with your target consumer.
However, influencer marketing strategies still need to be executed effectively, or campaigns can result in the opposite of the desired outcome. Here are some tips to keep your influencer marketing strategy on track to maximize success
Just when you thought Instagram couldn’t get any more awesome, the social networking platform rolled out Instagram Ads platform-wide.
Boasting a user base of over 400 million, the announcement flung open the door for marketers to use ads to reach customers in exciting new ways.
Napoleon Hill defined a mastermind group as, “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”
The purpose of a mastermind is to help all members of the group achieve success. Four benefits of a mastermind group are brainstorming, education, peer accountability, and support.
Establishing yourself as an expert within your business's niche has always been an important part of achieving lasting success. Public relations, or PR, was once considered a type of black art that required the assistance of a seasoned professional to be done right. Now, influencer marketing is taking over, and you are more than capable of handling the task yourself.
Advertising Agencies are having to change the business model! We're living in the future! Since 2005 a rapid change has been happening with content and where we view and are exposed to it.
Today weather it's your smart phone, laptop, ipad, TV... content is everywhere!
Social media use is growing by leaps and bounds every day and popular networks like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are among some of the most crowded corners of the internet. Let’s look at some stats:
● Social media spam rose 355 percent in the first half of 2013
● Between 5 and 11 percent of Facebook accounts are fake
● Twitter adds 11 new accounts per second every day
● YouTube users upload 48 hours of new video of every minute of each day
With so much happening so quickly on social media networks, is it even possible for brands to stand out and get noticed? Yes! And it’s easier than you think with these four proven tips:
Influencer marketing is an important part of any modern marketing campaign, and Instagram is one of the best places to implement this strategy.
Instagram's strong suit is its ability to showcase beautiful images and videos. Through influencer marketing, you can craft a strong message to the followers of a specific person with a big following on the social network. Finding the right people on Instagram isn't easy, though, and it's one of the most important parts of influencer marketing.
Here are a few tips that will help you identify good Instagram influencers to work with.
Roughly 2.4 billion people worldwide are connected to the internet and 85 percent of them use email. However, only 73 percent of online adults use social media. Social marketing is an important component of every sales strategy, but don’t forget to also target people who prefer email over Instagram. Let's take a look at some best practices for reaching your customers with brilliant email marketing campaigns.
This morning while drinking my latte, I get a call from a new prospective client there very first question. How do I track the ROI in social? This question resonates with all businesses & marketers as we’re always looking to see the conversions of our investments.
How to get started Promoting your Brand with Social Media Influencers Real-Time OutSource
You've almost checked off all of the items on your list. You have a product, you've tested it and it's ready to go. You have just one more mountain to climb. Social media influencers can be an amazing resource to promote your brand.
When it comes to figuring out the best way to execute a social media marketing campaign, it's best to go with data-driven science.
Simply put, this means that if something isn't working, you need to identify it early, learn what you can from it, and find ways to pivot or change your approach.
Start to Finish Twitter Marketing For StartupsDerric Haynie
Exactly How to Use Twitter as a Serious Traction Channel.
*Only for people serious about using Twitter as a main traction channel*
This is not an overview or strategy talk about Twitter, this is the exact process I have used across a dozen accounts to achieve massive Twitter growth. Follow this exact strategy to do the same.
The tools listed can be found at:
derric.link/audiense
rebrand.ly/flipboard
rebrand.ly/extension and derric.link/rebrandly
rebrand.ly/meetedgar
derric.link/mass-unfollow
This strategy requires 4 hours of your time and between $0-$100 per month.
To watch me give a presentation using this slide deck and to do it alongside my advice:
http://derric.link/twitter-marketing-fb-live
10 Reasons why you should Consider Snapchat for your BusinessReal-Time OutSource
With so many social media platforms, it can be hard to keep track of where and how to best market to your audience. Here are ten reasons why you should consider using Snapchat to help you understand if it's a good fit for your brand strategy!
Use these 5 sales questions to close more deals. They can help you unlock all the answers you need to navigate through your customer's journey to help you close deals faster.
