Effective Marketing Communications on a Shoestring

Michele Levy

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Today’s Speaker

Hosting:

Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership

Michele LevyBrand Strategy Consultant,

Brand Strategy Consulting

Assisting with chat questions: April Hunt, Nonprofit Webinars

Welcome!

Webinar goals

• To share some ideas and approaches that have

worked for other nonprofit (and startup) organizations

• To equip and inspire you to tackle your marketing

challenges in a manageable, sustainable way

• For participants to walk away with at least one concept

or tool they can implement within their organizations

A shifting role

The new way:

Director of Marketing

Communications,

focused on building

the brand across all

touchpoints, utilizing a

broad, integrated mix

of tools, tactics and

channels

The old way:

Director of

Communications,

focused on

publications and

public relations

The agenda

• Who is the target audience (or, as is more likely,

audiences)?

• What are your goals (build awareness? generate

leads? strengthen relationships?)

• What are some effective (and cost effective) ways to

reach those audience segments?

• How will you know what’s working?

A caveat

Assuming that you have already built

a strong foundation…that you have

clear, consistent messaging to apply

across the communications tools

we’ll be discussing.

Who’s your target audience?

Make a mental picture

• Start by making a list of all the types of people who

are important to you (for instance, funders, partners,

served population).

• Include both those you communicate with/interact

with now, as well as those you’d like to.

Make some hard choices

The list was the easy part…then you must prioritize it!

Ultimately, all of your marketing decisionmakers

(including your board) must agree on your

audiences, and how you have prioritized them.

And one other question

Where are they?

How do you get smart on your audience?

• Ask and observe

– Phone interviews/focus groups with a combination of long-term

and newer members, volunteers, clients, etc.

– Online surveys with members, clients (survey monkey, etc)

– Conversations with partners, the press, other external

stakeholders

– “Watch” their behavior across your touchpoints (in person, online,

written communications)

– Keep it up!

• And remember…

– They can’t ALL be your most important audiences.

– A relevant brand is NOT the same as trying to be all things to all

people (and “following the funding” is one of the surest ways to

muddle your brand)

– In the words of Dorothy…

Students

Faculty and

staff

• Highly driven, well-

rounded individuals

• The ideal student

“customer” is a

visitor, and is not

necessarily an art

major…but they are

willing to explore

new things and new

ways of thinking

• Passionate,

dedicated

individuals engaged

in the broader

college community

• Not limited to the art

department

• Developing their

ability to think more

broadly

• Having an impact on

their community

• Developing “real

world” experiences

• Getting it all done

• Occasionally taking a

break from getting it

all done!

• Finding opportunities

to expose their

students to real works

of art and new ways of

thinking

• Keeping their teaching

relevant/fresh

• Occasionally taking a

break themselves

Audience Description Desired perceptions/behaviors Our messages to them

• ALL

• We are a valuable resource.

• We offer the unique opportunity

to see real works of art in your

own backyard.

• We can help bring new

perspectives to your studies, and

to your hectic life.

• We are accessible across a

variety of channels (don’t be

intimidated!)

• We are “safe haven”, extremely

supportive of experimentation.

• We support experimentation and

risk-taking.

• FACULTY AND LEADERSHIP

• Our collections, programs and

staff can help enrich the

academic experience, and help

create better students.

• We share your high intellectual

standards and can be a valuable

partner in helping to differentiate

the Wellesley College

experience.

• To understand the role

and value of DMCC

within the context of the

College

• To see DMCC as a

valued resource across

a variety of dimensions

(and to utilize it

regularly)

• To act as ambassadors

for DMCC within their

own spheres of

influence

• To understand the role

and value of DMCC

within the context of

the College

• To have greater

investment in DMCC

and what it offers

• To see DMCC as a

valued resource and

collaborator

Audience key concerns

Let’s get detailed…

What are your goals?

It starts with your strategic plan

• As an organization, what do you hope to accomplish

over the next 12 – 18 months?

• What about over the next 5 years?

For example…

• From the strategic plan: Over the long term, we wish to

redefine ourselves as an institution of national scope and

relevance

• Two key strategic goals directly relate to branding and

marketing:

– Strengthen our leadership position in the historic,

genealogical and cultural sector

– Increase the influence and loyalty of our target audiences and

to expand the number of members, users and donors

Sample brand/marketing goals

• Build awareness, familiarity and support within key

target audience segments

• Expand reach and communications impact across

new geographies and new target audience

segments

• Support strategic plan in general, admissions and

fundraising goals specifically

It’s critical that you have agreement

on your brand/marketing goals

People can make communications planning sound

complicated, daunting and something only a marcom

person with years of experience can do.

