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2007-02-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

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Crisis Management: My Top 10 Advice (6-10)

2007-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

6. Assume that there are no secrets and share public information in a uniform manner. While getting blasted in the media is no fun, if you are proactive and seek out public forums for telling people about the crisis and what you intend to do to address it, you will help manage the message instead of it controlling you.

7. Take Responsibility. When appropriate, apologize quickly and broadly. You don’t need to snivel or grovel, but if you had a part in this crisis tell people that – and tell them what you’re doing to fix it.

8. Conversely, do not blame others. The crisis at hand may be something not caused by you or your organization, but defensively (or worse, offensively) placing blame on others is a very risky strategy. Do your best to remain neutral and helpful, regardless of the circumstances.

9. Be solutions-oriented and future-focused. Once you’ve dealt with the problem at hand, be immediately ready to tell people what your organization is doing to ensure this situation is not repeated (or if it’s an unavoidable or uncontrollable external situation, how you’ll handle it even better next time).

10. Post-crisis, as appropriate, continue to reach out to those affected by the crisis and involve them in developing your future strategy. Engaging with customers, donors or others who may have been “wronged” in some way is never easy or fun, but damage control from a crisis doesn’t end just because you’ve tentatively solved the problem. Rebuilding trust with stakeholders takes time, effort, dedication and humility, but even in the worst of crises, if you act with good intentions and an open mind, you may come out stronger.

In the end, handling a crisis should really be common sense human behavior:

Don’t do wrong
Don’t hurt others
Don’t lie
Don’t hide from the truth.

Sure, you can complicate it much more than that, but if you keep some simple ideas in mind, you’ll be just fine. And hopefully, even better than that!

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Crisis Management: My Top 10 Advice (1-5)

2007-01-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

When a crisis hits, communicate directly, honestly and frequently.

1. Focus on safety and security first. If the crisis at hand has the potential to harm people, animals, property, the environment – make sure you do everything in your power to address, mitigate, reverse and/or compensate for this damage.

2. Develop a set of key messages, facts and figures and speaking points for the crisis and ensure these are rigorously adhered to. This is especially important if your crisis has any potential legal ramifications. While you need to communicate quickly and often, you don’t want to create more problems for yourself by saying things you should not!

3. Address key stakeholders – employees, board, customers and constituents – as immediately as you can. There will be certain times you can’t disclose all details right away, but the best and most important thing you can do is recognize publicly that there is a crisis and let people know what you are doing to deal with it.

4. Designate one or two key executives or board members to serve as spokespeople and make them available to answer questions from employees, donors, media, etc. Keeping your public front small but united helps you ensure the message you’re delivering is consistent and allows others in your organization to focus on their own job or role. A crisis is a stressful time and while everyone might want to help, a smaller, focused communications and response team is likely going to serve you better.

5. Be honest, straightforward and forthcoming in all communications. You may not know all the details and/or may have legal or other reasons for not sharing everything publicly, but do not lie, hide, spin or otherwise avoid telling the truth. Your reputation will never recover, nor will your employees’ or donors’ loyalty.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Crisis Management Team

2007-01-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

Create a cross-functional team tasked with crisis management.

This might sound a bit “corporate” and arduous, but it doesn’t need to be. The goal here is to pull together key people from all of your appropriate departments that may be called into action should a crisis occur. The exact composition of your crisis team will depend on your organization, size, structure and focus, but some folks that should likely be high on your list will be:
- Executive Team/CEO/ED
- Board of Directors and/or Advisors
- Operations (including Human Resources and Finance)
- Legal
- Communications/Public Relations
- Manufacturing/Suppliers
- Customer Service
- Investor/Donor Relations

In addition to the team tasked with dealing with a crisis, also consider how you’ll set up your organization to monitor issues that may become crises. For customer-facing or product-centric organizations you may delegate this to Customer Care or Quality Assurance, and for issues of reputation and image, you’ll have Public Relations and Legal keep an eye out, and so on.

Make SURE you not only have systems in place to cope, but early warning systems that help you buy team to deal with a crisis, or better yet, avert one!

Develop a written escalation path and process for alerting others to potential risks. A crisis doesn’t always have to be a crisis; and if you don’t see it coming, you’re not likely to handle it well.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Crisis Management: Plan, Plan, Plan!

2007-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Now that we’ve discussed what may constitute a crisis and the risks and rewards of handling a crisis well, here are some tips for handling a crisis:

Plan, plan, plan

Like a bad performance review, a crisis should rarely sneak up on you. The best organizations and corporations out there *know* what their risks, exposure and liabilities are, and plan for contingencies and unknowns. This doesn’t mean that you need to be omniscient, just smart. Sit down with your board of directors, advisors and colleagues and make a list of all of the things that could potentially befall your organization. Consider the internal and external environment of your organization and take stock of where a crisis might come from, and how it could impact your organization and constituents.

As part of your planning process, walk through each type of potential crisis and rate it according to (a) the likelihood it will actually happen, and (b) the severity of the impact if and when it does. Then you’ll want to “stack rank” these potential crises in priority order and start to build scenarios and action plans for dealing with them should they occur. You don’t need to detail every single step you’ll take for every possible crisis that might rock your world, but you should know how you’ll handle the most likely crisis and have at least a skeleton action plan in place for your top 5 most likely/high priority crises.

A crisis management plan will include several components – again varying by type of organization/business and type of crisis. Some common aspects of a crisis plan include:

• Communication plan. Who needs to be communicated with and when? Who will own creating, managing and delivering all communications?

• Action plan. What needs to happen to avert, divert or manage the crisis? What steps are needed to deal with, fix or address any negative impact or harm brought on by the crisis? Who needs to take each particular action? You’ll likely divide the action plan into phases and departments – each step of managing a crisis may require different people (see recommendation #2 next week for additional discussion).

• Decision tree. Depending on the scope and scale of the crisis you’ll have major decisions to make at various points. Think back to the Tylenol crisis; there were any number of steps Johnson & Johnson could have taken – from denying the problem was theirs, to settling lawsuits quietly, to recalling just a certain lot number of Tylenol capsules that may have been linked to the deaths, to their final decision/action: recalling all Tylenol capsules and replacing (at no charge) customers’ current bottle of capsules with a new packages Tylenol tablets. For your plan, identify at what points in your crisis response you’ll need to make decisions, what they might cost/gain your organization, and who will take the lead on that decision.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

I’m Having a Crisis

2007-01-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

As we’ve discussed previously, the true raison d’être behind Public Relations is to develop and/or manage your organization’s image and reputation in the eyes of key publics. Even in the best of times this isn’t always easy, and in the worst, well, it’s obviously going to be no picnic.

Thus, one of the smartest things you can do for your organization’s longevity is to create a “crisis” communications plan – well in advance of when you might ever (and hopefully never) need one.

So what constitutes a “crisis”? Well, that’s obviously going to depend on your organization, industry, geographic location, key stakeholders and the like, but the bottom line is that a crisis is any situation that can threaten the integrity or reputation of your company and/or cause harm (physical, environmental, financial, etc.) to your stakeholders. These situations can be caused or influenced by your organization or completely external, yet with significant impact on your organization, employees, constituents and/or other individuals.

From a communications and reputation perspective, a crisis is when the stakes are inordinately high and you have a chance to really shine – or fall flat on your face. If handled well, damage can be minimized and your organization can even be strengthened; remember the Tylenol tampering scare back in the 1980’s? Or Wal-Mart’s rapid response to communities in the New Orleans region after Hurricane Katrina?

Conversely, if a crisis is handled poorly, your reputation and/or your organization may never recover. Consider the current U.S. Administration’s lagging response and/or disjoined relief efforts following Katrina -- the November 2006 elections show us this has certainly not been forgotten. And the makers of Kryptonite bike locks perhaps now wish they’d not been so slow or somewhat flippant in their response to Internet videos in 2004 that showed how to easily open Kryptonite bike locks with a ball point pen. Only after tremendous public outcry, threats of lawsuits and extensive media coverage did the company issue a recall, and even then it was limited, with company spokespeople blaming the problem on the style of lock, not their company.

So how do you ensure positive crisis management? (And no, that’s not an oxymoron!). It all starts with a clear vision, excellent long-range planning, strong organizational structure and governance, easily mobilized resources, proactive communication and a cool head. I’ll provide some more specific tips for crisis management in my next post.

In the mean time, be thinking about what crises could potentially befall your organization and how they might impact you, your employees, your world… To be sure, that ought to get your creative communication skills flowing!

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Media and You (2/2)

2006-12-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

They Don’t Owe You Anything!

Ten things you should remember:

5. Take your time, be honest and forthcoming and focus on building strong relationships with the media. You may not get your story printed this time, but you can be sure that the journalist will remember his or her conversation with you (especially if you’re rude, aggressive or ill-informed). Handle each contact with the utmost professionalism and care, be proactive and helpful, and treat the media as people – not a tool for your publicity machine. Getting to know reporters as individuals and building trust is key to long-term success. Present yourself and your organization as experts in your field, offer up research and/or data they may need, brainstorm story ideas with them (as appropriate), and be concise, factual and friendly. By respecting their job and their role you’ll stand a much better chance in the long-term of getting your news covered. Remember also that the media/publishing world is extremely fluid – journalists move from publication to publication quite often. By cementing a strong relationship with someone, you can help ensure that you will still be in their contacts list when they get to their next – and perhaps bigger – gig.

6. The term “media” has grown to encompass many more professionals and types of outlets than in the past. Not all media is created equal, but you will be wise to respect each and every writer – from TV anchor to magazine reporter to blogger to “YouTuber”. As noted in #4 above, the blogger of today could be the magazine editor of tomorrow and woe to you if you’ve made a fool out of yourself and/or insulted him or her.

7. Don’t pitch the exact same story or angle to every publication. First of all, this means you didn’t do your homework (see #1!). Second, this can backfire with the media; no writer wants to see their article repeated in another publication. This doesn’t mean you have to offer “exclusives” (where you’d give a big story only to one publication and no one else), but it does mean you need to let journalists know who is writing what (see below), so they can ensure their angle and article is unique.