Napoleon Hill defined a mastermind group as, “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”
The purpose of a mastermind is to help all members of the group achieve success. Four benefits of a mastermind group are brainstorming, education, peer accountability, and support.
Establishing yourself as an expert within your business's niche has always been an important part of achieving lasting success. Public relations, or PR, was once considered a type of black art that required the assistance of a seasoned professional to be done right. Now, influencer marketing is taking over, and you are more than capable of handling the task yourself.
Advertising Agencies are having to change the business model! We're living in the future! Since 2005 a rapid change has been happening with content and where we view and are exposed to it.
Today weather it's your smart phone, laptop, ipad, TV... content is everywhere!
Social media use is growing by leaps and bounds every day and popular networks like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are among some of the most crowded corners of the internet. Let’s look at some stats:
● Social media spam rose 355 percent in the first half of 2013
● Between 5 and 11 percent of Facebook accounts are fake
● Twitter adds 11 new accounts per second every day
● YouTube users upload 48 hours of new video of every minute of each day
With so much happening so quickly on social media networks, is it even possible for brands to stand out and get noticed? Yes! And it’s easier than you think with these four proven tips:
Influencer marketing is an important part of any modern marketing campaign, and Instagram is one of the best places to implement this strategy.
Instagram's strong suit is its ability to showcase beautiful images and videos. Through influencer marketing, you can craft a strong message to the followers of a specific person with a big following on the social network. Finding the right people on Instagram isn't easy, though, and it's one of the most important parts of influencer marketing.
Here are a few tips that will help you identify good Instagram influencers to work with.
Roughly 2.4 billion people worldwide are connected to the internet and 85 percent of them use email. However, only 73 percent of online adults use social media. Social marketing is an important component of every sales strategy, but don’t forget to also target people who prefer email over Instagram. Let's take a look at some best practices for reaching your customers with brilliant email marketing campaigns.
This morning while drinking my latte, I get a call from a new prospective client there very first question. How do I track the ROI in social? This question resonates with all businesses & marketers as we’re always looking to see the conversions of our investments.
How to get started Promoting your Brand with Social Media Influencers Real-Time OutSource
You've almost checked off all of the items on your list. You have a product, you've tested it and it's ready to go. You have just one more mountain to climb. Social media influencers can be an amazing resource to promote your brand.
When it comes to figuring out the best way to execute a social media marketing campaign, it's best to go with data-driven science.
Simply put, this means that if something isn't working, you need to identify it early, learn what you can from it, and find ways to pivot or change your approach.
Start to Finish Twitter Marketing For StartupsDerric Haynie
Exactly How to Use Twitter as a Serious Traction Channel.
*Only for people serious about using Twitter as a main traction channel*
This is not an overview or strategy talk about Twitter, this is the exact process I have used across a dozen accounts to achieve massive Twitter growth. Follow this exact strategy to do the same.
The tools listed can be found at:
derric.link/audiense
rebrand.ly/flipboard
rebrand.ly/extension and derric.link/rebrandly
rebrand.ly/meetedgar
derric.link/mass-unfollow
This strategy requires 4 hours of your time and between $0-$100 per month.
To watch me give a presentation using this slide deck and to do it alongside my advice:
http://derric.link/twitter-marketing-fb-live
10 Reasons why you should Consider Snapchat for your BusinessReal-Time OutSource
With so many social media platforms, it can be hard to keep track of where and how to best market to your audience. Here are ten reasons why you should consider using Snapchat to help you understand if it's a good fit for your brand strategy!
Use these 5 sales questions to close more deals. They can help you unlock all the answers you need to navigate through your customer's journey to help you close deals faster.
What does the future look like? Is it a dark space where we’re suffering from varying degrees of techamphetamine or are we heading towards a Utopian fantasy of abundance and harmony?
Understanding that our basic human needs and wants barely change, we explore the future state of a range of topics; from our need for physical sustenance through to our age-long fascination of transcending the limitations of our biology.
Looking at the future from a human perspective, our potential for greatness is teetering on a fine line between darkness and hope. We’re banking on the latter.