WRONG. Anyone can do this…

Typically, three (integrated)

strategy buckets

• Build awareness and familiarity (who are

you and why do you matter)

• Generate leads (I might want to engage

with you)

• Strengthen relationships (I really want to

engage with you)

Very simple

AUDIENCE

MESSAGE

TOOL

TIMING

ASSIGNMENT

METRICS

Who do you want to reach?

What do you want to say to them?

Be sure to make it about them!

What communication tool(s) will

most effectively reach them?

When this will happen?

Who is going to make sure this

communication step happens?

How will you know it worked?

The key = pick a few things, do them well, measure, adapt

A bit more complex

• Brand blueprint (elevator pitch, message matrix, proof points,

brand attributes, etc.)

• Target audience (who your audience segments are, their

needs and expectations)

• Competitive landscape (a brief overview of alternative options

available to your served populations and supporters)

• Communications goals (what you want your activities to

accomplish)

• Communications strategies (the high level ways you plan to

accomplish your goals)

• Communications tactics (specific activities you will engage in,

with timing)

• Measurement and evaluation (how you plan to track results)

• Budget

• Editorial calendar

• Communications calendar

Case study

Davis Museum and Cultural Center (Wellesley College)

• First…who are we marketing to?

• Second…how do we leverage our re-opening?

• Third…how do we prioritize our marketing resources?

DMCC: Communications strategies

Leverage the opening

(and related activities)

to re-engage with

current stakeholders

June - September October - December Spring semester

Continue to build the

relationship with those

who re-engage as a

result of opening

activities

Leverage exhibits and

re-installation to begin

to engage with new:

New stakeholders

from current

audiences, as well as

new audiences

PHASE I

PHASE II

Brand awareness activities (buzz)

Continue to build the

relationships…

Ongoing

DMCC: Marketing communications tactics

Leverage opening celebration (and related

activities) to re-engage with current

stakeholders

June - September October - December

Continue to build the relationship with those

who re-engage as a result of opening activitiesPHASE I

Print collateral

Invitations to opening with targeted phone follow up

Guide to the Reinstallation

Flyers/posters

Friends of Art brochure

E-collateral

Evite

e-flyers

Signage (decisions to be made)

Kiosk

Banner/windows

Sandwich boards

Plasma Screen

Media

Paid media (see page 18)

Press Releases

Calendar Listings

E-communications

Newsletters, as appropriate

Other

Personal attendance at meetings

Letter writing campaign to targeted groups

First – Year Orientation Aug 27

eNewsletter (3x/year, all)

eBlasts (as relevant, all)

Events

Museum printed piece (replaces

Calendar of Events, ready to mail

October)

TACTICS

Brand awareness activities (buzz)Ongoing

NOTE: throughout, make

every effort to track results in

order to have a better

understanding of what’s

working, and what’s not (and

to adjust tactics as

necessary). Each tactic will

support a different tracking

mechanism:

• Track press success with

press clips

• Track print advertising and

arts calendar via data

collection with on-site events

form.

• Track events listing via click

through to web site (make

sure event is listed on site!)

It really can be as simple as a single

spreadsheet

Let’s get more specific

Awareness building tactics

• Advertising

• Public relations

• Networking

• Search engine optimization (SEO)

• Social media

Advertising

• You are least likely to utilize this tactic

– It’s expensive

– It can generate a lot of “waste”

• Unless you can do it with some significant impact,

and/or in a highly targeted way, your marketing

resources are better spent someplace else

– “Three times is the charm”

– Keep it simple

– White space is good, too much copy is bad

– Make it professional

– Aim for the bullseye

Public relations

• Includes media relations, events, speaking

engagements, publication

• Similar to networking in that it’s very much about

building relationships AND having something

worthwhile to share

• Think about how you can “package” information as

news, education, etc.

• Treat the media and other public relations contacts

as one of your audience segments…know who they

are, what they want, what they tend to write about,

etc.

• Make it easy for people to use your information (and

use you, in the case of speaking engagements!)

Public relations

• Important to differentiate between calendar listings

and feature articles

• And NEVER just mass mail releases

• Photos/images help

• Keep it electronic

Most important…

M3 = Merchandise your media mentions!

