My presentation at the 2014 Blue North Summit on using Digital Storytelling to mobilize and activate donors.

1. Mobilize Donors in Digital
The Power of Storytelling
May 7, 2014
by Sean Howard as seen at the Blue North Summit
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“Interruptive marketing with no perceived value is
increasingly ignored or avoided by consumers.”
- Justin Kirby, Best of Branded Content Marketing

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Image source: http://blog.creamglobal.com/right_brain_left_brain/2012/06/clutter-kills-digital-media.html

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The future of online giving is tied to telling stories that matter.

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1. Get your digital priorities straight

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Technologies are going extinct at a never before seen rate

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An app will not save you.

15. 15It’s about integrating digital into your organization

16. 16Size Matters, but…
Reach in social is constrained by the strength of our relationships

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Thus the value of our digital investment is defined by our capacity to engage our followers
Follow / fan
Consume / like
Engage / share
Activate / mobilize

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Thus the value of our digital investment is defined by our capacity to engage our followers
Is what we say interesting?
Are we relevant?
What does our content say about the sharer?
Follow / fan
Consume / like
Engage / share
Activate / mobilizeHow much do I care?

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This is the least effective revenue generating tool on the Internet.
No matter how you dress it up.

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23. 23It’s About the Content
Everyone thinks about where to be online and how their logo appears
When it’s the content that people engage with, not the logo.

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2. Focus on content that matters to your audience.

25. Donor fatigue (give us money, give us money, give us money, etc.)
Lack of dedicated digital resources
Organization not in the business of creating content
Repurposing of other content is generally not a viable strategy
25Key Challenges

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Full report link: http://bit.ly/2014contentstudy

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Our Mandate Audience Interests
We have a publishing problem

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Live Orchestral Music

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sports
classical
studies
live music festivals
rock
concerts
bollywood
movies
world
history
Live Orchestral Music
high school
band

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sports
classical
studies
live music festivals
rock
concerts
bollywood
movies
world
history
Live Orchestral Music
high school
band Raptors in the playoffs
TSO had success with arrangements in the past
Rapper Drake known for support of TO/Raptors

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37. Content calendars are not a content strategy
They can be a useful tool but are prone to mindless content
37Content Calendars

38. 38Content Calendars

39. Wonderful presentation on story streams vs. content calendars
by Jon Crowley and Jeremy Wright
http://bit.ly/storystreams
39Story Streams

40. 40Story Streams
Blocking Charts
Create framework
for future content
Align on priorities
and number of
posts per story
stream

41. 41Story Streams
Core Mandate Supporting Beliefs Story Streams
Story Streams
Story Streams
Supporting Beliefs
Actors / Voices
Actors / Voices
Actors / Voices
Story Streams

42. 42Story Streams
Support Dollars at Work
40%
Key Events
20%
Founding Values
10%
Behind the Scenes
10%
Impact Stories
20%

43. Make it matter!
Our audiences are trained to filter out the noise.
Be able to pitch the benefits of an initiative in 5 words or less.
43When we do talk about ourselves

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Trees so you can breathe!

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Help a child in need

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Remember how to be human

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3. Expand and extend the stories we tell.

48. Greenpeace put out a whitepaper titled “Top 5 tips for actions that mobilize
online” based on a workshop on what they learned in 2013
Full report: http://bit.ly/1mwREcW
48Greenpeace tips

49. Suspense / Jeopardy
Too often we wait until after an action has
succeeded to communicate the results.
We lose the opportunity to build suspense.
What risks do we face?
What is difficult about this initiative?
Not all initiatives should be successful. There
should be a sense of jeopardy.
How can you take the event and extend it
forward in time?
49Greenpeace tips

50. Personal Stories
Who is involved in the initiative? Can I relate to
them?
What drives the people involved? Why are they
doing this?
What other voices can we highlight? The
affected? The volunteers? The community?
It should be about “ordinary people doing
extraordinary things.”
50Greenpeace tips

51. Interact - Make It Collective
Involve your audience in the story!
Have many ways to get involved - not just
donations.
Can they volunteer? Sign a petition? Send
messages of support to the people affected or
involved? Can they engage with key supporters?
Can they participate from home?
Push for solidarity.
51Greenpeace tips

52. Make it Long
It takes time for a story to gain traction and for
people to join in and share it.
Begin the story well in advance of the initiative.
Continue the story after the initiative is over.
What are the results? Check back in on the
initiative.
52Greenpeace tips

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3. Expand and extend the stories we tell.
Recap
1. Get your digital priorities straight
2. Focus on content that matters to your audience.

54. WORKSHOP 54

55. Start on the back of the worksheet.
Write down two to three initiatives your organization has recently completed
or is working on that you believe would be of interest to your audience
Pick one and write it down on the top of the worksheet
Write a pitch for this initiative in 5 words or less
Be sure to answer “WHY SHOULD WE CARE?”
555 minutes

56. Greenpeace framework
Identify how you can expand and extend the stories you can tell around the
initiative you selected
List each idea you come up with in the appropriate box
568-10 minutes

57. Share and support one another
Pitch your idea to your table (in 5 words or less)
Then give one example of how you could extend or expand the story of this
initiative
578 minutes

58. Sean Howard
The Connected Brand
sean@theconnectedbrand.ca
647 272 9361
twitter.com/passitalong
ca.linkedin.com/in/seanhoward/
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