WTF - Why the Future Is Up to Us - pptx versionTim O'Reilly
This is the talk I gave January 12, 2017 at the G20/OECD Conference on the Digital Future in Berlin. I talk about fitness landscapes as applied to technology and business, the role of unchecked financialization in the state of our politics and economy, and why technology really wants to create jobs, not destroy them. (There is a separate PDF version, but some readers said the notes were too fuzzy to read.)
Build Your Brand Build Your Business by Susan Gunelius from the Entrepreneur ...KeySplash Creative, Inc.
This presentation teaches how to build a brand and a business with additional focus on social media marketing and content marketing. It was delivered by Susan Gunelius, President and CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., at the Growth 2.0 Conference sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine and UPS on January 20, 2011 in Atlanta Georgia.
Presentation delivered by Susan Gunelius, President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., at the Entrepreneur Magazine and UPS Growth 2.0 Conference in Miami, Florida on January 26, 2010. Audience included small business owners and entrepreneurs.(www.keysplashcreative.com) (www.twitter.com/susangunelius)
Susan Gunelius' presentation from the October 5, 2010 Entrepreneur Media and Verizon Wireless Winning Strategies for Business conference in Long Beach, California.
Presentation on marketing, social media and branding that Kate Austin-Avon delivered to the MicroEnterprise Assistance Program at SUNY Adirondack on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.
Branding overview along with general information about inbound marketing and social media and SEO tips. This goes alongside a presentation by Advokate at SUNY Adirondack on Monday, March 21, 2016. Contact Advokate, LLC, with any questions, or to schedule a marketing consultation! www.advokate.net
Social media marketing has matured over the last decade to
become an integral part of the marketing mix for both large
and small businesses. It can have a significant and measurable
impact on your bottom line and – when done well – can be a
powerful marketing tool. Whether you are trying to reach
a local audience or launching a brand nationwide, social
media marketing should be considered as part of your
marketing activity
11 ways to build your brand on social mediaCDRealEstate
There are many benefits of using social media to grow a business and to craft an online persona that showcases a brand’s values and services. A defined social media strategy can help businesses be more profitable, establish credibility, and gain a strategic edge over the competition. Social media has become a powerful tool in marketing as it’s accessible anytime, anywhere, and is a fun, engaging way to share and collect information.
This presentation goes beyond just social media and will include high level strategy as well as low level tactics. It also introduces the importance of engagement in creating and deepening your relationship with brand ambassadors.
Specific case studies are included as well as options for calculating ROI.
Managing Your Brand in Crisis: A Response to COVID-19Emily Branson
This deck is designed to help you navigate this difficult time, while maintaining your brand's purpose. Learn more about how to adjust your messaging and media approach in the time of COVID-19.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
AI-Powered Personalization: Principles, Use Cases, and Its Impact on CROVWO
In today’s era of AI, personalization is more than just a trend—it’s a fundamental strategy that unlocks numerous opportunities.
When done effectively, personalization builds trust, loyalty, and satisfaction among your users—key factors for business success. However, relying solely on AI capabilities isn’t enough. You need to anchor your approach in solid principles, understand your users’ context, and master the art of persuasion.
Join us as Sarjak Patel and Naitry Saggu from 3rd Eye Consulting unveil a transformative framework. This approach seamlessly integrates your unique context, consumer insights, and conversion goals, paving the way for unparalleled success in personalization.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
Financial curveballs sent many American families reeling in 2023. Household budgets were squeezed by rising interest rates, surging prices on everyday goods, and a stagnating housing market. Consumers were feeling strapped. That sentiment, however, appears to be waning. The question is, to what extent?
To take the pulse of consumers’ feelings about their financial well-being ahead of a highly anticipated election, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey. The survey highlights consumers’ hopes and anxieties as we move into 2024. Let's unpack the key findings to gain insights about where we stand.
The digital marketing industry is changing faster than ever and those who don’t adapt with the times are losing market share. Where should marketers be focusing their efforts? What strategies are the experts seeing get the best results? Get up-to-speed with the latest industry insights, trends and predictions for the future in this panel discussion with some leading digital marketing experts.
