Two of My Fav Original Thinkers Share Nonprofit Marketing Gems

So much great content comes my way, I just had to share a few sparklers from two folks I am continually inspired by:

1) Seth Godin urges nonprofit marketers to focus on whom you're talking with (not your org) and the  relationships rather than the tools. He also advises that we test, test, test to find the best strategies for our organizations.

• Get more tips and insights via the full transcript of Seth's online discussion with Chronicle of Philanthropy readers and staff. He knows what he's talking about. Really.

2) Allison Fine shares her research on what it means to Millennials (15-29 year olds), to have the ability to become an advocate for their cause instantly, broadly, inexpensively, and what that ability means for nonprofit communications. She found young people to be very idealistic, marinating in causes, alienated from government and public policy -- in short, Social Citizens.

• Your org has to learn how to work with Millennials most effectively if you want to move forward, and they're incredibly savvy marketing wise. As Allison said at the close of a recent speech on her research, "If we don’t figure out how to incorporate Millennials into our nonprofit organizations, they’re just going to start their own causes, overnight, using free tools.”
• Dig into Allison's paper to learn more about her methodology and guidance on talking and working with Millennials, then keep up with the conversation in her Social Citizens blog.

Photo credit: abielskas

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Leverage Prez Hopefuls' Understanding Of Women To Increase Your Nonprofit Marketing Impact

The current presidential campaign madness is serving up lots of insights into effective communications.

I found Linda Hirshman's article in Sunday's New York Times Magazine on how gender influences political choices intriguing, both as a citizen and as a nonprofit marketer. Hirshman's frame, based on lots of poll data, is: Women, who vote in greater numbers than men do, are either voting for or against Hillary Clinton because she is a woman, and being able to appeal to female voters could be the key to her victory or loss.

Here are some outtakes on why that's so, and how those insights can strengthen your nonprofit marketing to women:

• Premise: Women vote to protect their interests (men vote because they enjoy politics)
  • How to work it: Noted psychologist Carol Gilligan says that women are powerfully motivated by their interests ("family, education, household, health care, war and peace, economic  opportunity") and if you can engage them, you're gold. Relate your issue to women's interests, but make sure you know what you're talking about. Test, test, test.
• Premise: When a women holds office or runs for office, other women are more likely to be engaged in politics. Also, fewer women turn to media outlets with mainly male sources.
  
  • How to work it: Focus campaigns to women on women -- org leaders, program participants, etc. You'll be more likely to engage women audiences.
• Premise: Women are more likely to have an open mind.
  • How to work it: Considering breaking multi-part marketing campaigns into more drops (via mail or email) to women. Keep trying to approach the same offering, issue or ask from different points of view.
• Premise: Women network, organically, so already have a network (or two, or three) in place. That goes for candidates, but also for their constituencies/supporters.
  • How to work it: Pitch your "forward-to-a-friend" and other viral campaigns more specifically. Just saw a new novel marketed to women with a "buy one, get one for your best friend free" offer. These relationships count, so make use of them.

I'll keep you posted on more presidential tips for engaging women, and other groups. Do you have any to share? Please email them to me today.

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Update: The ABCDs of House Party Success -- How to Put 'Em to Work for Your Nonprofit

Post-Party Update -- Feb. 4, 2008
Our pre-primary party was a fabulous success, with more than 80 folks engaged, provoked, stimulated and talking. Guests responded with huge thanks for the forum. Here are a couple of the emails we received the next day:
"Congratulations, and thanks again on pulling off an ambitious party. It really worked out great! We had fun, learned something, got to enjoy the company of new and old friends."

"It was great fun, good to hear from the articulate and smart folks there, and inspiring to enjoy the general good feeling and hope about next year.  Thanks for pulling us all together, giving us a chance to talk politics and a reason to savor this rather extraordinary moment we are living through!" 

Here's what made this party a huge success, and what will work for your nonprofit's house party:

A) Build a sense of excitement ahead of the event, to frame the focus and format, and get guests intrigued, involved and up-to-speed before they walk in the door.

