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Shout out to our friends at DipJar for making today’s episode possible! This clever cashless donation system has revolutionized our sales and donations at events…Ready to try it? 

 

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With the upcoming election on everyone’s minds, many nonprofit organizations are becoming concerned about how their fundraising efforts will be affected in this already-challenging environment. The good news is that elections generally have little effect on charitable giving – with the exception of nonprofits that are tied closely to political causes.

That means you don’t need to worry about losing out on donations or dramatically altering your approach to year-end giving. Keep pushing out the message about your mission and the impact donors can make. Stay connected with your donors, and you’ll be okay.

There is one area, however, that will need an adjustment: digital media. 

As we inch closer and closer to Election Day on November 3, campaign spending will skyrocket in this area. Both parties, as well as numerous political action committees and other related groups, will compete for attention in display, search and social ads.

As the competition heats up, here are some strategies to consider:

1. Increase your budget

More demand will lead to an increase in costs across the board for digital media. For nonprofits, this means higher costs to bring in donors and gifts online.

If you want to compete, you will need to increase your digital media budget to fight through the noise in September and October. There is no set recommended amount to spend – that will vary greatly depending on a wide variety of factors.

2. Dial back your digital spending

The alternative to swimming against the current is to jump out of the stream. We don’t recommend putting a stop to all digital media spending – like a hot water heater, it will take time to heat up again – but it may make sense to reduce your spending a bit.

If the cost to acquire new donors gets too high, let the political groups duke it out for attention. Just be ready to immediately ramp up your budget again on Nov. 4, once the election spigot turns off.

3. Narrow your audience

Digital media is great for casting a wide net as you prospect for new donors. 

During the election season, we recommend narrowing your focus. Determine which segments of your donor file perform the best and generate ads that are targeted toward audiences that look similar to these groups. 

You may bring in fewer donors than usual, but you will also be able to spend your dollars more effectively.

4. Highlight the good

Finally, one way to stand out in a crowd is to look different. 

With all of the negativity surrounding the election, people are looking for something to lift their spirits. Adjust your creative messaging to reflect the positive aspects of your mission. 

It’s well-documented that giving to charity makes people feel good, so tap into that spirit of generosity. You’re doing good in the world, and you can make donors feel good about their contribution to your cause.

Only time will tell how the presidential election will turn out (along with the rest of 2020), but we know these adjustments will help nonprofits weather the turbulence leading up to it.

Author Bio

Jarred Schremmer is Vice President of Strategy, Digital and Media at RKD Digital. He has worked in multichannel fundraising, communication and direct marketing for a distinguished list of health, international relief, faith-based, arts and culture, and university clients since 2005. Jarred leads RKD’s dynamic team of digital fundraising and media specialists who serve an international base of nonprofit organizations. RKD has a remarkable record of success helping organizations increase media reach, multiply fundraising and marketing revenue, and grow digital and multichannel donors.

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As of  January 2020, there are 3.8 billion social media users worldwide. The average individual spends around 2 hours and 24 minutes each day on social media.

What do these add up to? An amazing marketing opportunity that comes with a giant audience. Additionally, it’s an even bigger one right now because of how much time people are spending online while in quarantine.

Nonprofit marketers should realize the importance of social media for brand engagement and donor retention ― especially since social networks are naturally optimized for visual storytelling. Nonprofits can use socials to demonstrate their impact and engage their communities with this approach. 

Things to consider before diving into social media

Like any other marketing channel, you have to know what you’re working towards to promote your cause effectively.

• Establish a clear objective of what to achieve. Do you want to receive more donations this year, raise specific social awareness, or plan to recruit more volunteers? 
• Think about your target audience. What kind of content do they respond to? What platforms do they use? Try to focus on the platform most used by your target audience.
• Create a content schedule (weekly or monthly) to post consistently on the social media platform. Think of content that will get your audience to engage with your organization online!
• Draft your social media strategy to put everything into place. Social media planning is a luxury many smaller nonprofits can’t afford, so think about how much time and money you want to invest in it. Smaller organizations can do well with the free features offered on social media platforms, but creating sponsored content is great for those who can afford it.

How to become an expert on social media branding

Organic posting, running contests, and incorporating social media marketing in emails are all great ways to get started on your branding journey. But it can be a lot to take in, so here are 5 easy tips to follow and fit to your needs.