The What, Why & How of 3D and AR in Digital CommercePushON Ltd
Vladimir Mulhem has over 20 years of experience in commercialising cutting edge creative technology across construction, marketing and retail.
Previously the founder and Tech and Innovation Director of Creative Content Works working with the likes of Next, John Lewis and JD Sport, he now helps retailers, brands and agencies solve challenges of applying the emerging technologies 3D, AR, VR and Gen AI to real-world problems.
In this webinar, Vladimir will be covering the following topics:
Applications of 3D and AR in Digital Commerce,
Benefits of 3D and AR,
Tools to create, manage and publish 3D and AR in Digital Commerce.
Digital Money Maker Club – von Gunnar Kessler digital.focsh890
Title One is a comprehensive examination of the impact of digital technologies on
modern society. In a world where technology continues to advance rapidly, this article delves into the nuances and complexities of the digital age, exploring Its implications across various sectors and aspects of life.
Unleash the power of UK SEO with Brand Highlighters! Our guide delves into the unique search landscape of Britain, equipping you with targeted strategies to dominate UK search engine results. Discover local SEO tactics, keyword magic for UK audiences, and mobile optimization secrets. Get your website seen by the right people and propel your brand to the top of UK searches.
To learn more: https://brandhighlighters.co.uk/blog/top-seo-agencies-uk/
Core Web Vitals SEO Workshop - improve your performance [pdf]Peter Mead
Core Web Vitals to improve your website performance for better SEO results with CWV.
CWV Topics include:
- Understanding the latest Core Web Vitals including the significance of LCP, INP and CLS + their impact on SEO
- Optimisation techniques from our experts on how to improve your CWV on platforms like WordPress and WP Engine
- The impact of user experience and SEO
It's another new era of digital and marketers are faced with making big bets on their digital strategy. If you are looking at modernizing your tech stack to support your digital evolution, there are a few can't miss (often overlooked) areas that should be part of every conversation. We'll cover setting your vision, avoiding siloes, adding a democratized approach to data strategy, localization, creating critical governance requirements and more. Attendees will walk away with actions they can take into initiatives they are running today and consider for the future.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
2. Today We Will:
● Understand the impact of your brand on the
success of your nonprofit
● Build the foundation of your Brand Commitment
and your Marketing Plan with targeted questions
● Establish the value of storytelling and the impact
it has on your marketing
● Reconnect with social media and impact it has on
your efforts
25. How do you want your supporters and
donors to FEEL in every interaction with
your business?
26. Great Brands Create Followers
Remember that your supporters and donors crave doing business with real
people.
When you focus on how supporters and donors feel in doing business with
you, they come back.
Amplify the feeling—building an even better relationship and connection—and
they tell others.
27. Your Brand Commitment
A brief statement that describes what your supporters and donors need to feel in
every interaction with your business.
It’s the “why” behind everything you do.
It’s an internal driver that has a direct impact on the supporters and donors, and
it's not about selling something to someone. It’s more of how board members,
employees and volunteers should view the business and guides their actions.
28. Your Brand Commitment
Keeps you supporters and donors-focused
Creates supporters and donors loyalty
Is your competitive edge
Differentiates you
Integrates culture and supporters and donors
29. Your Brand Commitment and Consistency
As a nonprofit grows it gets harder to ensure the brand is understood.
Find out which areas of your brand and experience matter to your supporters and
donors.
Resolve to never compromise on those areas.
33. Your marketing plan should
include:
● Your key objectives
● Your strategy to accomplish those objectives
● A way to execute your strategy
● A means to measure success
34.
35. The right story, told the right way,
can catapult an organization’s marketing
efforts from good to GREAT.
36. Five steps to creating a compelling story
1. Find the right people
2. Build the conflict
3. Show how your organization solved a problem, helped a person, made a
difference. What did you accomplish together?
4. Incorporate a call to action
5. Use memorable, high-quality visuals – photos, videos
40. 55 percentof people who engage with causes via social media are
inspired to get more involved.
