Using Social Media to Tell Your Nonprofit's Story

Presented by Julia Campbell
www.jcsocialmarketing.com
Women in Develpoment of Central MA
@JuliaCSocial www.jcsocialmarketing.com 1
Using Social Media
to Tell Your
Nonprofit’s Story
Julia Campbell
J Campbell Social Marketing
www.jcsocialmarketing.com
Twitter: @JuliaCSocial

About Julia Campbell
 I have worked in the nonprofit sector as a
one-woman development and marketing
shop.
 I have worked with small, mid-size, and
large nonprofit organizations.
 I am publishing a book in May with
CharityChannel Press on storytelling and
social media (and working on one about
online fundraising).
 I have created online and social media
storytelling programs for my clients, with
much success!

In this workshop, we will:
 Identify the 5 types of stories that your nonprofit
should be telling on social media;
 Learn what types of posts work best to communicate
your story on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram;
 Create a plan to identify and recruit Social Media
Ambassadors for your nonprofit to help spread your
nonprofit story.

Why Storytelling?
 People don’t remember
bullet points.
 People respond to emotion.
 Feelings, not analytical
thinking, drive actions.

A Mindset Change Is Required
Embrace storytelling on a variety of channels.
Stop being org-centric and become DONOR-centric.
Focus on BENEFITS, not features.
Always provide “value” – what is valuable to your donors?
Follow the “What's In It For Me?” mantra.
Think in terms of video, visuals, and
micro-content terms.

Great Nonprofit Stories Do 2 Things
1. Get people to take an action.
 Donate, volunteer, sign this!
2. Inspire people to spread the
word.
 Email this!
 Share on social media!
 Print it out and mail it! (My
mom has done this.)

“You have to ask yourself:
what should you do?
What do you really care
about and what makes you
passionately inspired or
pissed off?”
~Chelsea Clinton
INBOUND 2015

Make a list of the top 5 reasons that your donors support your
organization.
Don’t know these reasons? Take an educated guess! (And
then when you get back to the office, ASK.)

Elements of a Great Story
Denver Rescue Mission: Stories of
Changed Lives
There was a point in time when
Eddie didn't want to live. "I was
standing on the verge of death,"
he says.
https://www.denverrescuemission.or
g/story/eddie

@JuliaCSocial www.jcsocialmarketing.com
http://www.childrenshospital.org/violet
12

Where To Find Stories?
 Everywhere!
 Everyone is responsible!
 Requires a big change of
culture.
 No silos!
 Get on the front lines.
 Talk with people.

Everyone Has A Story
Everyone has a
story – it might
not be one that
you can use
publicly, but it
might lead you to
another idea or
another story.

Ask For Stories

Write out a list of 5 people to ask for stories (or places to
look), based on the top 5 reasons that donors support you.
Example: “Reason #2 that donors support us: We provide
unique job training and opportunities in the community. On
Tuesday, I will email Sue in Job Training to see if she has a
client willing to share their experience.”

 Boomers spend 19 hrs/week online.
 71% use a social networking site daily
with Facebook being the most
popular.
 36% of boomers ages 50 and over own
a smartphone, and 32% own a tablet.
 Your donors ages 74+ are the fastest-
growing demographic on social
networks.
Your Donors Are Online!
Source: Mobile Messaging and Social Media 2015, PewInternet.org
20

5 Types of Stories
1. Creation Stories
2. Continuous Improvement
Stories
3. Behind-The-Scenes Stories
4. User-Generated Stories
5. Impact Stories
22

1) Creation Stories
 What was the need?
 What is the need now?
 Story of the founders
 The real WHY you exist

Pencils of Promise
It began with a question. A small boy begging in the streets of India.
“What do you want most in the world?”
“A pencil,” he replied.
I reached into my backpack,
handed him my pencil, and
watched as a wave of possibility
washed over him.

