Non-profit Marketing and Public Relations
Reach Audience and Press with Traditional and New Media
Sep 24, 2008
Communication is a two-way street. Today's marketing communicators know that the Internet makes this saying more true than ever! The traditional press release reaches only a small portion of the potential audience. Another group of customers gets information from the Internet. New social media groups provide a means to reach another, usually younger, demographic.
Traditional and New Media Mix
Old and new tools mix and match. Yes, you need a press release and a brochure, too, in most cases. But Internet marketing communications tools allow you to reach out in new, budget-conscious ways. Forums, surveys, and blogs are just a few of the means available to you to ask questions. They provide a springboard for discussion and quick feedback that allows changes to programing.
Podcasts are a means to provide content information for audio listeners. Interviews with artists and subject area specialists whet the appetite for more. Ask questions that will make listeners want to see a work of art. Provoke epiphanies that excite them to get involved with your advocacy organization.
Social networking sites like Facebook and e-mail marketing applications like Constant Contact allow you to reach out and spread a message virally. Recipients can link to your website or other Internet application for more information that will allow them to join, buy tickets, or find out about programming hours.
When using Internet tools, invite colleagues to review your work to be sure potential users can get all of the information they need quickly. Are links correct? Do photos and forms download quickly? Are hours, fees, and other particulars all present and accounted for?
It's the Message
Are new media formats replacing traditional advertising means to promote your non-profit cause? Probably not. More than anything else, new media adds another option to the many that are currently available for finding information.
Marketing communicators still have to apply the time-tested rules. Media messages still have to be well-crafted. The pitch, the ask, the art of communicating ... all are still the same. Online social networking is the new word of mouth that can get the information out there, but you still have to make an offer and invite potential customers to come on down.
Media Relations
When media relations is more than a press release, there is more demand for content and more opportunities to present your organization and mission. When you add up the traditional and electronic media, there are simply more opportunities to get your message out there.
So, begin by thinking like a journalist! Consider deadlines, response times, good visuals, and accuracy. These are all essential. Keep the message simple, write to a fifth grade level, and speak in bullets. Even if your audience is more sophisticated, they are probably starved for time. Simplicity and clarity will increase the likelihood that your message is seen and read, and elicites a response.
Get Coverage
To garner media coverage:
- Be proactive - this usually takes a full-time person
- Find the right person to talk to and be persistent
- Hone your message and be able to convey it in 2 or 3 sentences, tops!
- Think visually - plan photos, video, color, graphics and other art elements to appropriately convey your message (i.e. if your cause is environmental, use recycled paper and natural colors)
- Repeat your message and be consistent
- Develop a news angle or hook
- Think about how your organization or cause fits with a local issue or timely news story
- Ask a celebrity to promote your cause or deliver your pitch
- Create conflict and set up your organization as offering a solution
- Create a human or emotional impact factor in your message
Final Words
Keep clipping files or other records of your promotional work for later analysis. Seek customer feedback on what they liked and didn't like.
Seek out other like-minded organizations for co-promotions and co-advertising opportunities. Two small budgets can be better than one.
Go beyond the current event and keep in touch with your customers by adding them to your e-mailing or snail mailing list.
Keep in touch, yes, but also keep it fresh and interesting. If the information about your non-profit is worthwhile, fun, and thought-provoking, your marketing communications, especially on the internet, will spread and grow.
Read More: Non-profit Fund Raising
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