41. Which social network is right for your nonprofit?
—Facebook - 71 percent of adult internet users
A business’ Facebook fans purchase 35 percent more than a typical
customer
—Twitter - 23 percent of adult internet users
54 percent of Twitter users have taken action after seeing a brand
mentioned in a Tweet
—Instagram - 90 percent of Instagram users are younger than 35
Engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 times higher than
Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than
Twitter
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/new-social-stratosphere-who-using-facebook-twitter-pinterest-tumblr-and-instagram-2015-
and-beyond-1622
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms-2/
42. Need more help?
We’d be happy to talk to you about your branding and marketing needs!
Amanda Sutt
Rock Paper Scissors
178 E Crogan St, Suite 220
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
amanda@123shoot.com
678-442-1825
www.123shoot.com
Heather Loveridge
Heather@heatherloveridge.com
678-488-0816
www.heatherloveridge.com
Editor's Notes
Intro from Randy
Today we will - set up of expectations and format for the day.
Branding vs Marketing: Do I need both? We are going to start with a shared understanding
Bullets
This is an interactive presentation. We will be working on your brand and market as we go along. Feel free to ask questions. This workshop today is to help you.
Marketing has been a business buzzword for as long as any of us can remember. Branding, while a little more recent in its birth, has rapidly gained ground on its marketing big brother in popularity. It’s hard not to find these terms thrown around in a blog post or on social media, but assumptions are being made by authors that everyone knows the difference between the two. So today we are going to address what do these terms really mean and do you need both?
We will start BY DEFINING BRANDING
YOU ALREADY HAVE A BRAND
Whether you realize it or not, you already have an established brand. Your brand is the manifestation of your beliefs as a leader as shown through your products, experiences and interactions. Your brand is not just part of your business, it is your business.
HOW YOUR AUDIENCE CONNECTS WITH BUSINESS
Your brand is how your audience connects with your business, their experience, what they FEEL. More concretely, your brand can manifest itself in your logo, your website, your storefront, your customer service, and all the little things in between.
A brand is not just limited to businesses, every person has a personal brand. You show it by the clothes you wear, the car you drive, how you treat others, the work you do… the personal branding list simply does not end.
Whether you are connecting personally or with your business, your audience takes in all of this information and compiles a picture of who you are.
COMPILES A PICTURE OF WHO YOU ARE
And to better frame this idea: THE PERCEPTION YOU AUDIENCE BUILDS OF YOU IS YOUR BRAND.
So no matter what do think you are saying with your brand, it really only matter how other read it.
The good news is that if you don’t like it, you can change it. You can build a conscious brand and guide your audience so they get to see your intention and the best parts of you and your business. The key to intentional branding is just that, you have to have aim behind your choices and action. ANOTHER KEY INGREDIENT IS INTEGRITY– today’s audience won’t stand behind a fraud.
Just ask Tiger Woods who went from being branded as the “golden boy”. When he fell from the graces because people found out who he really was, his audience was devastated because HIS BRAND DID NOT ALIGN WITH WHO HE REALLY WAS.
Part of building a conscious brand is being a good story teller. Through the ages, as humans, we flock to a good story, whether it was the Greek orators, the Renaissance bards or today’s gossip on social media – people love a story. So when you are building your brand, you want to think about the story you are telling about yourself and your company.
Marketing, while often and incorrectly substituted for branding, is not only about who you are, but HOW YOU GET OUT THERE. Think flyers, Facebook, Brochures, Networking, Pay-Per-Click Campaigns, Billboards, P.R., etc.
The key with marketing is to start with your customer, and not with you. Marketing is all about MEETING YOUR AUDIENCE WHERE THEY ARE so that you provide REAL value… Well, there are other ways to market; you can bombard and bully your audience, but don’t we all want to build relationships and have repeat customers?
Marketing is more than just advertising. Marketing uses targeted data, analytics and carefully crafted campaigns to know where your audience spends their time and how to most cost-efficiently reach them. It can include advertising, but it does not stop there and is truly only limited by your imagination.
Now that we have a clear picture of branding and marketing, the question we come back to is: Do you need both?