8. After you pitch to a journalist and they decide to write the story, your job is not done. You or your PR rep should follow up regularly (weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the type of story and/or time schedule) and see if there’s anything you can do to help; such as provide additional data, interviews, references or fact check details. Don’t get in people’s face, but a respectful check in is generally a welcome activity and continues to cement the relationship.

9. Prepare your spokespeople and/or references (or yourself!) for their interview with the media. Make sure they know the ground rules (e.g. there really is no such thing as “off the record” for most journalists…) and are prepared to be articulate, knowledgeable, focused, charming and effective speakers. Nothing harms a potential story quicker than someone who can’t ever seem to get to their point, doesn’t have their facts straight or doesn’t know anything about the publication or news outlet they’re speaking with.

10. Practices makes perfect. You won’t get 5 cover stories your first time out. In fact, you may only get one in a year, or even a lifetime. But stick with it, stay focused and your PR efforts can reap tremendous rewards.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Media and You (1/2)

2006-12-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

They Don’t Owe You Anything!

Ten things you should remember

Good public relations practitioners know something many other people don’t: The media doesn’t work for you. And, it isn’t their job to write about you or make your organization successful.

As we discussed previously, the media’s job is to write about the news and to look for unique stories or trends that their readers will find interesting, useful and informative. Thus, your job is to generate news, and deliver it to the media in a way that makes it easy and compelling for them to cover.

Now, in approaching the media in hopes of getting them to write about your organization, there are ten things you should remember:

1. Don’t blindly contact every possible publication out there. Do your homework first and identify publications or media outlets that cover the sort of news and/or organization you are hoping to present. Better yet, before you even contemplate press releases and media outreach, build a list or database of the most appropriate news outlets for your organization to seek out. You can get media information and clippings from things like Bacon’s, Media Map, Burrelles and other news/media services, but it’s even better to read the publication (imagine that!) and understand who writes for it, the publication’s style, reach and audience demographics. That way you’ll not only know if it’s right for you, you’ll know how to talk to the journalists and editors, and what they’ll look for from you.

2. Once you’ve done your homework and created a list, prioritize and pare it down. If you are a small organization with limited PR staff/resources (and even if you’re not), you’ll need to ensure you get the biggest bang for your buck. You can’t call, email, pitch or provide interviews to everyone, so be smart about focusing your media outreach on targeted publications/outlets that will help you achieve your strategic PR objectives.

3. Before contacting anyone, make a list of the ideal story (or stories) you’d like to see printed. What does the headline say? What will the audience take away from reading this article? This sort of strategic thinking and PR planning is a great way to be crystal clear on your messages and know exactly who to pitch your story to in order to get the result you want. And, using your research from #1 above, you may want to alter your desired story/angle (and thus, your pitch) for different types of publications. After all, Vanity Fair, Fast Company and Time Magazine may all cover social entrepreneurship, but odds are you’re going to see entirely different slants in each!

4. Reverse engineering #3 above, consider who you want to be the ultimate reader/consumer of your news. Who is your organization’s target audience and what do they read, listen to or watch? Understanding where they get their news and who/what influences them will help you select the sort of media outlets that make most sense.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Creating a Press Release - Part 4

2006-12-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

We’ve talked content, structure, fact and fiction, now let’s discuss the finishing touches for great press releases:

11. It may sound brain dead obvious, but proofread your press release several times before issuing it. Nothing will detract credibility points faster than misspelled words, grammatical errors or other idiotic uses of language. And, if you’re not a great writer, hire one. You can’t afford to have run-on sentences and rambling phrases when trying to compete for media attention.

12. Consider how your press release will be “discovered” and its longer-term shelf life. Most newswires distribute (and archive) press releases electronically – via the web and/or email – and are searchable via the leading search engines. Consider peppering your headline and lead paragraph with the most pertinent, popular and/or likely to be utilized search terms, to increase your chance of being noticed by the media and other key (and potential) stakeholders in the coming weeks and months.

13. Newswire (press release distribution) services abound, so do your homework to find out which one(s) most effectively target the type of media you’re seeking to reach – and to find a service that fits your budget. Many newswire services offer non-profit rates, so be sure to investigate those as well before signing up with a specific outlet. Some good starting points for distribution of your announcements include: Business Wire, CSRWire, PR Newswire and PR Web, though there are certainly others. If you are blogging on your website, be sure to put your press releases into your blog/RSS stream (as well as in your regular email newsletters to key stakeholders) to ensure they are picked up through all of your electronic subscription points.

14. Be sure to post your press release to your website, update your press kit, and send copies to your board of directors, major donors, strategic partners and other important stakeholders. They can help pass the word and potentially get you linked to the right media.

15. Get going, be strategic, write good stuff and have fun!

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Creating a Press Release - Part 3

2006-11-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

We covered general structure and content in my last post, so let’s talk language and news vs. opinions now:

6. Keep acronyms, industry-specific terms and highly technical language to a minimum. The media doesn’t have the time (or inclination) to be an expert in every single subject. While you don’t want to pander or assume the lowest common denominator, you must use clear, illustrative, professional, plain speak vocabulary. And, if you don’t have a copy of the Associated Press Stylebook – get one!

7. While language should be clear and professional, feel free to use the appropriate tone and color for your particular sector and/or target audience. If you are writing about something whimsical and light – such as a feel-good charity event and carnival to benefit kids – have some fun with it. (Don’t get too cute however!). But, if you’re writing about something like the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa and increasing numbers of orphaned children, a more somber tone is obviously apropos.

8. And while we’re on the topic of language, try not to use useless filler words that can’t really be proven or don’t truly differentiate your organization from others, such as “market-leading,” “innovative,” “ground-breaking,” “special,” “unique” and other such vague terms. While you may think they describe your organization and sound really cool, they’re just “yawner” words for the media, who will pass right by. Use words that actually describe what you’re doing and why you’re unique instead.

9. A press release is generally a place for statements of fact, not opinions (unless you are an advocacy organization expounding your views and seeking to incite a following… Even still, opinion should always be used cautiously, as you can easily turn off more people than you intrigue). Try to keep your announcement to facts, figures, events and well-researched data points. And, if you are using third-party data or other secondary information, be sure to fact check carefully – and get appropriate permissions to reprint – before including it.

10. Quotes by executives and strategic partners, while nice to have, almost never get printed by the media, so if you’re going to use these, put them towards the end of your release. The most common reasons for utilizing a quote are to be able to say something you can’t necessarily say as news fact in the body of the release (“This is our greatest product release ever!”) or to enhance your credibility with a third-party quote of appreciation or endorsement (“Partnering with xyx organization is the best move we’ve made, as they truly industry leaders.”)

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Creating a Press Release - Part 2

2006-11-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Do’s and Don’ts for Writing Great Press Releases

Writing a press release should be a relatively easy exercise once you’ve determined the specifics of what you’re announcing and clearly identified what you hope to achieve from making the announcement. Here are 15 tips to get you rolling:

1. Before writing, create a list and/or an outline of your key messages and the most important data points. Winnow this down as much as possible to the most crucial bits of data. Leave out everything that isn’t entirely necessary and/or adds little real weight to the announcement. And no matter how tempting, don’t try to announce too many things at once. You’ll just muddy the waters and confuse the media.

2. Keep your press release to no more than two pages; less if possible.

3. Your headline should be brief and attention grabbing and tell exactly what is being announced and by who. A subhead can add further detail to a headline if needed.

4. The typical structure of a press release is a lead paragraph that explains the announcement in brief (see below), followed by 4-5 additional paragraphs that describe key facets of the announcement in more detail. Be sure to include your URL and phone number/email address for a media contact person within you organization.

5. Your first paragraph should answer everything someone needs to know about your announcement (in PR 101 speak, this would be your “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” elements). Most journalists, if they make it beyond the headline as they’re scrolling the newswires, will only have time to quickly scan the lead paragraph. If you don’t hook them there, you probably won’t hook them at all.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Creating a Press Release - Part 1

2006-11-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Creating a Press Release that Doesn’t End up as Hamster Cage Liner

Before we talk about how to write a great press release, it’s just as important to discuss why you’d want to issue a press release (and equally important, why not). In the most general terms, a press release is a communications tool used to share important news to the media. Note here that I mention “news.” This means, yes, you should actually have news – and news that someone else beside yourself and your board of directors will actually care about. This might seem obvious, but all too many for-profit and non-profit organizations send out flurries of press releases that contain no useful content whatsoever. Then, instead of getting noticed and written about in the media, they are ignored, or worse – they annoy or anger their intended media outlets.

In today’s information-saturated world, the media’s historically fast-paced job has become even more insane. Your average reporter has to sift through hundreds of media packets, press releases, newswires, blog sites, websites, podcasts, news conferences and any number of other “information inputs” each day. Then they have to figure out what is really news (and what is umm, crap) and cover that news.

So as a social entrepreneur, your job is to make it easy for them to understand why your news is truly news, why their readers will care about it, and then help the journalist write about it by giving them all they need to draft a story in one brief, concise, impactful document: Your press release.

So that said, let’s look at when you might consider issuing a press release. Here are a few ideas for topics you might want to announce:

Significant new strategic partnership or alliance
New and/or notable major donor and/or grant received
Upcoming special event that you are hosting or sponsoring
Notable speaking engagements or conference participation
Launch of a new product or service
Significant additions to your staff (usually only VP and above)
Major organizational milestones such as number of constituents served, development goals surpassed, awards received, etc.
Significant structural change in your organization (such as mergers or acquisitions)
To alert the media and constituents to key world events affecting your constituents (and what you are doing to help make their world a better place)

Now, in reality, using these loose guidelines above, you could probably justify issuing a news release for just about every major activity of your organization. DON’T!