B) Organize it out the wazoo. Nothing is as deflating as guests drifting around, uninvolved. Be prepared to capture the energy, build on it, then put it to work. Outline the format (ours outlined below worked great), have handouts ready and leave the group motivated to act (and make it easy for them to do so).

C) Make it fun. All work and no play makes a party dull. Remember you have a self-selected group of interesting, interested people. Make sure they have the opportunity to connect on other fronts as well...that'll increase their enthusiasm about the experience, and probably the issues, and add an infrastructure to the community you're building.

D) Keep up the momentum, continuing to nurture the community of interest you build. Your guests' departure is only the beginning of a beautiful relationship . Before your guests go out the door, have your follow-up plan in place, and move on it within a couple days. We're sending out a follow-up email, with a post-party poll, and will keep up with periodic emails, and a mid-July fundraiser.

P.S. Take a close look at the photo above. Yes, our friend Tori at left is wearing a vintage Nixon dress, itself worth the price of admission.
__________________________________________________________________

Readers, here's a semi-personal story I wanted to share with you.

In our state (NJ), we've never had a REAL say in the presidential primaries before. But this round we're part of Super Tuesday (Feb. 5th), something many folks haven't fully absorbed. So we're holding a pre-primary party to help 100 of our undecided Democratic and Independent friends get clear on whom they'll vote for in Tuesday's primary, and get everyone, decided or not, excited and motivated to vote, volunteer and give.

The concept -- an issues-oriented house party -- is ripe for the stealing from the political arena. After all, creating and sharing new traditions is a key way to cope with an ever-changing culture.

The possibilities for your organization to launch a house party campaign are almost endless. It takes only the simplest online support mechanism (deliverable via your Web site) to make it easy for your supporters to raise dollars and awareness for your cause. Education, awareness and possibly fundraising, all  in an atmosphere of conviviality and good food (let's hope). Talk about putting your supporters to work for you.

Here's how our party will work:

1) Pre-Party Ramp Up

• Emails to guests to build understanding and excitement about the event, and a clearer sense of where the candidates are on the issues.
• Online pre-party poll.

2) Caucus and Meet Your Candidate Captains

• Guests will caucus for 20-30 minutes with others who also support their current pick.
• Each group will be asked to define 3-5 key reasons it's supporting that candidate AND 3-5 reasons why the other candidates aren't strong enough. (Polite bashing is acceptable).
• Undecideds are free to roam.
• The aim of this portion of the party is for the captains to compile a list of reasons to support the candidate (and oppose the others),and find out who among the group wants to participate in the Soap Box session. (This may take some gentle nudging for some.Of course, no pressure for anyone to speak in the Soap Box session.)

3) Soap Box Sermonizing -- Pro and Con

• In rotating order, a representative from each camp (can be the captain or any other supporter for that candidate) will ascend the Soap Box, and be given up to ONE MINUTE to address the party with a key reason the group supports their candidate (Pro). It's our own Speakers Corner.
• So, we’ll get one minute from a Clinton supporter, one minute from an Edwards supporter, one minute from an Obama supporter.
• Then in the next round, following the same order, people will speak to the "Con" -- Why the other candidates aren't up to snuff.
• We’ll do this until all three camps have shared main reasoning for and against.

4) Caucus Fraucus and Straw Poll

• We'll dissolve into a Caucus Fraucus of beer, soft drinks and chips. During this time, primary party-ers are encouraged to engage each other about who they're supporting and why.Cajoling and persuading are encouraged.
• Then they step over to our "voting booth" and cast their ballots in our straw poll.

5) Pizza for all, as we announce/predict(?) the winner!