1. Interactive content for higher engagement

Nonprofit organizations can quickly boost their engagement with interactive content. It lets your audience do something other than absent-mindedly scrolling past your post. 

Interactive content can make your engagement soar ― 66% of businesses that use interactive content consistently agree that audience engagement has increased. And the best part? Using this content type doesn’t take much of your time. You can do simple things like:

• Host a Q&A session 
• Ask the audience to share their story 
• Post a Facebook survey
• Run interesting Twitter polls

2. Community building

Communication on social media platforms tends to be highly organic and conversational. It offers a unique opportunity for nonprofit organizations to communicate with both their involved and silent community of followers.

You can easily make it feel like a community by engaging in the conversations happening in the comments on your posts. Give feedback, ask questions, and make people feel heard. It’s all about building a relationship with your base.

Consider this example from St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The organization has posted a photo and a question to showcase their interest in the follower’s stories. This approach helped them build a genuine community of supporters.

Image Source: St. Baldrick’s Foundation

3. Run a contest!

Contests are a great way for nonprofits to quickly extend visibility and get their audience involved and engaged. It can be something as simple as submitting photos for an online challenge and asking them to use a hashtag specific to your organization. By doing so, it boosts your post further and also notifies you when someone submits an entry.

Although, some organizations may be apprehensive about this method. What if you don’t have the funds to give anything? 

Social media contests aren’t expected to give the same payoff as winning the lottery. Your prize doesn’t have to be very big! Especially if you have a committed base, anything you give will probably make them happy. Maybe create a gift basket with some t-shirts, snacks, coupons from sponsors, and a hand-written note from your staff. 

4. Demonstrate your social impact

Photos from a social contest or survey questions used for audience engagement are great ways to connect to supporters on an emotional level. It can invoke action from potential donors as they watch your work and its impact.

People are more likely to want to engage with your organization if they see the impact they can directly make on the world. Show them how your organization helps people and how they can be a part of the change.

5. Shoutouts to fundraisers

Now it’s time to use those social media handles you’ve collected during your fundraising registration process. Use them to give donors a personal shoutout. This broadcasted thank-you will make them feel special, and also increases your brand visibility because they’re likely to share the shoutout to their followers.

You can also mention the link to an individual’s peer-to-peer fundraising page to appreciate their support for your social cause.

If leveraged effectively and creatively, social media can be an incredible tool for connecting your nonprofit with a wide variety of audiences. You can quickly enhance brand exposure and engagement with just a few posts a day and add value to your follower’s feeds. 

The five strategic steps given above helps your organization in this area. Embrace them today to unlock the potential of social media to maximize your impact.

Author Bio

Diana Morris is a Marketing Professional with over 8 years of experience. She is interested in blogging and helps Small businesses with innovative ideas that keep pulling in newness and creativity. Currently, she heads the marketing team at BizInfor, a b2b database solution firm providing various services like email appending, data appending, lead generation email lists, etc.

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In a perfect world, charitable organizations would not have to worry about creating a strong brand image to have a successful organization. Making a solid brand is a long and relentless procedure ― it takes a lot more than just designing a new website or logo.

But if you’re dedicated to creating a strong brand for your nonprofit, you can make lasting change. By showing off your strengths, forming a groundbreaking board, drafting brand strategies, and drawing more support, your organization will be more prepared to further your cause.

1. Articulate Your Brand Vision

Funders, board members and policymakers are increasingly interested to know what value your brand provides to a community and what change they exist to create. This means your vision must be clear and concise.

Intelligent networking or communication will not help a nonprofit that’s unclear about its objectives. Therefore, before creating a nonprofit branding guide or designing a logo, take some time to do the following:

• Review your nonprofit mission and vision statement.
• Reflect on your past failures and learnings.
• Review your goals and existing organizational strategy.
• Understand the target audience of your organization.
• Speak to donors, board members, and stakeholders to gather their input.

2. Credible, Recognizable Leadership

Assembling a board of directors with some big names in the nonprofit sector is one of the simplest ways to build your brand. Mainly, if the leader gives keynote speeches, writes articles, or is seen as an essential voice in the field, your organization can reap more significant benefits in terms of brand recognition.

Without strong leadership, it’s hard to build community support or create change. A great board of top-level nonprofit professionals with name recognition can help you by:

• Offering strategic direction
• Connecting the organization to funders 
• Leading your brand towards success

3. Highlighting Influential Donors

Donors keep nonprofit organizations on their feet and in business. So, organizations need to be aware of major donors when planning a new project. Organizations that keep this in mind are highlighting their contributors unmistakably on their sites, planning to persuade other funders, and showcasing their significant accomplishments inside the organization. Besides, incentivizing your top donors will help to have more successful fundraising activities.