Ask yourself first:

Who really cares about this? Who should care about this?
Where does my target audience get their information and news?
Is there some other way I can/should tell this story to reach my audience?
What journalists, bloggers or publications typically cover news of this sort?
What story do I hope a journalist writes, based on this news?
When was the last time I issued a press release?
Do I have a plan for contacting journalists and arranging for interviews to discuss this announcement in more detail, or am I just throwing something over the wire?
And yeah, is this REALLY news?

Once you’re clear on why you’re writing, who you’re writing for and what you hope to get out of it – get writing! We’ll talk about what to include and how to structure an effective press release next time.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Public Relations – Spin Doesn’t Have to Be a Dirty Word

2006-11-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

There are probably as many definitions for public relations as there are flavors of ice cream…

To some, PR is all about spin and getting someone to believe something about an organization and its products or dealings. For others, PR is a constant cycle of writing and issuing a flurry of press releases (and ultimately hoping one will stick). Still others believe that PR is the art of schmoozing the media – be it magazines, newspapers, radio, talk shows, or what have you – in the hopes of getting your company’s name and/or story in print (and better yet, getting the angle and message you actually want printed).

In reality, these are all somewhat correct. At its simplest, PR is a communications activity focused on reaching out to the public in order to develop a positive perception of your organization and/or influence action towards your organization in a favorable manner (e.g. getting the public to donate to your cause, volunteer, buy your product or service, etc.).

Public relations can also be used to try to correct misinformation about your organization or to repair its image following a crisis.

So, perhaps most succinctly put, PR is about opinions and image.

Two of the main differentiators between public relations and other types of marketing are

(a) with PR you don’t pay to place your message (as you do in advertising)
(b) as a result, you don’t truly have control over the message that is ultimately received by the public.

This isn’t to say that conducting strategic and effective PR doesn’t cost money; only that you are not paying for specific space in a magazine or on-air to get your story out there. This also doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t work your tail off to influence the message the public takes away in a powerful and positive way either. In fact, this is what truly great PR is all about.

Over the next few weeks we’ll cover a variety of topics including:

Why utilize PR for your social organization?
Writing a great press release
Smart media relations
Public affairs and crisis management
Exploring web-based technologies to increase your reach
Other PR tools and tactics

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (9)

2006-09-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

Other general notes for creating effective presentations:

• Less text is always more impactful. Try to have no more than 3-4 bullet points per slide, and if you are using graphics, use only one graphic per slide.

• Make sure all text is legible and easily readable from a distance. This may seem brain-dead obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many presentations are completely lost on an audience because they can’t read text, charts or graphs or see what should be emotionally-powerful photos.

• Photos, audio and/or video (when appropriate and technology allows) are more powerful than words alone.

• Infusing your own personal story with the story of your constituents is a wise idea, but do NOT make the issue exclusively about you. Social entrepreneurship is not a place for sizable egos.

• Don’t feel you need to put EVERYTHING into your presentation. It should be a tool or an aid for discussion, not an exhaustive report of every thing you’ve ever done.

• When giving a presentation, you should usually allow 2-4 minutes per slide. If you have 30 minutes to speak, you should have no more than 10 slides. Again, less is more.

• Practice, practice, practice. The best speakers rarely have to refer to their slides. Your story, your voice and your passion should be the backbone of the presentation – and the slide deck should serve to provide additional context or back-up data.

• Whenever possible – invite and enable others to speak for you and/or with you. For an audience to hear about your successes directly from the people you’re helping is more powerful than anything you directly can say.

• Finally, as with any story, your presentation should have a beginning, middle and end. Keep it flowing, relevant, fresh and ‘lyrical.’ Your audience should be taken on a journey and deposited at its natural conclusion.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (8)

2006-09-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

On the more practical level, here are some things to consider adding to your standard PowerPoint presentation:

• Detailed research, data, “needs analysis” and history of the issue, people or region you are focused on serving. What is the landscape and what makes your organization and your mission necessary and useful (if not critical)? [Note: credible third party data is especially effective here. Consider using research reports, government papers, media citations, etc. to make your point.]

• Your organization’s vision, mission, brief history and leadership team

• Objectives, strategic goals, progress year to date (and/or multi-year results)

• Financials such as operating budget, key funding sources and development goals

• Your organization’s success and/or metrics in relation to other similar organizations (as appropriate/applicable)

• Photos and/or stories from the field and those you serve. How has your organization changed their lives and/or positively impacted the community, region or world?

• A clear and concise slide on how someone can get involved and/or help you achieve your mission – e.g.

Volunteer initiatives
Program support
Professional services
Donation or sponsorship levels
Fundraising events
Advocacy, grassroots, outreach or letter-writing campaigns
Staffing or board of directors/advisors recruitment

• Contact information for your organization (especially if you are leaving the slides as a printed hand-out)

• Also consider creating 2-3 specialized slides for diverse audience needs (that can be added in or removed from the slide deck as appropriate for the presentation situation). For instance, a foundation or high net-worth funder may want more or different information than a group of potential volunteers or interns. And a government organization or potential business partner may be interested in different aspects of your organization than fellow social entrepreneurs. This enables you to keep your presentation fresh, brief and targeted each time.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (7)

2006-09-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

PowerPoint Presentation or other Visual Storytelling Aid

While important and useful, oftentimes a brochure or even a website isn’t sufficient to tell your organization’s story thoroughly and completely, or to convince a group of people to take action (which as a social entrepreneur, is what you’re all about – taking action to change the world and motivating others to help do the same). Occasions such as speeches, town hall meetings, congressional hearings, development events, conferences or other “1-to-many” venues often call for a presentation that includes not just words, or even charts and graphics, but a story.

Why a story? Think back to when you were a kid… What are some of the most memorable times you can recall? What kept you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more? What taught you lessons and morals? What opened your eyes to other parts of the world? What warmed your heart or inspired big dreams for your future? Yes, stories. These tales could have been found in books, in song, or in fables passed down orally from generation to generation, but almost universally, stories are very much the fabric of most of our lives. Well-told stories create mental images; they tug at heart strings; they create angst, anger, laughter or elation; they inspire new stories or new acts of greatness; and above all, they seem to bring people together.

So, what’s this got to do with a business-related communications tool? Plenty. For a social entrepreneur, telling the story of how you came to be a social entrepreneur has the power to inspire and educate others. The story of the people you are serving for and/or with can shed light on new cultures or issues, and compel others to seek ways to get involved and add their energy to the cause. And, the story of how you’ve creatively, effectively and passionately built your organization around a mission and a vision that creates social change can move even the stingiest donors to reach deep into their pockets to help support your efforts (or customers to buy your products or services).

So before you think about creating an actual document – a presentation – think about your story. What is unique, rich, dramatic, compelling, urgent and/or widely appealing? Then, consider who your most likely audience(s) will be and what opportunities you’ll have to tell your story in depth.

What is most important to them: Facts and figures? Photos of far-flung people and places? Charts and graphs? Testimonials and personal anecdotes? Business-driven data or warm and fuzzy images? Consider also: What is the core of your story and should be told each and every time? What topics or information may vary by audience?

Once you have brainstormed who will want or need to hear your story, you’ll be better prepared to create a presentation that will help you inform, educate and motivate your audience. And you will be able to “slice your slide deck” in a variety of ways to include certain elements for one audience and then leave out pieces that aren’t important for others.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (6)

2006-09-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Brochure

Similar to your website, the purpose of your brochure is (most often) to quickly educate current and potential stakeholders on the mission, values, purpose and progress of your organization – and to do so in a clear, concise and decidedly “portable” fashion.

And, depending on your strategic plan and current organizational objectives, you may have additional or different reasons for developing a printed brochure. Some of these may include the need to promote a specific project or fundraising campaign, a lack of Internet access for key audiences (and thus, no access to your website), your organization’s participation or attendance at a conference or event, to serve as a recruiting tool for new employees and/or board members, an upcoming direct mail campaign, or any number of other activities where a brief printed piece will help get your message across (without losing your audience in the process).

Brochures, like any other piece of marketing collateral, can be expensive to develop. So, before you get started, make sure you understand the exact need and purpose for the brochure -- and where and how it will be used. Sometimes you can get away with a 4x6” one-sided flyer or post card, and other times you will need a full 8.5x11” tri-fold brochure (or more) to tell the full story. Most often, the ideal brochure will be a small subset of your website (and then you’ll lead people back to your website by providing your URL in the brochure for more information).

The easiest and most powerful information to include in a brochure is your organization’s mission statement and core purpose; description of your key programs, products, services and/or constituents; a brief history of the organization; brief results and accomplishments; information on how others can donate their time, money or additional resources to help you achieve your mission; and of course, your organization’s contact information. Bios of the management team are useful if space permits, but not a requirement in such a brief document.

Photos, charts and graphics that depict the mission and the successes of your organization tell an even more powerful story than any text can, so use these liberally and keep the brochure design, voice and style consistent with your website and all other materials. (Yes, I’m a broken record on this one!).

For brochure design, consider again bartering services or finding a local design student to help you without breaking the bank. And, if at all possible, use the same designer you’ve used for all of your other materials to ensure consistency. If this isn’t possible, make sure your designer has copies of all materials, guidelines and logos to ensure design alignment and brand integrity.

Print as many copies as you can afford to print at one time (once you’ve analyzed where, when and how you’ll use the brochures) as printing just a few can be significantly more expensive per copy than printing several thousands. However, before your print large quantities, consider the "shelf life" of your brochure content. If you have prices, quantities, dates or other highly dynamic data in the brochure, you may want to either print smaller quantities or consider putting often-changing information into some other sort of document or brochure ‘insert’ that can be rapidly updated and inserted into the brochure on an as needed basis.

In terms of print shops, FedEx Kinko’s can do a great job for you on the fly, or you can also find professional quality business printing firms in your area that may offer you significant volume discounts and high quality results. To ensure your money is well spent and the final brochure is top notch, make sure to get pre-production samples and to proofread the brochure not once, but at least 4 or 5 different times (ask board members, volunteers and others to help so you have multiple reviewers!), before you say “go” at the printer.