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Use these 4 Powerful Online Strategies from Mike Huckabee

Nonprofit marketers, listen up. Candidate Mike Huckabee is showcasing some powerful online communications strategies. Take a look at what he's doing right to build online audiences (and awareness) to learn to put these techniques to work for your organization:

1. Shares lots of user-created videos via his blog. These videos are provocative, informative and funny -- a trifecta. They also provide interesting apples-to-apples comparison with other candidates; showing rather than telling which always works better.
2. Reaches out to key bloggers twice-monthly, and not just the stars. Huckabee has invited bloggers to participated in regular conference calls (listen in here). He's become known for good listening, and has succeeded in building loyalty among this critical (and widely courted) group of influencers.
3. Delivers a user-focused Web site, easy-to-use for key functions (participating, giving, learning more).
4. Encourages independent action including MeetUp, and Huck's Army (a hugely active independent Huckabee forum), giving up the quest for control he can never achieve anyway.

Together, these strategies have led to a massive increase in traffic to the Huckabee site, far greater than that to Obama's or Clinton's site. Even so, Huckabee needs to do a much better job making it easy for site visitors to learn about his responses to key issues such as Pakistan. As it is now, his site just doesn't give users the tools to judge him. When he does, he'll find site traffic to build at an even greater pace.

Caveat:
Huckabee doesn't touch Ron Paul's supporter-led online fundraising coup of November 5th, which raised 4.3 million in a day. Perhaps this more organic effort -- led by Paul's supporters, not his handlers -- made the difference. After all, us communications folks are constantly framing social networking as controlled by users, not by content producers. Any thoughts on the root of Paul's success in motivating action/giving (other than it wasn't generated by Paul's staff)? Please comment below. I want to understand this phenomenon.

Disclaimer:
No, I'm not a Huckabee supporter. But I'm eager to showcase strong communications models, no matter the source.

Hats off to TechPresident for the tip.

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Crowdsource for a Slogan that Sticks

Taking the contest strategy of audience engagement to the Nth degree, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is calling loudly for entrants and votes for its new slogan. With its Bump Up Our Majority campaign, the Committee is seeking a slogan to carry it through the 2008 election -- for use on its Web site, bumper stickers, campaign handouts.

For the right creative writer, it's a great chance for broadscale self-promotion as the winner becomes part of the Dem story. For those who just vote on the existing slogan choices presented, it's a fun way to participate. For the DSCC, it's a cheap way to get immediate publicity, develop more loyal and engaged supporters (with contact info) and come out the other end with powerful messaging. Win-win-win.

What's particularly effective hear is the language (I got an email urging me to join the fun) that the Dems use:

We need a turn of phrase that really jumps out and tells you right off the bat what this election is all about.  In 1992, it was "It's the Economy, Stupid."  In 2006, Democrats simply said "Had Enough?" It was the only question America needed to ask.

We got a few ideas, and we even taped one of our brainstorming sessions.  Take a look and then, do us the favor of voting for one of our top picks.   But if you got something better, we'll throw that in the mix too.

Then, once they've engaged you, they step up and throw in critical points on:

• How important it is to stay engaged
• The potential power, and impact, of the dems
• Spreading the word on the contest and the campaign.

Congrats Dems on a fun, high-energy way to make a splash at the height of the end-of-summer doldrums.

P.S. According to Wikipedia, crowdsourcing is "taking a job traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people, in the form of an open call." More to come in future posts about other ways your nonprofit can capitalize on the creative energy of your audiences.

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Hillary Steals the Show, Literally -- Spoofs Final Sopranos Episode to Announce Campaign Song Contest Winner

You know that Hillary campaign joined the contest bandwagon to find the right campaign song. Now, Hillary's getting attention announcing the winner -- which she's doing via a video spoof of the final Sopranos episode, shared via YouTube.

This knock-off is just one more example of the hopefuls trying to connect with voters and potential donors via clever, relatively inexpensive formats that are infused with pop culture references, contemporary themes or intimate moments. It's silly but endearing.

Smart marketing, Hillary and team, even though citizen voters selected 'You and I' by Celine Dion, a Canadian. And best of all -- you don't find out the winner via the video, you have to click to a link on Hillary's site. When you get to the announcement page, Contribute is the biggest word you see.