4. Influential Partner Organizations

Partnering with other nonprofit organizations with higher brand recognition will help you build a more substantial reputation and visibility. In short, it attracts support and trust. A great example of this kind of strategic partnership is between the V Foundation for Cancer Research and Vs. Cancer. 

The V Foundation empowers cancer research by funding at prominent cancer centers across the nation, whereas Vs. Cancer helps athletes to fund local pediatric oncology programs and childhood cancer research. The reputation of the former organization validates Vs. Cancer’s efforts. The people hearing about Vs. Cancer for the first time through the partnership, are more likely to trust them.

5. Effective Communications through Stories

Don’t just go with the annual report to showcase your organization’s impact. It might be a valuable sell document, but it’s not as helpful as a well-built website filled with stories and visuals. The story narrated by any brand or non-profit organization about its work is more important to the world than the work itself – at least while improving the revenue or sales rate. 

Some tips for effective story-telling include:

• Have a central character who is the beneficiary of your organization. 
• Paint the life of your central character in bright and vibrant colors.
• Tell only authentic stories about your work. 
• Include visual storytelling, especially in videos.

To Sum It Up

Many nonprofits utilize their brands primarily as a fundraising tool; but to reap the maximum benefit out of it, you have to develop a broader and more strategic approach. The methods specified here will help you in this area by creating a better social impact and closer organizational cohesion.

Author Bio

Emily Johnson is a marketing consultant with 10 years of experience in the execution of marketing strategies. Currently, she heads the marketing department at Blue Mail Media, a renowned B2B data solution company based out of Irving, Texas offering database services, industry code look and so on.

The post 5 Building Blocks of Strong Nonprofit Brands appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

An admirable mission alone is not enough to drive donor engagement and retention. A good webpage explains your mission, but a great webpage can make the difference between a passive supporter and an active, dependable donor.

When donors find a page slow, untrustworthy, and difficult to use, they’ll abandon their donation, leaving you without the funds your organization needs to function. The internet has made us all impatient when it comes to website performance, so don’t risk losing your audience before you’ve had a chance to really engage with them!

Viewers’ engagement will reflect the effectiveness of your website, so you should aim for a high-quality design that anticipates their needs and makes it easy to get involved. Let’s jump right into how to make the most of your webpage with these 5 smarter design tips:

1. Make navigation easier.
2. Standardize your branding.
3. Feature your donation page.
4. Make use of visuals.
5. Ensure website security.

Nonprofits can only function and thrive because of their supporters’ generous contributions, so you’ll want to have an effectively designed page to drive more giving. The online market is a crowded, competitive place, so use these tips to make a webpage that stands out to potential donors.

Making your site easier to navigate means making it easy to understand and access. When visitors get frustrated navigating your site, they’ll likely leave. Follow these best practices:

• You’ll want to include a navigation bar that’s visible on every page of your website except the donation form. This makes traveling between all your content easier, but limit the navigation choices to the essentials. If you give users too many options to choose from, they might overlook your more important pages like your donation form.
• Page titles should be concise. So concise, in fact, that they’re only 2-3 words. These few keywords should tell exactly what the page is about. Keeping titles this short keeps visitors’ attention while also minimizing the space they take up.

Don’t forget about streamlining how your own staff navigates your site’s backend and data management tools! For the best results, integrate other programs like your donor database and your fundraising software with your website for better navigation and data flow throughout all your systems.

In addition to these ways to simplify the donors’ experiences and helping your staff make the most of your site, you should pay particular attention to your site’s load times and mobile usability.

Minimize load times.

Each element on a page loads individually, which increases the time it takes your site to load. Visitors want the information they’re searching for within seconds, not minutes. When they don’t get this information quickly, they’ll often leave your site, so minimize load times by:

• Resizing and compressing images.
• Minimizing plugins and fonts used.
• Choosing HTML and CSS over Flash Player.

Online donations are often made when a donor is spontaneously feeling generous. Make sure your online donation tools allow you to customize the donor experience and offer a simple, quick process. Forcing them to wait while your clunky site loads might make them reconsider their generosity or cause them to get distracted and not follow through.

Optimize for mobile users.