I like to think about branding and marketing like spaghetti and meatballs. You can have them separate, but they are awkward on their own and they really need to be paired up. The truth is, you can have a beautiful well crafted brand and not market it or market to the wrong audience. And then you can market without an intentional brand, but by doing so you are risking your message falling short creating confusion and disconnect with your audience.
Branding and marketing lift each other up so well that you’ll be hard pressed to find a better combination. Too many organizations today want to jump right into their marketing plan without taking the time to understand who they are, who they want to connect with, and the impact they want to make. When you take the time to build a conscious brand of intention, your message and marketing channels become easier to define. You stop wasting time and resources in the wrong places and connect with the right audience for you and your organization with thrive.
My position: a nonprofit is a business and should be treated as such.
Why Is a Brand Important?
Your brand is one of your MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE. It IMPACTS YOUR AUDIENCE E EVERY STEP of their journey with you, shapes all their perceptions of your nonprofit and influences how they talk about you.
With a positive brand experience, your audience will not only keep coming back, but they’ll also start referring others to you. Creating the experience you want takes time and focus but your hard work will pay off when your brand is present in all aspects of your business.
Building a Brand Commitment
Building a brand STARTS WITH YOU—the nonprofit leader. The work you do here will help you articulate what your audience needs to feel in every interaction with you. Start by looking at your core values and vision. Then move on to identifying with your ideal supporters and donors. When you know who you are and who your supporters and donors are, you’ll be able to ask yourself how you want your supporters and donors to experience your brand. Finally, you’ll take the steps necessary to craft a commitment that is a true expression of your organization.
Open conversation:
What is a Brand?
What comes to mind when I say the word ‘brand’?
Can you name companies who have compelling brands? Why?
Branding takes your values and vision, your passion and purpose, and connects them with your culture and donors, sponsors, volunteers, patrons, supporters, etc.
Having a brand is more than having a logo. A brand is the accumulated set of experiences people have of your organization. It’s the thing you rarely say but people feel. Your brand should guide and inform all of your activities, but it isn’t any of your activities specifically.
Workbook: VALUES of your organization
Workbook: VISION of your organization
These serve as the FOUNDATION of your nonprofit and they are infused every other aspect of the business and becomes the true expression of you. Your brand is not just for marketing purposes—it’s the relationship you have to your supporters, donors and employees, etc.
Open Conversation:
How can your brand impact your nonprofit? How your brand can impact your sales, referrals, reputation, and general goodwill toward your nonprofit?
Your brand is a strategic and long lasting resource, but one that must be carefully cultivated because it is also volatile.
Can anyone tell me about how your brand strategy (or lack of one) has impacted your business?
Workbook: Start making some notes.
Does anyone want to share?
What differentiates your product or service? Distinctive elements of product or service, both tangible and intangible.
What’s distinctively different about your organization’s services?
What enhancements do you offer?
Specific marketing methods
Your organization’s culture - the way you and your employees behave and dress. Also, what are their qualifications?
Your organization’s presence (how it appeals to the 5 sense, as well as other intangible impressions like how reliable you are, etc.)
What’s your unique selling proposition?
Why would they support you as opposed to someone else?
What compliments do you receive about your business? How compliments help brand.
What complaints do you receive about your business? How complaints change supporters and donors perception.
Who are your three main competitors? What are they known for?
Crafting your supporters and donors observations involves looking at the psychographics of the people in your target audience or supporters and donors base. It includes self-perceptions, drives, and their perceptions and expectations of the world surrounding them, as well as emotional associations.
The supporters and donors Persona, or CP, of a market segment is what creates the profile of the psychographics that are typical of the people in that segment. The CP seeks to personalize all of that information which helps you feel like you’re talking to a real supporters and donors when you write your marketing messages and develop your brand.
In addition to self-perceptions, drive, perceptions and expectations, you can look at additional external perception category factors like environmental, behavioral, and motivational.
You can also consider functional needs and emotional/internal needs, as well as positive and negative associations.
What differentiates your product or service? Distinctive elements of product or service, both tangible and intangible.