Finally, as with your business cards, be liberal in distributing brochures, without being wasteful. Sometimes you can’t be in all places at once and/or there’s just no way you can talk to every single possible constituent or contributor, so providing brochures that tell your story can extend your organization’s reach and provide a compelling reason for stakeholders to further seek you out (directly or via your website).

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (5)

2006-08-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

More on websites:

In developing your website, you should again rely on your previous work in developing your brand, identity and messages. Nothing new should appear on your site that isn’t consistent and complementary to these initial elements, or you risk fragmenting your story and confusing stakeholders.

Designing and building a website can be costly, but doesn’t always have to be. There are some great software packages and templates out there (Adobe Photoshop has some great stuff and even Microsoft Publisher has a reasonable set of website templates), and many web hosting companies offer discount rates for non-profits (and even for-profit rates with companies such as Register.com and GoDaddy.com are pretty darn cheap these days).

As with your business cards, it’s wise to find skilled help to design and build your site (unless you have strong graphic talent yourself) so that the first version is solid and compelling. Going back and redoing something later not only wastes precious time, money and resources, but you can alienate supporters and stakeholders by overhauling your site into something completely unrecognizable to a previous version. It’s better to think through what you’ll need in the long run to fulfill your mission (refer back to your strategic plan!) and design a phased approach to your website that builds the initial framework, look and feel now, while allowing you to add and augment as you move forward and grow.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (4)

2006-08-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

Website

Once you’ve got your mission, vision, name, logo and identity in place, you’ll want to provide a way for others to learn more about you. After all, you can only be in so many places at one time. (And, now that you’ve got those business cards out there and have whetted folks’ appetite for more information, you need someplace to point them to!).

Before developing your website, make sure you understand who will use it and what you want them to learn, know or do as a result of visiting your site. Do you want to simply convey information to others? Do you want people to take action, such as volunteering, writing their congressman or donating money? Do you want others to be able to communicate with each other via your site? Consider the usage patterns you want to enable as you build your site plan and content.

At the most basic, your website should include the following:
- Organization name, mission, values and purpose
- Who you serve & where you operate (and any appropriate research data or background information on the issue or cause you are addressing)
- Key programs and initiatives
- About the organization’s management team and board of directors
- How others can get involved and/or contribute to your organization
- Photos and graphics to accompany the text that visually tell your story and social mission

Over time you may wish to develop a much more robust website that might include things such as:
- Case studies or testimonials
- A media or news area for press releases, an online media kit, press coverage of your organization and other pertinent news
- Message boards or forums
- Blogging capabilities
- Online donation tools and/or generalized credit card processing (for events, product sales or other business-related activities)
- Calendar tools
- Web-based or email newsletter functionality
- An annual report on your organization and its progress

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (3)

2006-08-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Business Cards

Simple enough, but professional-looking business cards that map to the organization’s mission and identity are often something cash-strapped entrepreneurs overlook, or try to do on the cheap. Don’t.

Everywhere you go you need to be an ambassador and advocate for your organization, and opportunities (for cash, partnerships, hiring, etc.) can present themselves at any time. Make sure your calling card clearly conveys your organization’s mission and continues to inspire interest, confidence and emotional appeal.

Beyond ensuring your contact information and organization logo are clear and legible, think about ways to tell others what you do and what you value using your business card. Do you have a tagline or slogan? Would your mission or key values statement add impact? What about the region of the world where you work? Clearly, you don’t want to try to cram too much into a small space or get too cute, but try to envision what someone will think or feel when they pull your card out of their briefcase or pocket a month or six months from now. Make sure your business card tells a story, or at the very least, inspires someone to want to learn more.

A couple inexpensive ways to print cards (once you have a design ready) include VistaPrint, FedEx Kinko’s and iPrint. Plus, many of today’s home or small business printers offer impressive, high-resolution full color printing capabilities, enabling you to print card yourself in small batches to save money (just be sure to select high quality inks and card stock or you’ll ruin all of your hard design work).

Finally, do not be stingy in handing out your business cards. Yes, they can be expensive to produce, but this is your strongest and most immediate physical link to others – and the way you’ll pull them back into the other communications materials that you create.

Whenever you have the opportunity, tell your story in person, make an impact, then leave your card with someone and make sure it continues to tell the story. (Besides, at the end of the day, your business cards will likely be the cheapest piece of marketing collateral you’ll produce!)

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (2)

2006-08-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Name, Logo, Identity

As we discussed during the branding and identity posts, capturing the essence of your organization’s mission, values, culture and goals into an easy to recognize, meaningful name and symbol [logo] are important to developing your longer term identity, and to helping stakeholders and potential stakeholders begin to assess your value to them and how they might choose to become involved.

In choosing a name and creating a logo and identity, make sure that you develop something that resonates both visually and orally, and that there are no cultural “no-no’s” in the words or images you choose (think globally, even if you are starting your organization locally).

Hire an experienced graphic designer and/or branding team (or find a talented friend, volunteer, MBA intern or graphic design student) and develop and test multiple concepts. Ask people for their opinions both before and after sharing your own vision behind the name and logo, and make sure that what you are trying to convey is easily seen and understood (without you having to explain it to others).

And finally, make sure that what you create is evocative and thought-provoking while, simultaneously being immediately impactful. As a social entrepreneur you will want to play up the emotional impact of your cause or issue, while still being clear and precise in your delivery.

Once you have a name and a logo, you’ll want to consider other design elements, graphics and color palettes. What are the tones and visuals that will help extend your story and create a powerful impact with others? How can you communicate the urgency of your mission visually? Or, how can you reassure others of your experience and worldliness through your organization’s identity? Do you want to convey a very buttoned-up, business-focused image, or do you want to strike an emotional chord with others? Consider these questions as you round out the visual aspects of your identity.

As one closing reminder, before you finalize a name or logo, make sure to do your legal homework and ensure that you’ve covered the bases with copyright research and such. Don’t overtly or accidentally ‘leverage’ someone else’s look and feel or you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt later on…

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

The Social Entrepreneurs' Essential Marketing Toolkit (1)

2006-08-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Over the past several months we’ve spent a good deal of time discussing the importance of a solid strategic plan for your organization and the benefits of marketing and communications for a social venture. We’ve covered how to think through branding and identity, how to develop a compelling message platform and strategic communications plan, inexpensive ways to conduct research and other assorted topics, but we’ve not yet really talked about how to pull all of this together into a “finished product.”

Or, more specifically, what are the essential materials you need to build to tell your organization’s story consistently and persuasively to others?

Certainly there are as many ways to communicate the value of an organization as the day is long, but there are some basic tools that any social entrepreneur should not be without. These include (but of course, are not limited to):

Name, logo, identity
Business Cards
Website
Brochure
PowerPoint Presentation

With these essentials, a social entrepreneur (and his/her staff, board and volunteers) can tackle just about any situation – from making a speech at a conference, completing a grant application, conducting an interview with the media, kicking off a capital campaign or attracting new sources of funding, making a case to a potential partner, influencing key officials or organizations to take action, and everything else in between.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Research: How do you know what you know? (Tips)

2006-07-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Tips, Tricks & Tools for Inexpensive Market Research

We discussed the why’s and the what’s in the last set of posts, but let’s get you started with some “how’s” this time. Here are a few tools, sites and resources to ponder in your quest for market knowledge and stakeholder feedback.

Online Survey Tools
- QuestionPro
- Zoomerang
- DatStat
- Survey Monkey

Focus Group Tools & Resources
- Artafact (web-based focus group technologies)
- NetFocus (web-based focus group technologies)
- Fieldstone Alliance Nonprofit Guide to Conducting Successful Focus Groups (publication)

Web Meeting & Online Collaboration Tools
- Live Meeting
- WebEx
- Convio
- Confluence
- Skype
- Blogger
- MySpace

Resources for Conducting Research on Other Non-profit Organizations
- Charity Navigator
- GuideStar
- IdeaList
- Foundation Center

Generalized Data Sources & Further Tips on Market Research for Non-Profit Organizations & Social Entrepreneurs
- Waltman’s Donor Series
- Non-profit Times
- Chronicle of Philanthropy
- Stanford Social Innovation Review
- Capaciteria

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Research: How do you know what you know? (5/5)

2006-07-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Information vs. Statistics

You may have noticed that we didn’t go into statistical analysis and rigorous quantitative data collection here. That isn’t because this type of data isn’t necessary; but because it can be quite costly – both in terms of time and dollars. And, because in many circumstances, you may be able to tap into existing sources of quantitative data that won’t require you to “recreate the wheel.”

(That said, if you are truly embarking upon an area that has not yet been studied or measured, you will absolutely want to jump into the numbers and muck around pretty extensively. Consider partnering with a university, securing a government or foundation grant, or shopping for pro-bono research firms to help you design, implement and analyze a primary research study to get the detailed information and analysis you need).

The larger focus of this column should serve as a reminder to you that when it comes to marketing and telling your story, going on intuition isn’t always your best option.

Stopping and taking stock, testing theories, devising creative ways to garner input and getting friendly (and occasionally, not so friendly) feedback can help you continue to improve, focus and succeed.

Just because you are a social entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to go on heart and gut alone!

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Research: How do you know what you know? (4/5)

2006-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

3) Industry/Sector Data Collection

If you are targeting a specific social issue or cause, it’s likely that you already have significant research on the issue from independent, credible third parties – such as government organizations, NGOs, academics and others. In establishing your organization you’ve done your homework and understand why this issue needs to be addressed, the numbers of people impacted, current (government/corporate/non-government) spending to alleviate the issue, and so on.

But, it’s also possible that the research data you’ve begged, borrowed or “leveraged” is more global in nature than is entirely useful for you – or doesn’t delve down to the level of a specific country, region or community. Here is where going out and doing some of your own research can be a tremendous advantage.

Let’s take a hypothetical example using FareStart, a Seattle-based organization that provides skills training, life skills and job placement in its quest to end homelessness in Seattle. How might FareStart assess the total number of homeless men, women, children and families in the greater Seattle region and find ways to reach out to people for their programs?