2) Resilience Stories
 Continuous improvement
 Show that your org is always
trying to adapt, change, evolve
 Challenges faced
 Mistakes made
 Lessons learned

Resilience Stories
“…Resilience may be an underappreciated quality of
organizations in the social sector. So I’m starting a
club for those of us who want to champion and
support them.”
~Darin McKeever, Gates Foundation, on the Tactical
Philanthropy blog
http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2010/04/grantmakers-
for-resilient-organizations/

3) Behind-The-Scenes Stories
 Feature donors
 Feature Board members
 Feature staff
 Feature volunteers

Behind-The-Scenes
Carolyn Miles of Save the
Children
Pinterest Board:
http://www.pinterest.com/savet
hechildren/carolyn-s-corner/

Behind-The-Scenes Stories

4) User-Generated Stories
@JuliaCSocial www.jcsocialmarketing.com http://www.care.org/get-involved/international-womens-day/iamcourage 31

5) Impact Stories
 Showcase the difference you
are making
 Showcase the lives changed
 Doesn’t have to be sugary
sweet

Impact Stories
 Always show donors where their
money is going.
 Make them smile when they see
the results their gift helped
achieve.
 https://www.facebook.com/
BostonChildrensHospital

List at least 3 potential story ideas for your nonprofit:
1) Creation Stories
2) Continuous Improvement/Resilience Stories
3) Behind-The-Scenes Stories
4) User-Generated Stories
5) Impact Stories

What Works On Social Media
1. Video
2. Photos
3. Quotes
4. Stories
5. Thank Yous
6. Advocacy
7. Current Events
8. Education
9. Fundraising asks via advertisements

What works
on social
media:
VIDEO

What works
on social
media:
PHOTOS

What works
on social
media:
PHOTOS
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/79446380904541754/

What works
on social
media:
QUOTES

What works
on social
media:
STORIES

What works
on social
media:
THANK
YOUS

What works
on social
media:
ADVOCACY

What works
on social
media:
CURRENT
EVENTS

What works
on social
media:
EDUCATION

What works
on social
media: ASKS

List at least 3 potential social media post ideas for your nonprofit:
1. Video
2. Photos
3. Quotes
4. Stories
5. Thank Yous
6. Advocacy
7. Current Events
8. Education
9. Fundraising asks via advertisements

Social Media Ambassadors
5 Step Action Plan
A. Identify
B. Recruit
C. Train
D. Acknowledge
E. Motivate

Identify them
 Email subscribers
 Donors
 Volunteers
 Social media channels
The key is getting people who
are engaged and willing to
be engaged!

Recruit them
 Ask them!
 Explain the work.
“If you help us use social media to tell great stories, this will result in:”
 Increased donations
 Increased media coverage
 Increased community partnerships
 More clients willing to come forward to seek help

Train them
 Providing them with the tools to share your posts, tweets, and
information easily on their channel of choice.
 Write the updates! Provide a myriad of options and visuals.
“Hey Storytelling Ambassadors! Please tweet this!
The @waterforlife campaign for fresh water is well underway – can you
donate $1 to help a child now? #waterforall”
vs.
“Hey everyone, please tweet about our fresh water campaign today!”

MA Conf for Women
Social Media Street Team
 Weekly emails with tweets,
Facebook and LinkedIn posts,
Pinterest pins and Instagram-
ready photos and graphics
 Hashtags provided, all speakers
and relevant people tagged

Acknowledge them
 Frequently!
 In public, on social media
 Off line
 TY campaigns

Motivate them
Why do people share online?
 To bring valuable and entertaining
content to others
 To define themselves to others
 To grow and nourish relationships
How can you help your Social Media
Ambassadors accomplish all of these
things with the content that you
post?

Resources
JCSocialMarketing.com
JohnHaydon.com
BethKanter.org
NPTechForGood.com
TheGoodmanCenter.com

Questions?
Twitter: @JuliaCSocial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jcsocialmarketing
Email: julia@jcsocialmarketing.com
Blog: www.jcsocialmarketing.com

Using Social Media to Tell Your Nonprofit's Story

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