Public Relations for Nonprofits (PR 101)

Brenda Stier-Anstine

December 14, 2012

Agenda

• Introduction

• PR for the Nonprofit

• Real World Application

• Key Points to Remember

• Resources

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Brenda Stier-Anstine

• CEO, Marketing Works

• Ohio business owner, more than 25 years

• Public and community relations expert with extensive experience in PR for associations and nonprofits

• Committed to faith, family, education and community service

• Personal NPO involvement – holds numerous chair and advisory positions for various organizations

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Who currently practices public relations for their organization?

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Definition – Public Relations

Management of an organization’s

relationships with various publics

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Definition – Public Relations

Management

relationships

publics

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98% of a CEO’s job is public relations

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PR for the Nonprofit

NPO Public

Relations

NPO Public

Relations

Internal RelationsInternal

Relations

DevelopmentDevelopment

Community Relations

Community Relations

Public Affairs/

Lobbying

Public Affairs/

Lobbying

Media Relations/ Agentry

Media Relations/ Agentry

Program or Service Publicity

Program or Service Publicity

Real World Application

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Real World Application

1. Review mission

2. Identify objective

3. Identify publics that can influence success

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Customersmembers • clients

Producersemployees • board members •

donors • volunteers

Enablersopinion leaders • regulators •

government • media

Limiterscompetition • opponents

Real World Application

1. Review mission

2. Identify objective

3. Identify publics that can influence success

4. Tailor messaging specific to publics

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Tailor Messaging

1. Resonate specifically with each audience

2. Tell them exactly what it is you want

3. “What’s in it for me?”

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Real World Application

1. Review mission

2. Identify objective

3. Identify publics that can influence success

4. Tailor messaging specific to publics

5. Identify how you can most effectively communicate with publics

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Example Communication Tactics

• Personal involvement

• Information exchange

• Special event

• News material

• Opinion material

• Interactive news

• Social media

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Session Exercise

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Objective: Fully fund X program at $250,000

Current & Prospective

Donors

Your donation leaves a legacy of

care.

Program tour Make donation via donation card at end

of tour

Arielle Babineaux

• Account Coordinator, Marketing Works

• Leads implementation of marketing plans for Marketing Works clients

• Prior experience:

– Emmis Communications, cause marketing

– Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, IT and communications

• Social media junkie

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Social Media Spotlight

Blog

• Let your blog posts tell your story

• Ensure that others can share your blog posts

• Make it easy to subscribe

• Use video to tell your story

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Social Media Spotlight

Facebook

• Post photos, videos – tag your organization, employees, donors, volunteers

• Use Facebook events to promote activities

• Add a store, donations or other boxes

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Social Media Spotlight

Twitter

• Create a custom hashtag to support your organization’s initiatives or events (#GiveBack #FranklinCountyCares)

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Social Media Spotlight

Twitter

• Create a custom hashtag to support your organization’s initiatives or events (#GiveBack #FranklinCountyCares)

• Ask for a retweet

• Follow other organizations

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Social Media Spotlight

Miscellaneous

• Find potential board members on LinkedIn

• Post presentations to SlideShare

• BRAND EVERYTHING!

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Key Points to Remember

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Key Points to Remember

• Overall strategy– Always ensure all PR aligns with overall mission

and strategy of organization

– Prioritize based on needs and assets

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Assets

1. Budget

2. Staff

3. Outsource

4. Volunteers

5. Grants

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Key Points to Remember

• Overall strategy– Always ensure all PR aligns with overall mission

and strategy of organization

– Prioritize based on needs and assets

– Measure and evaluate all initiatives

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Measure and Evaluate

1. Revisit every activity

2. Re-evaluate moving forward

3. Readdress all initiatives quarterly

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Key Points to Remember

• General public communication– When communicating with any public, know what

motivates them and speak their language

– If you are asking a public to do something, make it easy for them to do what you want

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Key Points to Remember

• Internal communications– Ensure you keep your volunteers, staff and donors

abreast of any external PR activities

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Key Points to Remember

• Media relations– Position your organization or an organization

representative as a resource for the media

– Have a key volunteer and staff person trained as a media spokesperson

– Create interesting pitch ideas about your cause

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Interesting Pitch Ideas

• Simple

• Unexpected

• Concrete

• Credible

• Emotional

• Stories

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Get involved in your organization’s activities!

You never know where you’ll find inspiration for effective PR!

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Resources

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Websites• NonprofitPR.org• MediaBistro.com

Blog• Marketing-works.net/blog

Social Media

@MktingWorks

Books

Contact

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Brenda Stier-Anstine

StierB@marketing-works.net

614.540.5520