Nonprofit Communicators Get An ‘Attaboy’ From McKinsey

A Pat On The Back, Photo by Jmehre

Many nonprofit communicators feel their efforts never get any respect or recognition. They often believe their marketing and communications initiatives never measure up to the work done by their counterparts in corporate communications or public relations firms. It’s the front-page newspaper story, the magazine cover or the Super Bowl exposure that captures the attention of executive directors and governing boards.

Those two groups often become too focused on the numbers of media impressions. It places unnecessary and ill-conceived pressure on communications and marketing professionals. They often place unrealistic expectations on communicators whose time can be better spent on other initiatives.

A story in the February McKinsey Quarterly affirmed this belief. It praised nonprofit communicators for successes in social media.

It was a huge “attaboy.”

The power of storytelling: What nonprofits can teach the private sector about social media shows how nonprofits are doing a better job than their for-profit counterparts in harnessing the power of social media. The article contains an excerpt from The Dragonfly Effect, by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith, and includes an interview with the authors. (It also includes an audio file for downloading or streaming.)

One area that Andy Smith emphasizes in the article is for organizations to keep focusing on goals. In the end, if you didn’t raise enough money to meet your operating budget, failed to provide services or programs for your members or clients, or stumbled in recruiting and engaging enough volunteers to fulfill your mission, it really doesn’t matter how many people follow you on Twitter or Facebook.

Many nonprofit communicators underestimate the value of the stories they have to tell. People who work in education, ministry or social services are so busy and consumed with their missions that they fail to make sure their best stories are told. This is where executive directors and board members can help in marketing or communications. It’s so simple for an executive director or a board member to start or use their Twitter or Facebook account to share short success stories.

Nonprofit communications efforts can be small, slow and steady and win the race.

My counterparts in corporate communications and public relations often told me they would love to be telling a story of human compassion or triumph instead of, well, pet food, soft drinks or beer.

Slides From UMSL Continuing Education Course: Developing A Marketing Plan For Your Nonprofit

There were great conversations, questions and interactions during a University of Missouri-St. Louis Continuing Education class on developing a marketing and communications plan for your nonprofit organization on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010.

More than 25 people attended on Wednesday and there were some great questions and conversations.

I failed to include a link to one of the templates I used in the presentation. The four quadrants of developing a marketing and communications plan and committee can be downloaded by clicking here (PDF).

Here’s a link to my deck of slides:

Join Me For 2-Hour Course On Developing Your NPO’s Communications Plan

Many people who find themselves responsible for their nonprofit organization’s communications fall into one of two categories.

One, their organization doesn’t have a viable communications plan and they’ve been delegated that responsibility.

Or, two, their organization has a communications plan and they have no training or experience in communications.

If you fall into one of these categories, or if you would like to learn how to develop an effective communications plan for your nonprofit organization, you’re welcome to join me for a two-hour non-credit course at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program.

Developing an Effective Communication Plan for Your Nonprofit Organization
Wednesday, October 20, 3-5 p.m.
J.C. Penney Conference Center
University of Missouri-St. Louis
$30

Click Here To Register Online

Download A Printable Flyer (PDF)

Course Description: Nonprofit organizations are faced with an increasing demand for their services and a more challenging fundraising environment. Perhaps more than ever before, success or failure is determined by how successfully NPOs commuicate their mission and services. Whether you’re an executive director, board or staff member, plan to join us as we help you develop an integrated communication plan and strategy for your organization. We’ll look at ways to measure success and help you define and develop marketing and communication channels.

We’ll look at integrating traditional communications channels as well as social media into a plans for orgainzations of all sizes. We’ll also review some fundamental elements that must be in place for any communications plan to succeed in a nonprofit organization.

My goal is that every person who attends this course will leave with at least one or two strategies–if not an entire plan–that will help their organization achieve a mission-based goal.

See you then!

Getting Ready To Launch

After more than seven months of development and planning, the Greater St. Louis Area Council’s redesigned website is scheduled to be launched on Friday, May 21, 2010. The site uses Microsoft SharePoint 2010 software.

Here’s where you can sneak a peak at the new site: preview.stlbsa.org.

I’m in the middle of a perfect storm of project deadlines.  Launching a redesigned website… Preparing marketing and communications for a 10,000-person jamboree in Forest Park during the first weekend in June… the Annual Report… the booklet for the Silver Beaver awards, the highest recognition a Boy Scout council can bestow on a volunteer.

I hope to write more often during late June to share lessons learned during this stretch of time.

Telling Your Story With Video

Using video effectively in your nonprofit organization will be the top of the Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010, Community Service Public Relations Council luncheon. During a conference call today with the presenters, Kristen Hare of the St. Louis Beacon and Tiffany Collins of the Humane Society of Missouri. Ms. Hare is planning to focus on how organizations can best tell a story using video, especially if the person producing the video has more experience writing or editing stories. Ms. Collins is planning to present on how the Humane Society of Missouri effectively uses video to tell emotional stories.

Creating effective videos for your organization is possible, even if you don’t have much money. Both of the panelists will offer tips and information on how to produce videos in a cost-effective way for use in fundraising, and on your web site. Ms. Hare will also discuss equipment, editing software and how to write for video.

We hope our luncheons help our member’s organizations and others. With this in mind, CSPRC members can send a link to one of their videos that’s currently online. If you produced a video that, (a) you’re proud of, (b) was extremely successful, (c) one that didn’t accomplish your goal and you’re not sure why it didn’t or (d) any of the above, please send the link to seansmothers@hotmail.com and we will post it to the CSPRC home page. We hope this will help all of our organizations by sharing best practices and constructive critique.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR THE CSPRC FEBRUARY LUNCHEON

MIT Research Scientist: Web 2.0′s ROI Is Organizational Progress

Organizations that use traditional ways to measure ROI (return on investment) of Web 2.0 tools aren’t satisfied with the results, says Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business at the MIT Sloan School of Management. However, McAffee says in a video interview with the McKinsey & Company Quarterly e-mail newsletter that organizations are able to measure progress made with blogs, wikis and other tools. McAffee’s new book, “Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for your Organization’s Toughest Challenges,” will be published by Harvard Business Press in December.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

• The quality of work increases when people are able to utilize their strengths as they collaborate by using blogs and wikis.
• There are two ways organizations can implement Web 2.0. One is a bottom-up approach where organizations get out of the way. The other approach is more of a top-down signal that the new technology is in line with what the organization is trying to accomplish.
• Blogs from the Chief Executive Officer can’t be press releases and comments must be allowed.
• Research shows that organizations using Web 2.0 do not put themselves at higher risk for technology problems than other organizations.
• People who are used to being gatekeepers of information should be frightened because they won’t be able to control information from the top or from outside your organization.
• Web 2.0 can increase interactions and teamwork, but there is no substitute for face time.
• Web 2.0 is helping organizations produce more and better results.

This information is valuable for nonprofit communications professionals as they continue to develop or execute Web 2.0 and social media strategies. McAffee’s research shows that organizations that adopt and embrace social media and new technology will help their organizations in a holistic way, which eventually shows up in the bottom line.