A good press release…

• Is short (one page)

• Has a short, compelling headline

• Starts with the most important info (editors cut from

the bottom)

• 1st paragraph = the most important information

• 2nd paragraph = more details, sometimes a quote

• 3rd paragraph = “About us”

Good old-fashioned networking

• Want to raise awareness?

– Get out there.

– Get your board out there.

– And make sure you’re communicating consistently.

• What is your current networking strategy?

A great resource for networking tips:

TABLE TALK by Diane Danielson (founder of Downtown Women’s Club)

Try this with your own team

• Who are the top 5 people you should know?

• What are the top 5 organizations you should be

involved in?

• How can you get to know those people?

• How can you get involved with those organizations?

• Then go do it (and be accountable to each other)

Put it in writing

To tweet or not to tweet…

• Ahhhh….social media.

• Everyone wants to do it. Your board is

chomping at the bit. It’s the silver bullet, right?

Well…

• Let’s go back to your audiences

• Are they using social media? Are they likely to start

using social media?

• If they are using social media, how?

– Twitter…140 characters, gather followers, follow others

– Facebook…more robust, images, fans

– Linked In…business focused, good networking tool

– Blogging…sharing your expertise

– What else?

Remember…

• To get the most out of any social media channels,

you have to really commit to those channels

• It takes time…so make sure it’s actually going to

help you achieve your goals!

• And make sure your audiences are actually there.

Lead generation tactics

• Direct mail

• Email (lead gen and relationship management)

Direct mail

• Three key success factors

– The offer

– The list

– The creative

• Your list or a purchased list

• What are you offering? What’s your call to action?

• Make it “disruptive”

– Colored envelope

– Oversized postcard

– What else?

Email

• Choose your campaign management software

carefully

• Maintain a good “cadence”…don’t over or under

communicate

• Keep your list clean

• Keep it short, relevant and consistent with the

personality of your organization

• Maintain an editorial calendar and jot down ideas as

they come to you

• Establish a standard structure with sections that are

consistent each time (for instance: “meet the staff”;

“client profile”; “general info”)

• Make it opt in/opt out

Additional relationship

management tactics

• Advisory boards (at all levels)

• Events

• Loyalty and other “member” programs

• More networking

• You’d be amazed how far a little simple human

contact will get you.

The basic marketing tool kit

• Web site

• Business cards

• Note cards

• Leave behind brochure (#10 brochure)

• Limited stationery + electronic templates

• Constant Contact template

• Postcards

• Posters

If you do nothing else…

• …have a plan to keep your website updated

• Convene all “owners” of the web site…all those on

staff and/or board who will contribute content and

multimedia

• A two step process

– Review your organizational calendar, match web

updates to relevant events/activities

– Identify the down times and brainstorm other, non-

event, updates

– Don’t forget to plan to update your photos!

A few other comments

• Make sure it’s professional

• Know the norms and best practices for your peer

group

• Layers of information (not all on the home page)

• Know who’s going there, and what they want

• Invest the time/money to establish a basic SEO

program

Sample: Editorial calendar

Layer your social media plan on top

• Take another look at that calendar

• Where are the opportunities to use social media to

drive your audiences to events on that calendar, to

your web site to learn more, etc?*

• Make sure that everyone in your org responsible for

social media is working together!

• For both web and social media planning…strive for

75% planned, 25% opportunistic

*Assuming you’ve already settled on the most appropriate social media channels

How do you know it’s working?

Integrate here, as well…

• Establish clear, agreed-upon success metrics up

front (tangible and intangible)

• Tie the metrics to strategic goals

• Think broadly and creatively

– Visitor traffic

– Brand tracking studies

– Referral volume

– Inbound inquiries

– Hits to Web site

– Email open rates

– Etc.

• Set reasonable timeframes, based on

communications volume and timing

Sample board report format

Goals (consistent across each board report)

• Build awareness and familiarity across key audiences, especially locally

• Effectively manage the brand across an increasingly complex set of marketing channels

• Build a more effective system of internal communications (communications calendar)

• Integrate and streamline for more efficiency, greater impact and cost-effectiveness

• Develop and manage a set of metrics for marketing communications and internal clients

Progress against goals (since last report)

• Progress against Goal #1 (brief summary)

• Progress against Goal #2 (brief summary)

• Etc.

List of media mentions (links if possible, include all since last report)

Topics to be discussed at board meeting (list)

In conclusion

• There are no silver bullets

• It really does help to write it down

• Choose a couple of things, do them well, measure

and continue, adapt and/or add

• Roll up your sleeves

• Use your whole team

• Think “simple, professional and effective.”

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