Certainly they can tap into state and local government data, or contact the University of Washington for some of the latest research.
They might also want to contact all of the local homeless shelters, tent cities, YMCA & YWCA, and related organizations in Seattle on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to gather a count and set up referral networks.
Or, they might want to partner with the Seattle Police Department and/or citizen’s groups and hit the streets themselves at night with clipboards and calculators in hand to conduct an on-the-streets analysis of who’s really out there and why.

In the example above, developing city-specific metrics (especially gathering data that does not currently exist elsewhere) can help the organization strengthen its focus and target its efforts even more clearly. The new data might also shed some light on the size and scope of the issue and open new doors for funding or partnerships not previously available. And, in the process of collaborating with others to gather the data, the organization can help increase its own visibility and strengthen its image as a strategic, committed and proactive organization.

Thus, the resulting research data is oftentimes just a small part of the total benefit to the organization.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Research: How do you know what you know? (3/5)

2006-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

2) Testing your Brand Strength & Messages

We’ve talked previously about developing a brand strategy, identifying your key stakeholders and developing a message framework, but how do you know when you’ve hit the nail on the head?

Are you messages resonating with your target stakeholders? Do they understand how to get involved and support your cause? Is your organization emotionally connecting with donors and community members? Do your key constituents understand how your organization helps them and what they need to do to get this help? Does your logo and website quickly and clearly tell your story (in a compelling and impactful way)?

Testing your messages and assumptions is critical part of the communications process.

One of the best ways to test messages and brand strength is to go straight to your target audience(s) and ask them, “What do you think?” If your audience is small and local, this is relatively easy – a focus group with existing or potential stakeholders, some phone calls or a town meeting is all it takes to gather information, brainstorm and take stock.

If your organization and/or constituents are large and far-flung, it quickly gets more difficult. Here is where Internet technology can become incredibly useful. Consider creating a web-based survey on your website or send it via email (I’ll offer a list of possible resources and providers at the end of this series) and provide a small incentive, such as a t-shirt, bumper sticker or other small item, for the completion of each survey.

Identify key individuals who represent a cross-section of your target audience(s) and host a conference call or web-based conference to ask for their input and opinions.

Have your board and your staff personally reach out to a handful of stakeholders via phone or email.

Gather expert opinions from other industry veterans and/or marketing professionals.

Use your official and unofficial (friends, family, trusted colleagues) advisory board to hone in on key perceptions.

In this type of research you are not looking for hundreds of thousands of respondents and opinions, but to obtain feedback from a select number of individuals that represent a cross-section of your entire stakeholder base. Keeping your inquiries pointed and brief, providing options for them to select from, and asking for specific feedback (e.g. “Does this statement resonate more strongly with you than the other?” “Which logo design is more compelling?” “What do you think of when you read this tagline?”) will ensure that the information you get back is useful and actionable.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Research: How do you know what you know? (2/5)

2006-06-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

1) Understanding the Competitive Landscape

While you may believe that your organization is unique – be it your mission, your audience or your model – odds are that it isn’t entirely. With hundreds of thousands of social organizations in the world today, many are addressing similar issues and/or similar audiences. This can cause organizations to jockey for the same dollars and potentially miss out on supporters or opportunities that they need to be successful. It can also cause confusion or apathy amongst stakeholders who can’t seem to decipher the differences or decide what they want to support or engage in.

Getting the “lay of the land” competitively can be as easy as spending a few hours on the Internet, running a few Google searches to find like-minded or “like-missioned” organizations, and creating a spreadsheet or “roadmap” of who’s who.

It can also involve:

talking with organizations (such as corporations or foundations) that fund your primary “competition,” and learning why they fund them over other similar organizations
speaking to stakeholders of other similar organizations
reviewing industry publications and media coverage
analyzing funding and organizational data using sites like Charity Navigator or GuideStar
poring over marketing materials and websites to learn how other organizations present themselves to the public.

If you don’t have the time to do this yourself, you might want to consider contracting a research firm to conduct a more thorough analysis of the market, hiring an intern to manage the project, or contacting your local university or business school to engage a team of students or MBAs that can help develop a competitive framework for you at little or no cost.

Ultimately, you want to use competitive research to double back on your own messaging and mission. Are you distinct? Can you clearly differentiate what you are doing vis-à-vis others? Can you be more precise in telling people what you offer and why it’s important?

This type of research is all about positioning and focus. If stakeholders clearly understand your mission, model and operations and see that you are doing something that

(a) addresses a critical social need
(b) attacks the social problem in an innovative and strategic way
(c) uses resources wisely
(d) has wide-reaching, measurable impact,

you have a much better chance of standing out from the crowd and securing the resources you need to fulfill your mission.

If you are not unique and the ‘market’ is crowded, the painful-yet-true odds are not good you will be around for very long -- or at the very least, you’ll find sustaining your organization may be an ongoing challenge.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Research: How do you know what you know? (1/5)

2006-06-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

Market research is often thought of as a business sector tactic; not typically something useful for non-profits or social ventures.

There are several reasons for this, and chief of these is usually cost (the best research isn’t cheap!). Other reasons for opting out of market research include an organization’s mission-driven focus (and their assumption that they know their constituents well enough already), an emphasis on providing services rather than products (hey, we’re not selling anything, right?), an aversion to anything “marketing,” and lack of people resources to conduct the research. It can also be chalked up to a lack of understanding of (or unwillingness to acknowledge) the competitive landscape surrounding the organization.

While some of the best research can indeed be costly, it doesn’t always have to be. In the long run, understanding your constituents more deeply, assessing the saliency of your mission and your messages, analyzing the latest data on your targeted social issue, and gaining in-depth knowledge of the competitive landscape in your sector (or region) can actually help you earn more money and use it more wisely.

Let’s be clear though; data for the sake of data is bad. However, targeted (qualitative or quantitative) data that helps you make informed decisions about your organization’s strategic direction – and analyze how best to use your limited resources – is good.

Let’s look at a few ways to use research (and how to get it) to your advantage.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Developing a Strategic Communications Plan (4/4)

2006-06-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last points:

• Budget
Assign specific costs to each activity, tactic or campaign in your plan.

• Timeline
You may have already included this in the tactics section, but if not, be sure to map out each initiative (start and finish), so that you can assign dollars as well as other resources and prioritize effectively.

Get To It!

Creating a strategic communications plan isn’t rocket science, but can take some time, research and creativity. Integrating communications planning into your annual (or 2, 5, 10 year) strategic planning process can streamline things and ensure you are firing on all cylinders to fulfill your organization’s important social mission.

Get help if you need it – via public relations and strategic communications practitioners, training programs or books, your board of directors or staff members, or web resources (such as here at SocialEdge) – but just be sure to get it done!

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Developing a Strategic Communications Plan (3/4)

2006-06-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here are the following three sections that should be part of your strategic communications plan:

• Communications Strategies
When we talk about communications strategies we mean how will you meet your communications objectives? What general path(s) will you take – a limited press release or a full blown media blitz? Grass roots activism or national awareness advertising? Direct contact with donors or stakeholders (e.g. via events) or less personal yet wider reaching communications (e.g. newsletters)? Consider scope and scale here, and weigh your strategies against your budget, the requirements of your stakeholders and the timeliness of the issue or announcement.

• Communications Tactics
Now, let’s get down to brass tacks about what you’re actually going to do. This will be the most detailed section of your plan, and should include information on the specific communications vehicles and activities you will utilize. Be precise here and outline what you will do, when, where, who it is designed to reach (and how many) and how much it will cost. The list of communications tools below will give you a potential ‘menu’ of ideas for tactics you may wish to implement.

• Communications Tools and Vehicles
Again, arm yourself with data on how best to reach each audience as that will weigh into your decision of tools to use. Consider also your mission and your story. Does it lends itself especially well to the written word (or require charts and intricate data), or are photos, sound and film important to truly convey the most important details?

Some of the most common communications tools (we will go into more detail on each of these in future posts) include:

Public Relations – media outreach, press releases, press kits, awards programs, press conferences, speeches, editorials, position papers
Newsletters – email and/or print
Your Website and/or Blog
Advertising – print, radio, TV, web
Digital Media – documentaries, videos, short film, podcasts, etc.
Collateral – items such as brochures, flyers, presentations, annual reports, direct mail pieces
Events – your own events and/or events and conferences that you sponsor or attend. These can also be in-person events or web-based events.
Celebrity Endorsement &/or Product Placement – using well known personalities to promote your product and/or service or sign-on to your cause, or getting your organization/product/service placed within other media such as film or TV.
Third-party Websites, Newsletters, Events, Marketing Activities – whether you partner with or receive funding from other social entrepreneurs, foundations, corporations or government groups, be sure to understand and tap into all of their communications efforts for maximum impact (and often low/no cost).

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.

Developing a strategic communications plan (2/4)

2006-05-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here are the following three sections that you should include in your strategic communications plan:

• Strategic Business Objectives
As a reminder that communications are tied to business goals, be sure to list your most important organizational objectives and/or milestones in the communications plan.

Keeping these front and center will allow you to map them side by side and focus your communications activities towards meeting those goals. Your business/organizational goals may be things such as expanding into new regions, launching your website, building capacity, increasing participation in your programs, raising a specific amount of money, hiring new and accomplished staff, developing new partnerships, increasing sales of your product or service, attracting new clients or customers, or whatever else meets the specific needs of your organization.

Some of these will remain relatively constant over the years, while some will be finite, time-sensitive initiatives.

• Communications Objectives
This is the heart of your communications plan. Here you really want to hone in on how you’ll use communications to help you achieve your strategic business goals.

These may include things such as reaching out to a new target audience or market segment, driving attendance for a specific event or participation in a fundraising campaign, promoting a new partnership or program, increasing awareness of your organization (or a specific issue) amongst your stakeholders, influencing policy maker opinion on an important issue, generating buzz about a new product or service, and so on.

The words you’ll use to describe your communications objectives should be direct and action-oriented; Inform, Educate, Drive, Build Awareness, Respond, Promote, Launch, Engage, Outreach, Demonstrate, Reinforce…

Your objectives must be clear, succinct and measurable. And you should include some sort of timelines for when you will both initiate and achieve them.

