7 Ways to Share Your Nonprofit’s Story
Storytelling is one of the most powerful marketing tools for nonprofits to share their mission. Good stories engage audiences, influence behavior and create an emotional connection with their audience. Whether you want to attract donors, recruit more volunteers or just share your vision with the community, storyteller marketing is a great way to share your nonprofit’s story.
Create an Emotional Connection Through Video
Telling your nonprofit’s story through video is one of the best way to create an emotional connection. As you’ll see in our post about why you should invest in video marketing, this form of storytelling encourages conversation among audiences and is more memorable than static posts.
With video, nonprofits can highlight the problem that they are trying to solve, explain how they are helping and showcase the benefits of their work. When you can’t personally speak one-on-one with someone, visual storytelling is the next best thing.
Reach Your Target Audience Through Social Media
Social media is an essential platform for storyteller marketing. Your audience is already on social media, so what better place to spread your message? From Facebook and Instagram to Twitter and LinkedIn, there are numerous outlets that were created for the sole purpose of connecting with others and sharing stories.
Here are a few social media tips and thought starters for telling your story:
· Make sure your profiles are concise, yet informative. Although you have a limited amount of space, people who read them should understand the big picture of your nonprofit (who you serve, how to help, etc.)
· Share information about how people can volunteer or donate
· Give a behind-the-scenes look at daily operations
· Promote upcoming events
· Spotlight a star volunteer each month
Think of social media as an ongoing story, with each post being a short chapter in your “book.” With storyteller marketing, you will attract people who have similar values as your nonprofit and enable them to feel connected to your organization.
Share Pieces of Your Story Through Blog Posts
Your website should clearly state the mission, vision and values of your nonprofit, so use your blog as a place to dive deeper into certain aspects. This space allows for longer stories where you can share more details, share photos/videos and give more context to your overall organization.
These blog post ideas will help get you started:
· Recap a fundraising event
· Share a Q&A with the founder
· Highlight a volunteer or donor each month and tell their story
· Share results of your latest initiative
Plus, blogging is good for SEO, which helps to gain exposure for your nonprofit. By using optimized keywords in your blog posts, storytelling marketing can increase organic traffic from Google.
Testimonials From People You Have Served
The most influential stories come from those who you have helped. Whether it’s through a quote on your website, a video shared on social media or an in-depth blog post, let community members share their experience with the nonprofit.
Testimonials are an effective way to create an emotional connection and build trust with your audience. Stories appeal to our core human values, and hearing about how your nonprofit positively affected this person’s life can inspire others to take action, too.
Email Newsletters
Whether it’s a weekly, monthly or quarterly email, this is a great way to reach people directly and share your story. Email newsletters can be used to promote upcoming events, spotlight volunteers, thank donors and keep your audience up to date on all the latest happenings. This form of storytelling marketing fosters relationships because it encourages conversation. With the click of one button, you can start a direct dialogue.
Many nonprofits have a primary email list, but also segment that into volunteers, donors, event attendees, etc. With separate audiences, you are able to tailor your message based on who is receiving it.
Networking at Community Events
As we mentioned in our article about 10 tips for nonprofit marketing, business networking is vital to optimizing the success of your organization. The best way to tell your nonprofit’s story is in person. When you’re directly communicating with someone, they can feel your emotion and passion about the subject through your words and body language. Use oral storytelling to let them know who you serve and why this cause is so important.
The more connections that you make in your community, the more doors of opportunity will open. Get involved with local business organizations, attend community events, and meet other professionals in your area. Stories need good characters, after all.
Collaborate With Other Businesses and Nonprofits
A great way to reach new supporters is by collaborating with other local businesses and nonprofits. This allows you to tap into their audience and tell your story to a brand new group of people. You could partner with a restaurants that is willing to give a percentage of proceeds to your organization, host an event with a local business, or cross-promote each other on social media.
Collaboration can be mutually beneficial as it allows you to grow your audience, but also help other organizations at the same time. The more you help your community, the more they will want to help your nonprofit in return.
As you can see, storytelling marketing is very beneficial for nonprofits. Here at The Storyteller Agency, we are very fortunate to have worked with some amazing organizations such as The Boys and Girls Club of the Emerald Coast, Alaqua Animal Refuge and Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation. Through storyteller marketing, we’ve helped them raise awareness and funds in order to serve those in our community. Ready to tell your nonprofit’s story? Contact us today and let’s start helping our community together.