The next level of navigation is making content usable for mobile users. According to Double the Donation, mobile users make up roughly half of all nonprofit website traffic. 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile devices, so you don’t want to miss out on this market!

Most website builders use a responsive design framework that automatically translates well for mobile users. However, you should still keep the following tips in mind:

• Keep layouts vertical.
• Use larger fonts.
• Don’t cram the page with unnecessary elements.

When you finish designing your page, you can always check your own smartphone to make sure it’s optimized for mobile users. Some website builders even offer a mobile preview tool where you can see your site the way a mobile user would as you go along!

When you carefully brand your website to your organization, you create a cleaner, more fluid look that conveys your brand. Use your logo as a starting point.

Before diving into formatting your site, make a style guide that defines what look you want. Consider a few elements such as:

• Colors. Pick 2-3 colors to use throughout your page based on your logo. Take it a step further by defining which elements will be styled in which colors. For example, you may want navy blue buttons with white icons and black on-page text.
• Font. Select one font and don’t differ from it. Choose one that’s legible but still conveys your brand.
• Images. Determine what look you want your images to have as well as formatting and sourcing. 

When you create guidelines beforehand, you make physically formatting your site a breeze after finishing content creation. On top of an easier formatting process, standardizing your branding ensures your visitors feel secure when browsing your site.

This is because consistent formatting throughout each of your pages instills trustworthiness. If readers are jumping to pages that don’t look like they came from you, they’ll likely think they’ve ended up on someone else’s website. They want to engage with you and won’t trust unbranded pages that look like they belong to a different organization, especially if they’re trusting you with their payment information.

Strong, consistent branding gives supporters a stronger image of your organization in their minds, making you more memorable and recognizable. 

As a nonprofit, your goal is to get passionate people on board with your cause. You want them to donate time and money in order to make your mission possible, so your donation page should be featured prominently and should be easily accessible from every page with a donation button.

The donation button should be located in your navigation bar at the top of your site so that it appears on every single one of your pages. Your donation page should be designed with just as much care as the rest of your site. Consider these tools to boost donations:

• Add a recurring donation option. Encourage donors to continue giving and provide them with the option to select the duration of their recurring donations. Include the total donation amount, because transparency will earn their trust!
• Include suggested giving amounts. When a new donor sees a suggested giving amount, they have a reference for how much they should give. They may also be influenced to give more if they think others are giving more than them.
• Add a matching gift tool. By doing this, you ensure donors know about potentially increasing their contributions through their employers and make it easier for them to search for their companies’ matching gift programs.

When your donation page is easily accessible, donors can easily get to it the second they decide to give, and providing them with extra tools like a recurring donation button can increase your donations and create long-term relationships.

Choosing the right visuals can add an extra layer to your site that attracts visitors. Not only should your page draw in visitors, but it also needs to communicate your nonprofit’s identity.

When designing your donation page, consider the following:

• Feature your logo prominently. Readers should instantly associate the donation page with your nonprofit, and incorporating your logo is a great way to accomplish this. Make sure to also include it at the top of your “Thank You” message when supporters donate.
• Incorporate branded colors. Just like the rest of your website, your donation page should be customized with your organization’s color scheme. 
• Place impactful photos. The images that create the largest impact are those you’ve taken or created yourself. Make sure to include emotionally-charged photos of those you serve, photos of your staff and supporters, and infographics that explain key concepts.

Not a graphic designer? No worries! You can always use intuitive website builders or well-designed fundraising tools that provide a good donor-facing experience. Alternatively, try working with a web design consultant with experience in nonprofits. fundraising consultant to help you design an enticing donation page. 

Supporters won’t want to give to your organization if they don’t feel like their private payment information will be properly protected. There are a few steps you should take to ensure donors’ security. Consider these security basics:

• A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate authenticates the website, allowing the webserver to initiate secure sessions with users. It’s indicated in the URL as ‘https’ rather than ‘http’. In order to collect donations through your website, you’ll need an SSL. Since you’ll most likely receive sensitive information like street addresses and phone numbers from your donors, you should use Extend Validation (EV) SSL certificates to protect their data. Your browser will provide special visual cues like a green padlock to indicate that your site is protected.
• Encrypt and use tokenization to protect your donors’ credentials. Encryption will protect donors’ private data by making it unreadable by unauthorized users. Tokenization will keep this data secure for post-authorization transactions like recurring donations. For more information on the importance of token-based authentication, visit this guide.