• Key Messages
Incorporate your key messages into your communications plan, so you are focused and consistent in what you communicate to others, regardless of the channel of communication or activity. (Again, you’ve already done the homework, so this should be easy!)

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.

Developing a strategic communications plan (1/4)

2006-05-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

As I’ve already sort of beaten into your heads (subtle, aren’t I?), communications and marketing can have tremendously powerful impacts for social entrepreneurs.

The fruits of a solid communications plan can mean the difference between a high growth, thriving global organization that is changing the world, and one that constantly struggles for funds, staffing and its own survival.

While the day-to-day operations of your organization and/or current events can often change the direction of your communications strategy or provide new opportunities, it’s never wise to drive without a roadmap.

When you sit down with your staff and/or board and map out your organization’s strategic plan for the coming year(s), be sure to incorporate your communications needs and goals at the same time. The two should always complement and support one another.

In creating your strategic communications plan, you may wish to consider including the following 10 sections:

Situation Analysis
Stakeholder Analysis
Strategic Business Objectives
Communications Objectives
Key Messages
Communications Strategies
Communications Tactics
Communications Tools
Budget
Timeline

Let’s start with the first two:

1. Situation Analysis
What is happening in your industry, in the world, amongst your stakeholders and within your organization? How can you leverage the landscape to propel your organization forward? What themes or trends can you take advantage of to tell the story of your organization? It’s wise also to include a funding and resource analysis. What resources and/or limitations may help or hinder your communications efforts? Do you need to seek additional resources to support your goals?

2. Stakeholder Analysis
We just covered this topic in my previous posts. The important stuff here is to note who your most important stakeholders are and how they are best reached with communications tactics. You may need to do a bit of further audience analysis here to really get to the heart of each stakeholder group. You’ll want to know what their views are, who or what influences them, where they tend to get their news and information, what events or conferences they attend, what publications they read, are they web-savvy or more old school, etc.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.

Audience/Stakeholder Identification and Prioritization (4/4)

2006-05-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

At Starbucks Coffee Company, my Public Affairs role focused on developing communications strategies and strong relationships with a variety of stakeholder groups in the areas of ethical sourcing, Fair Trade, shade grown and organic coffee, and overall supply chain transparency (or, in layman’s terms: How Starbucks buys coffee).

The primary objective was to ensure that Starbucks commitment to purchasing coffee in a fair, transparent and equitable manner is well known and widely understood – and to ensure consumers feel good about the coffee they are buying and drinking.

It was also important for Starbucks to develop and maintain positive relationships with policy makers, governmental and non-governmental organizations and other groups concerned with social justice and environmental issues in coffee growing regions – in order to help ensure a steady supply of high quality coffee beans and to protect Starbucks reputation and overall “license to operate.”

As a result, the list of primary stakeholders included the following:

• Starbucks employees (the company’s primary and most powerful connection to customers)
• Customers
• Shareholders (the socially responsible investment community continues to be an important audience for many public companies)
• Partner organizations (licensed stores, food service accounts, etc.)
• Government organizations (such as USAID, as well as national governments in coffee growing countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Kenya, Nicaragua and Tanzania)
• Non-government organizations and/or activist groups focused on human rights, social justice, environmental issues, microfinance and other related areas
• University student organizations (an increasingly important and influential audience – based on brand preference development and trends towards activism) and academic institutions
• Regional community groups
• Media

In the end, it all goes back to the beginning… Who you communicate with (and what you communicate) should be directly tied to your organization’s mission, goals and operations.

With a little strategic analysis, planning and prioritization, your communications will fall on just the right ears (and in front of the right eyes) – and inspire, motivate and compel people to respond.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.

Audience/Stakeholder Identification and Prioritization (3/4)

2006-05-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Of course your work doesn’t stop once you have a list.

You must weigh each audience against your organization’s mission and objectives and assess their relative power for good (or harm).
You must understand interconnections and spheres of influence between stakeholder groups.
You must build a comprehensive list, and then you must pare it down to the most important (as we all know your resources are often constrained!) and leveraged audiences.
And then you must get inside their heads and habits and communicate “where they live” and where their hearts are.

No small feat.

But you wouldn’t be a social entrepreneur if you weren’t willing to climb a few mountains or read a few minds…

An example:

Several years ago I worked for a growing non-profit organization in San Francisco called the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, with a mission of accelerating women-led businesses in the high tech and life sciences sectors.

Our primary stakeholders included people and/or organizations that could help our organization directly (with funding, volunteers, business services, etc.) and those that could provide support and resources for our main constituents (women entrepreneurs).

Thus, our stakeholder list looked something like this:

Women entrepreneurs (founders and executives of high growth tech or biotech companies)
Women business executives (who might become entrepreneurs or who had experience that was relevant to entrepreneurs and were willing to mentor and provide support)
Venture capitalists (who could provide funding and/or business expertise for women entrepreneurs)
Service provides (lawyers, investment bankers, web design firms, marketing consultants, PR agencies, etc. – folks that provided services critical to a fledgling business)
Foundations, corporations and high net worth individuals (for FWE’s own funding needs)
Media (to tell our story and to draw attention to the topic and needs of women entrepreneurs, as well as to provide publicity for FWE-supported entrepreneurs)
Men & women interested and/or invested in the topic of entrepreneurship, women in technology, women’s leadership styles, girls and women’s education in math and sciences, etc. (this included potential partner organizations and academic institutions such as Springboard Enterprises, the National Women’s Business Council, Catalyst, Stanford University, Haas School of Business and many others).

Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.

Audience/Stakeholder Identification and Prioritization (2/4)

2006-05-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

So how do you decide who is most important to communicate with? This is not always easy, and for some organizations, it can be ever-shifting – depending on your stage of growth and development, your scope and mission.

So, to get you started, here are a few questions to consider:

1. Who do you want/need to get noticed by in order to fulfill your mission? Who is truly critical path?

2. Who influences your organization’s success (positive/negative)? Who can help and empower or hinder and impede?

3. Who do you need to win over to be successful? Does this vary by region or country?

4. Who funds your organization?

5. Who governs your organization?

6. Who runs and/or works for your organization (locally, nationally, globally)?

7. Who does your organization serve (what groups, individuals, regions)?

8. Where does your organization do its work? Who are the governing bodies and/or groups?

9. What other groups may have a vested interest in your organization/mission?

10. Who influences your main stakeholder group/customer/target audience?

11. Who and where are potential partners or allies for your organization?

12. What regulations and/or policy changes do you need to be successful? What policy changes or regulations might jeopardize your work? Who makes or influences these decisions?

13. Consider your organization’s local, national and/or international scope – who are your “neighbors”?

14. Who gives your organization its “license to operate” – in your home community and/or throughout the world?

15. What are the “externalities” of your work – are there by-products and/or social or environmental impacts of what you do?

16. For those of you selling a product or service, who is going to buy your product? Who is your key customer set (primary and secondary)? Have you clearly identified, segmented, researched and tested this audience?

Answering these questions will help you understand more clearly who needs to hear from you – and start to give you a glimmer of what you might need to tell them.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications.

Audience/Stakeholder Identification and Prioritization (1/4)

2006-04-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

Now that you’ve established your brand identity and honed your messages, you’re feeling pretty good, right? You’ve got a story to tell, you’re focused, you’re compelling, you’re persuasive and ready to fire. But wait, who are you gonna’ tell it to?

To embark upon a communications plan that delivers results (we’ll talk about the components of a strategic communications plan next time) and fuels your mission, you must be deeply and decidedly aware who your key audiences, or stakeholders, are.

At this stage of the game, many of you may already be pretty clear about your most important stakeholders. After all, you’ve taken a hard look at your mission, you’ve clearly identified who you are and what you are seeking to accomplish, and you know who and what you need to help you get there. But, it can be all too easy for social entrepreneurs to develop an overly narrow world-view when it comes to determining one or more key audiences for your marketing and communications. Often times we tend to focus on the hand that feeds us – donors – rather than looking more broadly at other influential and/or critical audiences. And the hand that governs us – our board of directors – is also usually close behind.

While these are truly important audiences to keep apprised of our progress and our challenges, by focusing too much on “cover our butt” or “look what great stuff we’re doing” communications, we are missing the greater possibilities that well-placed marketing and communications can bring us – leverage and scale, resources, publicity, partnerships, global awareness, policy support, behavioral change, the assistance of volunteers and other supporters… The list goes on.

So who can help you obtain or achieve these mission-critical or desirable things? Your list might include foundations, industry associations, government organizations and/or other policy makers, educational institutions, corporations, high net worth individuals, other social entrepreneurs, social services organizations, international groups, non-governmental organizations, tribal councils, business leaders, the media…. And, when we talk more broadly about the concept of “stakeholders” (e.g. people, organizations and/or localities that may have a vested interest in our work – or who may be impacted by what we do, even if not directly involved with us), this list can grow longer still.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Top 10 Tips for Message Strategy Creation

2006-04-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Now that we’ve discussed the thinking, planning and steps behind creating a message strategy, let’s look at a few helpful tips you may want to use while you’re “in the trenches.”

My Ten Message Strategy Basics:

1. Never forget the KISS principle (Keep it Short and Simple). Messages should be clear, crisp and easy to understand.

2. Use bullet lists whenever possible to encourage brevity (this includes both your key messages and your supporting data)

3. Be benefits-oriented (try to talk less about what you do and more about how it impacts others and how broadly and deeply)

4. Use powerful, action-based words and phrases whenever possible (e.g. things like “time-saving,” “values-driven,” “cost-effective,” “market-leading,” etc.)

5. Keep acronyms, slang and other hard to understand terminology out of your main messages. Certainly you may have very industry-specific terminology you must use to further illustrate certain concepts and gain credibility, but remember that you will need to tell your story to many types of stakeholders, and each will have a different level of understanding or knowledge. Always start simple and then prepare to build messages outward as needed for specific key audiences.