Expect the hopefuls to be out in front with trying new communications channels. After all, it's a dog-eat-dog race, and one that's very short-term. There's little room to go wrong, and no time to waste.

Just another example of how the Presidential hopefuls are experimenting fast and furious with social networking, like I encourage you to do. Don't fuggedaboutit.

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More Ideas from Presidential Hopeful Communications

Put techPresident on your regular reading list. Its the group blog from Micah Sifry (co-founder and executive editor of the Personal Democracy Forum, which covers the ways technology is changing politics) and friends, who provide steady coverage of how the candidates are speaking out. Or, as Sifry puts it, "how the candidates are using the Web, and how the Web is using them."

Recent posts relevant to your nonprofit's communications agenda include:

• The Long Tail of Online Political Video as Sifry wonders if it's time to draw a distinction between "stuff that is clearly professionally made efforts by PR firms or comedy improv groups looking to promote their own brands (e.g. Obamagirl), and stuff that is more purely voter-generated."
  • Audience hunger for authenticity is loud and clear. Just cut the b.s.
• Hilary's Campaign Just Launched It's Own News Aggregator Site, Hillary Hub -- ala Huffington Post -- but All News if Favorable
  • Hillary's picking up on models from professional sports and corporate world to transcend the traditional news media. Consider doing the same for your issue area.
• The Ideal Campaign Incorporates On- and Offline Components -- 100% Integrated
  • A strong political campaign should "combine online tools with television, direct mail, personal appearances and conventional fundraising"
  • Just as your nonprofit communications strategy should integrate traditional and more innovative strategies, via multiple channels, but all integrated in terms of focus and message.
• Graphical Analysis of the Candidates MySpace Friends, You Tube Stats,Facebook Supporters, Blog Posts Mentioning the Candidates and more
  
  • MySpace-wise McCain leads the Republican pack; which surprises me. Paul and Romney lead via other channels.
  • Obama's way out front Dem-wise across the board. He's embraced these online, community-based channels, rather than running away from them. Obamagirl's hit tune has pushed him to the top of the social media hit parade, even if it was created by a comedy team looking for work.
• "Don’t take that 'Director of Internet Communications' job. Take the 'Director of Communications' job"
  • Remember, it's about communications -- not the channel, not the technology.

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Lots to Learn from Presidential Hopeful Communications Strategies

I've been following the candidates' communications campaigns, and communications about them, and finding some very interesting strategies applicable to your nonprofit.

One powerful model I've seen is serial communications which enable the focus and message to germinate in your audience's mind and ear.  More is more (usually, if it's not annoying), particularly in this age of content overload.

John Edwards released a series of emails two weeks ago, each building on those previous to get a message across via telling the story of his favorite pie -- his mom's recipe for pecan pie (what else for a good southern boy). Here's how the campaign rolled out --

• Edwards' birthday was Sunday, June 10th
• Beginning a week prior, the campaign generated a series of emails from Elizabeth Edwards, hooking readers in with the pie story
• And asking supporters to step forward to give, urging them to contribute to make John's birthday a very happy birthday (and reach his goal of 10,000 supporters)
• How not to Bake a Pie -- A near-the-end email included a link to a very funny video of two campaign aides trying to make the pie, which segued into Elizabeth's call for giving, and a link to the recipe (for donors only).
• No better way to get to the wallet than through the stomach.

Try a serial campaign for your organization. The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) is running a very powerful series of newspaper print ads condemning British academics for abandoning their Israeli colleagues as a critique of Israeli policy on the Palestinian conflict.

They built their case simply and powerfully via a series of seven or so boldly- yet simply-designed ads in the first section of the New York Times -- on several days last week. Each ad featured the achievement of an Israeli academic (many of them were researchers who have found or refined life-saving medications). I can't forget them.

Try a series for your nonprofit's most urgent communications goal -- email's the easiest and least expensive way to experiment. And report back to me and your fellow Getting Attention readers.

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