Taking these basic security steps can protect your nonprofit from a security breach. When you feel confident in your website’s security, you should then go further to implement even more advanced and secure protocols! These extra safety steps will protect you and your donors’ information.

In closing…

Websites are an investment. While every nonprofit should invest in a quality website, not every nonprofit can shell out the necessary funds. If your organization is on a tight budget, consider these low-cost website options. Dependence on technology is growing. In fact, 54% of donors worldwide prefer to give online, so it’s more important than ever to have an effective, well-designed page. Don’t just throw your nonprofit’s site together. For additional ideas on designing your nonprofit’s website, click here.

The post 5 Effective Design Tips to Increase Donor Giving appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

If you’re new to t-shirt fundraising for nonprofits, we’ve outlined everything you need to know below to get you started.

What is T-Shirt Fundraising?

T-shirt fundraising is a new kind of online fundraising where your organization sells custom apparel to your donors as a way to raise money and awareness for your cause. You get the funds you need to keep your organization running, and your supporters get an awesome shirt to show their passion for your cause.

Benefits of T-Shirt Fundraisers for Nonprofits

Before online t-shirt fundraising, it was difficult to offer your supporters a tangible item in return for their online donations. But with t-shirt fundraising, you’re given a fun and easy way to offer your donors something in return for their generous donations. Plus, you’re able to expand your organization’s brand awareness because all of your supporters will be wearing their new favorite shirt with your nonprofit’s logo.

What to Look for in a T-Shirt Fundraising Website

When it’s time to pick a t-shirt fundraising site for your nonprofit, you want to find a platform that will work in your favor. Find a tool that takes care of the details, and allows you to simply focus on sharing your campaign with your community and collecting the profits. 

To make sure you pick the t-shirt fundraising website that’s best for your nonprofit, we recommend choosing a site that’s able to offer you the following things:

• No Inventory Costs or Platform Fees: Use a t-shirt fundraising website that doesn’t require you to pay up-front for the shirts or charge a platform fee. Instead, choose a site that offers you a risk-free way to maximize your profits from the t-shirt fundraiser.
• Allows Additional Donations: To really help you maximize how much money you can raise, use a t-shirt fundraising site that lets your donors add an additional donation to your nonprofit at checkout.
• Discounts or Reduced Pricing: A lot of companies, especially fundraising websites, offer software discounts for nonprofits. Do some research to find a t-shirt fundraising site that gives you a discount on donation fees and administration fees to help you increase your profits.
• Excellent Online Reputation: Make sure the t-shirt fundraising website has a history of excellent customer service. This way, if something doesn’t go as planned, you know their team will be there to help you, and move mountains to help your supporters.
• Variety of T-Shirt Styles and Colors: Don’t let your t-shirt fundraiser be limited to one t-shirt style in minimal colors. Give your supporters some options to choose from so they can pick the style and colors that will fit best with their wardrobe preferences.

Create Something Your Supporters Will Love

T-shirt fundraising is a fresh fundraising strategy that gives your nonprofit an opportunity to create something your community of supporters will be really excited about. Create a fun design on a shirt people will love to wear and be amazed at how much money your nonprofit can raise with just a single campaign.

The post T-Shirt Fundraising: A New Take on Crowdfunding appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

What is brand personality—and why is it important?

If your organization were a person, what would they be like? How would they look, speak and move? Would they be the life of the party, or more subdued?

These questions might seem silly, but in nonprofit branding, they’re anything but. In fact, when we do stakeholder interviews for a brand strategy project, they’re among the most important questions we ask.

Why? Because they’re helpful in understanding and articulating an organization’s brand personality: how it looks, how it acts and how it makes people feel. Brand personality is one of the most important components of a brand strategy, for a couple of reasons.

First, in a saturated market, it can be difficult for an organization to differentiate itself on services or products alone. The difference between similar organizations might be negligible. Brand personality is one way you can differentiate from your competitors and stake a claim in the hearts and minds of customers and donors. Consider LensCrafters and Warby Parker. If you’re familiar with these brands, you’ll know that they both sell eyeglasses. You could probably find virtually identical products at both retailers. But their brands are about as different as can be—in large part because of how they show up on their websites, in their stores, everywhere. That’s brand personality.