6. The Rule of 3. You should never have more than three key messages. You can certainly have sub-messages or sub-categories (for instance, if you offer a variety of different products or services they will each have their own set of messages that describe them), but you should always be as brief and succinct as possible.

7. 25-50-100. It can be useful to create a brief “elevator” description of your organization (or product/service) that can be used as an “everywhere” descriptor or boilerplate. There will be times when you only get 25 words to make your case, so start small and focused, and then build on this, perhaps up to 250 words. This type of document would include your topline positioning and key messages written out in paragraph form, and can be a very powerful tool for you when you are applying for funding, building your website, writing press releases, drafting partnership agreements, speaking to reporters, etc.

8. Test your messages on friendly (and non-friendly, if they’re willing) stakeholders. Ask them what appeals to them, what resonates – and what doesn’t. Check for perceptions, understanding and impact, and alter messages as needed.

9. Feel free to use metaphors, analogies and descriptive examples (but use them sparingly!). If you have a complex topic or product, try to find ways to make your story come to life in terms that others can already relate to.

10. Have fun and be creative. Dry, boring, statistics-laden key messages do not catch or keep people’s attention and tend not to translate well (in the case of an international organization). Don’t get too cute or edgy (unless your industry and audience warrant it) and always be relevant and understandable, but definitely think outside the box when you can.

- Diana Reid, Conscious Communications
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Proof points and supporting data

2006-04-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Depending on how intricate your positioning and key messages are, you may want to go an extra step and provide data or evidence to support your claims.

For instance, if you say your organization is the fastest at something – you should demonstrate just how fast and provide supporting research. If you claim that your organization has helped to significantly alleviate poverty in a certain region of the world, you’ll want to show how you can prove that. If you’ve helped reduce carbon monoxide emissions by hundreds of thousands of pounds or restored thousands of acres of wildlife habitat you need to say how you know that to be true.

Always use easy to understand references, statistics and credible and defensible third-party research sources to support your claims.

Additionally, supporting points can be useful in simply expanding upon your key messages and providing further details about programs or initiatives. You may not always need extensive data for every single type of communication you may undertake, but before you put any messages out there that can potentially be challenged (or hurtful to your organization if they are not accurate), it’s best to sure you have proof and back-up for any claims that you make, and for overall message clarity.

As I mentioned at the outset, this discussion merely provides a guide to your message development efforts, not a mandate or a “bible.” Each organization and mission is different. And, messaging is often more art than science, so you’ll need to sort of feel your way through it and test a couple theories. As always, don’t be afraid to ask others for help or to try out your ideas on employees, partners, friends, investors, industry experts and others.

In the future we’ll talk more about some of the creative ways you can “assemble” and deliver your messages to further add impact to your story and get your organization and its constituents the resources, support and momentum needed for success.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Developing Your Key Messages

2006-04-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

The next branch of the message tree is where the hard work really comes in. This is where you delve into each of your main support points or focus areas outlined immediately below and create the actual messages you will use in all of your future communications (e.g. some of the wording you’ll use in your grant applications, press releases, website copy, etc.).

This is the really important stuff and where you must be excruciatingly focused, clear and benefits-oriented. Your key messages should tell others what you deliver (and how, if that is a differentiator for you), how your organization/product/service is unique, distinct and how this combination benefits your ultimate customer or stakeholder.

Again using the Skoll Foundation as our example we can note the following details:
• The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship and the Skoll Sector Program.
• The Skoll Foundation also connects social entrepreneurs with key people and resources for success and fuel for change through conferences, online forums, academic programs and more.
• The Skoll Foundation celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as public television documentaries and other unique initiatives, in an effort to highlight, support and empower individuals to sow the seeds of positive change in their communities around the world.

For the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, the main messages are:
• Connecting women with financial, intellectual and community resources they need to be successful
• Delivering educational opportunities expose and open minds to entrepreneurial best practices & business success
• Building the next generation of women leaders

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Supporting Points

2006-03-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

To create the next branch of your messaging tree, you’ll “dissect” or translate the topline positioning into several primary message categories or support points. Essentially, this is where you lay out how you will accomplish what you’ve stated in your positioning statement.

For the Skoll Foundation, we note that the three support points are:
1. Investing In [social entrepreneurs]
2. Connecting [ “ “]
3. Celebrating [ “ “]

In the example of Social Venture Partners, the organization’s messaging tells us that if focuses its efforts in the following key areas:
1. Connecting Business with Community
2. [Providing] Innovative Solutions to Social & Environmental Issues
3. Catalyzing a New Generation of Social Investors

For the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, the support points are based around (providing and enabling):
1. Access to resources
2. Education
3. Accelerated leadership

For Microsoft’s developer programs:
1. Listening and responding to customer needs
2. Relentless pursuit of best of class products
3. Fueling an industry of innovation

Adding another example and looking at McDonald’s current positioning, we find that their main messaging is focused around the following categories:
1. Great food
2. Fun to eat
3. Casual environment
4. Local & familiar
5. Always something new

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Positioning statement

2006-03-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

At the top of your message hierarchy is a positioning statement that outlines who you are, who your target audience is and what your global purpose is. The goal of this positioning statement is to cement a clear and differentiated position for your organization in your customer and/or stakeholders’ minds about your organization – one that no other organization can claim.

Your positioning statement should be very brief (no more than 2 sentences, ideally 1), compelling and include the most or all of the following information:
• the type of organization you are/what you stand for,
• what you ultimately hope to achieve or impact,
• and how your work benefits others.

This positioning statement should be believable, valuable, unique, and clearly differentiate you from other organizations. And yes, you have to be really rigorous and concise to fit this into two sentences!

Let’s take a look at some examples of topline positioning (some current, some developed a few years back):

• “The Skoll Foundation’s mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs.”

• “Social Venture Partners seeks to develop philanthropy and volunteerism to achieve positive social change in the Puget Sound region. Using the venture capital approach as a model, SVP is committed to giving time, money and expertise to create partnerships with not-for-profit organizations.”

• “The Forum for Women Entrepreneurs is a catalyst for success for women building high-growth high technology and life sciences companies.”

• “Microsoft platforms, tools technologies and support services help developers quickly take advantage of a rapidly changing world.”

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Message Strategy Development – So What’s Your Story?

2006-03-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

Now that you’ve thought about your mission and brand, it’s time to take all that work and distill it down into bite-sized, compelling, easy to understand messages that clearly and concisely tell people what you do, what you have to offer, and ideally, why they should care and/or act. This is where development of your message strategy comes into play.

Great, more work. So why do it? Simply put, it comes down to simplicity, consistency and long-term time savings. A message strategy helps ensure you are consistent across all of your communications (consider the “multiple personality” warning I discussed in my posts on branding) and ensures that you are constantly bringing home the most important and salient points of your mission, product and/or service.

It also enables you and your staff to easily create new communications materials without needing to recreate the wheel each time.

By constantly adhering to a common messaging framework and consistent data and message points, your story doesn’t change, communications are straightforward, stakeholders are clear on what you do and how you do it, and you have that much more chance of attracting the resources you need for long-term success.

The end product of this entire exercise is to create a message strategy, also often called a “messaging tree”, a document that provides a message hierarchy for your organization and/or products and services.

While there is no one single model, your message strategy should generally include the following:
• A positioning statement
• Main supporting points
• Key messages and supporting data
• “Sound bites” (little pithy nuggets you’ll use for speaking to the media, for brief “elevator” conversations and the like)

Each one should build off of what comes before it in the hierarchy.

If your organization is very large or complex and you serve a variety of different audiences and/or offer multiple products and services, you may ultimately create a number of message sets, but we’ll save that discussion for later…

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Branding Homework (2)

2006-03-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

In working towards an identity – which is still very much a work in progress – we sat down and reviewed the organization’s mission, discussed who we are currently serving and how we might expand this audience over time, where and how our services are now offered, how we will continue to support and engage others in our mission, what makes us unique, and what we want others to know and think about us.

We have tried to envision how we might grow and change in the future, while still holding on to our local and very personal commitment. We are also in the process of defining certain key words such as “education” or “opportunities” – and what they mean to us, our constituents and others who may come across the organization. We are learning that we don’t want to be stuck with a single, limited definition and instead want to be able to grow in a smart, strategic way to offer new programs in new areas that still remain cohesive with our mission and audience.

In assembling all of this information, we created a brief document that highlights who we are and what differentiates us, as well as identifies some key issues to take into account when developing our identity. Our initial deliverable resulting from this document will be a logo, then a slogan, then a positioning framework that helps us crisply tell our story, and finally, a website and brochure that get our messages out there.

The work we’ve done will inform our conversations with our graphic designers and others who will help us create these materials, as well as serve as our guide for future branding and communications activities.

Please click here to download and review this initial document in pdf format. It should be noted that there are many, many ways to create and present information such as this, so social entrepreneurs should not feel this is the only vehicle for brand development (there are certainly as many techniques as the day is long). I present this simply as food for thought, and ideally, a bit of inspiration.

As we progress I’ll share some of the results of the Fundación’s materials and initiatives. I hope you’ll do the same!

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Branding Homework (1)

2006-03-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

During the course of our discussion on branding, several of you have posed questions and asked for further examples. To provide a comprehensive branding case study would require a lot more space and time than we have readily available – and each entrepreneur and organization is unique, making it hard to generalize any particular scenario – however a pro-bono project I’m currently working on might provide some food for thought for some of you.

The Fundación A. Jean Brugger is a non-profit organization based in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, and founded by two Americans (one now holds dual American-Nicaraguan citizenship) some six years ago. The founders initially envisioned a small, community-based organization that would provide educational opportunities sorely needed by the town’s young people. They would match promising young students with international donors to provide university scholarships to local universities, and they would seek to outfit as many local grade school students as possible with school uniforms and school supplies. The promise the students must make in return is to give back to their own community and to extend their learnings to others.