What’s distinctively different about your organization’s services?
What enhancements do you offer?
Specific marketing methods
Your organization’s culture - the way you and your employees behave and dress. Also, what are their qualifications?
Your organization’s presence (how it appeals to the 5 sense, as well as other intangible impressions like how reliable you are, etc.)
What’s your unique selling proposition?
Why would they support you as opposed to someone else?
What compliments do you receive about your business? How compliments help brand.
What complaints do you receive about your business? How complaints change supporters and donors perception.
Who are your three main competitors? What are they known for?
Crafting your supporters and donors observations involves looking at the psychographics of the people in your target audience or supporters and donors base. It includes self-perceptions, drives, and their perceptions and expectations of the world surrounding them, as well as emotional associations.
The supporters and donors Persona, or CP, of a market segment is what creates the profile of the psychographics that are typical of the people in that segment. The CP seeks to personalize all of that information which helps you feel like you’re talking to a real supporters and donors when you write your marketing messages and develop your brand.
In addition to self-perceptions, drive, perceptions and expectations, you can look at additional external perception category factors like environmental, behavioral, and motivational.
You can also consider functional needs and emotional/internal needs, as well as positive and negative associations.
This is about getting into your supporters’ and donors’ minds and understanding how they work, how they view themselves and the world, how they think, how they make purchase decisions, etc.
It involves the CONSCIOUS MIND, which is the rational and logical side that concerns itself with the different features and benefits of a product or service, how they perform, the cost involved, and what they do for them.
It also involves the UNCONSCIOUS MIND, which is the emotional and irrational side of the mind that is more concerned with how products and services make an individual feel. This is the side of the mind we make purchases with. The other side (the conscious mind) gives the rational justification for said purchase.
How do I want our supporters and donors to feel in every interaction with the organization? Use adjectives and expressive words or phrases.
What do you want supporters and donors to say about your organization? The result you want your brand to achieve, provides the why behind the strategy.
To some extent, you have to know what’s going on in your supporters and donors’ minds. Now, we obviously can’t read their minds, but you can get an idea of what your supporters and donors are thinking simply by observing them, paying attention to what they say and using your common sense to pull insights from those conversations. Those observations and insights can then be tested through your marketing. Base your conclusions on the things you hear, see, and read from your supporters and donors.
Crowd Assessment:
Did anything stand out to you?
How was it to look at your brand from the perception of your supporters and donors?
How will coming from these values via your brand commitment impact the way you do business?
Your Brand Commitment Statement is a clear results statement that defines and describes the feeling and experience you want your supporters and donors to have in every interaction with your business. Delivering that consistently great experience is how your Brand Commitment— and the purpose and passion behind it—shapes more than just the logo of your nonprofit. Everything you do in your nonprofit—orchestrated by systems and process—either supports your supporters and donors in having a great experience or not.
Everything you do—from who you hire to how you develop and deliver great products and services—affects how your audience feel about you. That is what your brand becomes known for, the sum of all those little interactions over time. Without a commitment to your brand and the promise it cements with your supporters and donors, how do you really know what processes are needed to create the best experience?
Without the promise to base it on, the experience ends up being random. When your nonprofit makes a commitment to the brand, it fuels mutual ownership—helping all of your employees feel pride and purpose in creating that consistent experience. Your Brand Commitment: ∞ Provides the why behind the way you do business ∞ Keeps you audience-focused ∞ Creates supporters and donors loyalty ∞ Is your competitive edge ∞ Differentiates you ∞ Integrates your culture and your audiences
Brand Commitment should be no longer than three to four short, digestible lines, and that you should work and refine it until it feels right.
If this seems particularly challenging to you, it may be because your vision and values aren’t 100% clear. It may be time to take a step back and look at those before digging into Brand again.
These questions will affect multiple areas of your nonprofit, but now is the time to dream and be creative.
You’re doing the groundwork for something much bigger, and a clear picture of their Brand Commitment will help you align your audience to the same goals, get everyone on board and be the foundation for the growth of the nonprofit as you want it.