The second reason is a big one: brand consistency. Brand personality touches every part of the brand experience, from your logo to your colors to your style—even the way your staff answers the phone. When each of these things is derived from the same core principles, they make for a consistent brand. Research shows that consistency breeds familiarity, and familiarity breeds trust. And what’s more important to a nonprofit brand than trust?

When I’m leading nonprofit brand strategy workshops, I often use the analogy of a person at a party. If you met someone who was shy and reserved, then two minutes later you witnessed them interacting with someone in a loud and brash manner, you’d likely  be confused. You might question their authenticity—which one was the “real” one? Or is there a real one? An inconsistent brand can have the same effect: turning people off, or driving them away. In contrast, consistent brands are magnetic.

What is a brand archetype?

When defining a brand personality, some agencies simply refer to a list of character traits. Traits can be helpful, but it’s hard to picture a three-dimensional person from a list of characteristics. And the more vividly your team can conjure the “person” associated with your brand personality, the more deeply they’ll understand them. They’ll be able to consistently bring them to life throughout your organization.

That’s where brand archetypes come in. The good news is, even if you’ve never heard the term “brand archetype” until right now, they’re not actually new to you. You already have a deep understanding of them without even realizing it. If I say “jester,” you can automatically picture that figure. The same goes for damsel in distress, warrior or activist—they’re archetypes.

According to both comparative anthropology and Jungian theory, an archetype is a figure or symbol that consistently recurs in literature, painting and mythology, across cultures and throughout time. When we encounter these familiar figures in art, literature, religion or advertising,or in individuals, groups or organizations,they evoke deep feelings within us.

How can I utilize brand archetypes?

There are dozens of well-established archetypes. When we’re working on a brand personality for a client, we consult a book called Archetypes in Branding. The book has 12 archetype families: the Maverick, the Jester, the Lover, the Nurturer, the Regular Guy, the Innocent, the Ruler, the Sage, the Magician, the Hero, the Creator and the Explorer. Each of these families has five archetypes within it, for a total of 60 well-established archetypes.

Because we all have a shared understanding of these well-established types, your brand archetype will ensure your team is on the same page with your brand personality.

I’ve seen for myself how a brand archetype can affect not only marketing communications, but organizational culture. I was once in an operations meeting with an organization for whom we’d done brand strategy. When it came time to make a decision, the team was at an impasse. Then the CEO suddenly said, “Wait. Let’s take a step back. What would the Innovator do?”

As a brand strategist, that was music to my ears.

Examples of archetypes in branding

If great brands are consistent brands, and brand personality is a means of ensuring brand consistency, it should come as no surprise that some of the world’s great brands have clear brand archetypes that guide how they appear to the world.

Below are the brand archetypes for three top-tier brands. See if you can guess which companies match these archetypes.

First, let’s look at the Magician archetype. The Magician wants to create new and exciting experiences for customers. Not content to simply make an existing product or service better, they want to change the world and make the impossible possible. Their goal is to make dreams come true.

Sound familiar? Can you guess which world-famous brand is embodied by the Magician?

Next, the Hero. The Hero also wants to make a difference, but in a different way. They seek to overcome injustices and problems faced by those around them. The Hero is a lot less subtle than the magician, telling the world about their accomplishments and constantly seeking ways to prove themselves.

What brand or brands does this remind you of?

Finally, the Rebel—otherwise known as the “Outlaw” or the “Revolutionary.”  Rebel brands are committed to challenging the status quo and creating a unique path for themselves and their customers. In so doing, they often inspire a cult-like following.

Can you think of any brands that embody the Rebel?

Here’s a clue: these are the brand archetypes for Nike, Harley Davidson and Disney.

If you guessed that Disney is the Magician, Nike is the Hero and Harley Davidson is the Rebel, you’re right. And the fact that you were able to figure it out is no accident. That’s branding—and specifically brand personality—done well. Done brilliantly, actually.

And though these are all for-profit mega-brands, brand authenticity and consistency is no less important to you than it is to them, whether you have a team of four or 400.

I’m sold. I want a brand archetype. How do I do it?

When undertaking a brand strategy process, we usually recommend working with an agency. Having an objective team with some distance from the organization can help you understand how both internal and external stakeholders experience your brand. Brand agencies are also specialists in brand personality and how it fits in with the rest of your brand assets.

If you choose to do your brand strategy yourself, asking yourself the questions above is a great start. Asking your colleagues and some friends of the organization—like longtime supporters and volunteers—will also give you a broader perspective. This will help  to more clearly understand what your organization looks and feels like from the outside.