To ensure a long-term source of funds, and taking advantage of Nicaragua’s growing tourism industry, the founders decided to develop a small hotel and residential community in San Juan del Sur. Opened in 2003, Piedras y Olas Hotel & Resort has quickly become one of the leading hotels in the region and a model for socially and environmentally responsible business. Since its inception in 1999, the Fundación has grown slowly and modestly, but the recent and rapid success of its for-profit partner has now brought unexpected and exciting international support and increasing funds to the organization, as well as new program opportunities and areas of focus.

My current work with the Fundación has centered on helping the founders and staff hone and refine their mission, understand their long-term strategic plan and vision, and develop an identity and message platform that can be used to develop a new website, brochure and other communications materials.

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Additional branding resources

2006-03-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

Now, take a look at a few of these brands below and see what springs to mind. Can you quickly and easily tell (this is a bit of a “cheat” since we’re just looking at once type of communication vehicle, a website) what they do or don’t do? Who is their key audience? What are their promises to their customers? Can you tell what the brand’s personality and tone is? If not, why? Consider these questions and impressions as you embark on the road to cementing your own organization’s identity.

• World Wildlife Fund
• Mercy Corps
• Progreso
• Hermes
• Seventh Generation
• Ben & Jerry’s

And finally, a few additional branding resources to help get you started:
• http://www.allaboutbranding.com/
• http://www.fastcompany.com/online/10/bedbury.html
• http://www.ssireview.com
• http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/99/open_essay.html
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0814472346/ref=sr_11_1/103-4771714-6052631?%5Fencoding=UTF8
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1581154348/qid=1140646553/sr=1-13/ref=sr_1_13/103-4771714-6052631?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
• http://www.onphilanthropy.com/bestpract/bp2004-01-23a.html
• http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/Bookshop/detail.asp?item=100000000016723

Next Week: Message Strategy Development

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Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Ten Steps to Develop your Brand Identity

2006-02-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

Now that we’ve discussed the why’s and how to’s, let’s review the steps you might want to take in developing your brand identity:

1. Do your homework – collect your strategic plan, mission statement and other key “who you are” documents.

2. Answer any key questions (see Part 2 of this topic) that these documents may have missed.

3. Find out what stakeholders and others think about you. Ask questions, conduct surveys and/or interviews, delve deep.

4. Research other similar or like-minded organizations. Know where you stand in relation to the competition, understand what terminology and images resonate, assess what you like and don’t like about other brands.

5. Brainstorm and play. Get creative and innovative with words, categories, colors, pictures, shapes, ideas.

6. Develop an identifying mark/logo and (optional) slogan for your organization.

7. Document your brand plan and strategy fully. Create guidelines for what you will and will not do in relation to your brand and how the specific mark is represented. Brainstorm all the ways and places you might use your brand and how it support your organization’s goals.

8. Get feedback from internal and external stakeholders as you move forward. Adjust and update accordingly, but always stay true to your mission, goals and character.

9. Consider your brand strategy in all you do – from hiring to fund-raising to marketing to advocacy. Are you consistently representing your organization?

10. And, finally… Don’t be afraid to get help if you need it! Organizations like the Taproot Foundation and other strategic consultancies can help you develop your brand and accompanying materials.

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- Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Branding & Identity – Who are you anyway? (3/3)

2006-02-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

Now, what to do with the results of these questions?

Start by creating a positioning statement (which should dovetail with your mission statement, not replace or alter it) and a set of key messages that you’ll use to talk about your organization (we’ll cover message development more next time). Use this information to help guide and inform the development of logos, slogans and key design elements. Create a set of guidelines that help you be consistent throughout all of your public-facing communications – such as your website, brochures, newsletters, annual report, business cards, fund-raising materials and press releases.

Many think a brand is just a logo, and the work involved in creating a brand or identity is focused around that one single visual image. But as we’ve discussed, a brand is comprised of everything that makes you uniquely you. It’s the outward expression of your organization’s personality – and as with people, having multiple personalities is never a good thing.

A well-defined brand helps you decide where you get involved and where you don’t. It sets the tone for how you communicate with others and for how they perceive you. It enables differentiation across a variety of areas and provides clarity of focus. And, doing the thinking work up front ensures you are consistent and always on point.

There’s a lot of noise out there, and even though we don’t like to admit it, social entrepreneurs and non-profits are often competing for the same dollars and resources. You need to make sure you stand out!

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- Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Branding & Identity – Who are you anyway? (2/3)

2006-02-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

So how do you get started in developing this thing called a brand? It’s time to grab your mission statement, your strategic plan, your staff and your board or other trusted advisors and do a little soul searching...

For starters, here are a few questions to ponder (be aware that, often, asking yourself what your organization doesn’t do can be as powerful and important as what it does do):

- What is your mission and key areas of focus?
- What are your organization’s core values? What are you passionate about?
- What do you offer constituents, the community, the world?
- Who are your key stakeholders (primary, secondary, tertiary)? And who do you leave out of that picture?
- Where do you do your work? Where are your stakeholders located?
- What key programs and initiatives comprise your organization’s activities?
- Are there cultural or language differences amongst your stakeholders or within your organization?
- How do you do your work? What is your organization’s philosophy and/or style?
- What words, images and/or colors describe your organization’s personality? For example, are you solid and time-tested or innovative and cutting edge? Are you global and focused on growth or are you small and neighborly?
- What words, phrases or images would be undesirable or offensive to your stakeholders? (Be sure to think long and hard about this, especially when dealing with international concerns and cultural differences)
- Are there other unique characteristics of your organization, your mission and/or who and what you serve that make you unique?

In your answers to these questions be sure to be brief, thorough, aspirational, forward-looking and above all, authentic. Your brand is what will connect you (or not) to others and it must resonate and ring true.

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- Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Branding & Identity – Who are you anyway? (1/3)

2006-02-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

If you’ve read even a single business book you’ve been veritably beaten about the head and shoulders with the lofty, seemingly all-important and oft-confusing concept of “branding.” Paying homage to this loudly touted marketing concept, many business publications regularly conduct and publish surveys on the world’s most “respected brands,” “most recognized brands,” “most valuable brands,” and the even “most responsible brands” – offering companies public accolades for being well known, well liked and sought after.

This all sounds nice, but sort of begs the question (especially for entrepreneurs focused not on bottom line profits but instead on social issues): So what?

In the end, the concept of branding comes down to a question of identity and clarity. It’s what differentiates, illustrates and compels those who see or encounter it [the brand] to think or feel a certain way, or take action. It allows customers and stakeholders to quickly recognize you and know what you stand for.

Some of the world’s leading brands know well that simply seeing their logo brings to mind a powerful image or creates a specific set of expectations. Think Adidas, Apple, BMW, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Heineken, McDonald’s, Sony or Volkswagen. While you may or may not like their products or visit their businesses, you do know what they do and what they offer.

But why is developing and understanding branding of important concern for social entrepreneurs? If you’re not in the market to become a global entity or enter yourself in the running for most lauded brand, do you need to worry about this stuff? Absolutely.

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- Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Marketing is not a dirty word (2/2)

2006-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

If you are a social entrepreneur, the place to start is really to define your mission and to work on your strategic plan.

• Who are you as an organization and what are you trying to accomplish?
• How will you get there – on your own, or with donors, sponsors or corporate partners?
• How much money do you need to raise and where will it come from?
• Who and/or what will benefit from your work?
• Who else do you need to involve or reach with your efforts?
• Who do you need to convince to take action?
• How will you measure success?

Getting very clear on this early on will help ensure you understand fully the leverage and resources you will need to fulfill your mission.

Once you have this important information in hand, the way towards achieving your strategic goals with the help of marketing will be much clearer.

But yes, you still have a lot of work cut out for you. And yes, it often costs money. But not always! Some of the next topics we’ll cover in this column will include:
• Development of your organization’s brand and identity (getting clear on who you are and how you differ from other organizations)
• Message creation (how to tell your story clearly and concisely)
• Research (understanding what people really think of you, your organization and your product, issue or cause)
• Stakeholder identification and prioritization (who’s really important to the success of your mission and how will you find them and reach them?)
• Tools and techniques for developing effective communications materials that get results and help propel your mission forward.

And we’ll discuss where and when to invest your marketing dollars as well as how to do things on the cheap.

I’d also like to hear from you. How does your organization utilize marketing and communications? What are your biggest challenges in doing more (and don’t just say budget constraints)? What marketing programs or tools are you currently utilizing? What’s worked best for you to date and what hasn’t? Let’s talk.

For further reading regarding this week's topic, you may want to read this BusinessWeek article.

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- Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications

Marketing is not a dirty word (1/2)

2006-02-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

The world of social entrepreneurship is imbued with many admirable qualities such as passion, values, social consciousness, an emphasis on equity, equality and social justice, and above all, positive social change. These are weighty and important concerns and well worth aspiring to and pursuing.

But somewhere along the way, some of the more “rote” business aspects of the entrepreneurship side of the equation have had their reputations sullied. In our quest for passion and emotion and important do-gooding, we’ve thumbed our nose a bit at one of the things we really need to help fuel the change we seek to unleash. And thus, the area of “marketing” has taken a great hit. This may occur because we’re concerned that utilizing marketing is inappropriate for a social mission or sensitive and serious cause, and perhaps just as commonly, because marketing appears to be prohibitively costly and time consuming.

Ok, but let’s back up a bit. Just what is "marketing" anyway and why should an entrepreneur who is focused on social issues rather than - or in addition to - product or service sales care?

Social entrepreneurs need only look at their mission, strategic plan and near-term objectives (and if they don’t know this stuff by heart, there’s a lot more at stake here than just a marketing plan) to see that there are many areas that marketing can help them achieve specific organizational goals.

Marketing is, at its core, simply a way of:
(a) understanding the needs of your customers and/or constituents
(b) communicating what you have to offer them
(c) finding creative and compelling ways and venues to tell this story and make your case
(d) getting your target audience to do something specific (buy a product or service, give money, volunteer their time, write their congressman, whatever…) as a result of this exchange of information.

Sure, there are other much more elaborate definitions that can be posited, but in the end, thinking simple is often best.

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- Diana L. Reid, Conscious Communications