Questions to ask yourself

• If our brand were a person, what kind of person would they be? How would they act? Speak? Move? What character traits would people use to describe them?
• If our brand were a person, what would their relationship to our most important stakeholders be? A friend? A mentor or coach? A colleague? A boss? A peer? An ally?
• How does our brand want to make our most important stakeholders feel?
• What are the archetypes of our major competitors or closest peers? (If it’s impossible to guess, they might have brand personality inconsistency).
• If money and reality were no object, and you could hire anyone in the world, alive or dead, fictional or real, to be your organization’s spokesperson, who would it be? Why them? What about them makes them a good representative of your organization?

Once you’ve asked yourself, your team and your stakeholders these questions, we recommend using the Archetypes in Branding book to find an archetype that feels like your organization. If you need to tweak an archetype or combine a couple of archetypes to create the right fit, that works, too. There are no rules—what matters is that you establish a brand personality that feels authentic, then stick to it, always.

Whether you’re looking for some additional support, have questions or want someone to take the lead, feel free to drop me a line. I’d be happy to help!

The post Brand Archetypes: What They Are and How to Use Them appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

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Not all that long ago, intellectual capital—knowledge of processes and data, informational resources, etc.—was critical to businesses and nonprofits. The people had the knowledge, and knowledge is power. But now, in the apex of technology and automation, a lot of information and processes are controlled by robots, servers or other invisible hands.

For the past 60 or so years, and especially since the advent of the internet, social capital—interpersonal relationships and networks—has become increasingly crucial. And we’re not talking about the number of Facebook friends you have, but people you’d actually take time to get coffee or lunch with. For nonprofits, the way to expand your reach and make a name for yourself has much more to do with these networks than it does with raw intellect.

This is good news! As nonprofit professionals, most of us are already in the business of people, whether we’re building houses, raising money, educating children or another noble pursuit. If you want to legitimize your organization within your field, take advantage of the networks you’ve already created and tap into those just beyond your current reach.

Get out there

Your cause is important, and you should always keep your mission in the front of your mind. However, it’s also important to remember that people give to people. Yes: donors want to further the cause—of course! But, in almost all cases, donors give after having a memorable interaction with an individual, be it an executive director, fundraiser or volunteer.

So perhaps the first step in making a name for yourself in your community is to actually go out into your community and interact with potential donors. Attend town hall meetings, other organization’s fundraisers and other community-centered events. Be prepared with stories of how your cause is making a difference (my friend and nonprofit storytelling guru Lori Jacobwith calls these “Mission Moments”).

Go online

Once you’ve physically established yourself in the community, you need to choose the best way for your organization to exist online. Do you have a blog? A good writer for that blog? A Twitter account? Podcast? There are myriad modes of online publishing, and the publishing strategy you choose should be based on your organization’s composition and capacity. If you’re a part of a small, busy team, it might not make sense to spend a majority of your time writing blog posts. However, it’s crucial that you don’t neglect your online presence—it directly contributes to your organization’s brand.

Own your brand

After you’ve asserted yourself in the community and online, it’s time to start truly owning your brand. You’ve probably heard this before—that it’s crucial to “own” whatever you and your organization stand for. It’s vague, probably overused advice, but, at the heart of it, it makes a lot of sense. Let the brand you’ve created for yourself inform every decision you make, online and offline. For example, before you post something to social media, ask yourself, “Does this fit with our brand?” If it feels a little off (trust me, you’ll know), or isn’t in some way contributing to your overall mission, it probably isn’t on brand.

Owning your brand also has a lot to do with the time you spend outside of work. Now, I’m not proposing that you let your job dominate your life, but it’s important to remember that you’re representing your organization wherever you go: to parties, other organizations’ fundraisers, to the movies (imagine you’re wearing your organization’s logo on your forehead).

Empower your network

Finally, after you’ve cemented your organization and your brand in the community, it’s vital that you empower your staff, volunteers and donors to communicate with their individual networks. Encourage them to ambassadors for your organization at their jobs, meetings and social events. Even a social media post can make a world of difference.

Making your organization a go-to option among donors isn’t easy, especially if you’re starting from scratch. However, if you empower your staff to go out into the community and advocate for your organization, ultimately leading to a broadened network of supports, you’ll be well on your way. And always remember that confidence is key—confidence in yourself, in your mission and in your social networks to help diffuse your cause into the community and beyond.

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