crafting your nonprofit story in a digital world
TRANSCRIPT
Crafting Your Nonprofit Story In A Digital World
Ben WongCreative & Success Services at Blackbaud Co-Founder of Birthdays For All @bunmun
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• Manages the Success Services Team
• Co-Founder of
• Member of Charleston Open Source
Crafting Your Nonprofit Story In A Digital World
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The fundamentals of a story
Tools and Platforms
Brand Story Architecture
@bunmun #NPstory
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Interest in #Storytelling
2005 2010 2015
The last 10 years has seen an incredible increase in
CONTENT CONSUMPTION
Launched in 20054 billion views per day
Launched in 2006500 million Tweets per day
iPhone 3G released in 2008Broadband speeds go mobile
802 million daily active users609 million on mobile devices
52% use email on mobileNonprofits see high open-rates
THE CONTENT FEEDERS
“In the last 2 years, we’ve seen more content produced than in the last 50 years combined.”
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“Your stories make up your content, but not all content tells a story”
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THE DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
BEGINNING MIDDLE END
01INTRODUCTION
02CONFLICT
03CLIMAX
04RESOLUTION
THE STORY ARC
Sets the scene, introduces the protagonist and
defines the status quo.
Interrupts the status quo and creates a conflict with
the protagonist.
Brings the audience to the peak of the tension,
where the protagonist is taking action to resolve
the conflict.
The new status quo, where the audience sees the
results of the protagonist’s actions.
Writing your introduction
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• Where is the story taking place?
• What is the status quo?
• Who are the characters?
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• What change occurred to the status quo?
• Who is the antagonist?
• Why should anyone care?
Defining your conflict
Your audience must recognize the antagonist…
…but don’t scare them away.
Image Source: www.royalvegascasino.com
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Some nonprofits have missions that are easily communicated.
Don’t over do it!
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Other nonprofits need to work harder to present the conflict in a way that is easy
for the audience to relate to.
Use simple language. Avoid jargon at all costs.
Conflict tip• Use simple language to explain the situation
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If the antagonist isn’t obvious, make it larger than life.
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C LIMAX
The story reaches it’s peak. The hero takes action to resolve the conflict.
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Who is the hero of your story?
• The organization?
• The beneficiary?
• The audience?
Image Source: The Neverending Story
–Jeff Brooks, TrueSense Marketing
“Donors ask themselves, how do I matter? How am I going to give back for all that I’ve received in life?
If your stories help them answer that question, you’re really doing fundraising. ”
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LET THE AUDIENCE BE THE HERO
• Invite the reader into the story
• Present a clear call to action
• Your story should be a ‘choose your own adventure’ story
Image Source: The Neverending Story
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Use the word ‘YOU’
Let the user be the hero
State the goal
www.feedingamerica.org
• What is the new status quo?
• Who benefits from the story?
• How should the audience feel?
Image Source: Birthdays For All24
Arriving at the resolution
–Shawn Coyne, The Story Grid
“Like an organic structure, a Story has a base set of internal materials that integrally combine to form self contained units of mini-story which in turn combine to form even
more complex systems”
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STORY INCEPTION
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BRAND STORY ARCHITECTURE
BRAND STORY
PROGRAMS
BRAND STORY
CHARACTERS PARTICIPATION
BRAND STORY ARCHITECTURE
PARTICIPATIONCHARACTERS
PROGRAMSFOUNDER
HEROES
EVENTSIMPACT
DONATE
VOLUNTEER
BRAND STORY
BRAND STORY ARCHITECTURE
PARTICIPATIONCHARACTERS
PROGRAMSFOUNDER
HEROES
EVENTSIMPACT
DONATE
VOLUNTEER
BRAND
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BRAND STORY ARCHITECTURE
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• All of your nonprofit stories should be derived from the core brand story.
• This is how you explain your nonprofit mission to strangers
• Make sure your all your staff and volunteers are telling this story with consistency
Start By Crafting Your Core Brand Story
– Liz Wainger, President Wainger Group Communications
“Nonprofits often struggle for funding, volunteers, and other resources. It’s because they are unable to
effectively communicate their vision, purpose, and value to their communities.
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They make lists of their programs but don’t articulate the bigger change that the nonprofit strives to bring
about in the world.”
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Huffington Post - Why Every Nonprofit Needs A Manifesto
“It's hard not to think about water today. In the western world, we face growing concerns about our stewardship of the world's most precious resource. There's talk of shortages, evidence of reservoirs and aquifers drying up, and of course, plenty of people who simply don't care. !But forget about us. !Most of us have never really been thirsty. We've never had to leave our houses and walk five miles to fetch water. We simply turn on the tap, and water comes out. Clean. Yet there are 663 million people on the planet who don't have clean water.”
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www.charitywater.org/about/mission.php
1 school bus holds 72 people
9 school buses holds 648 people
The Founder
Scott Harrison
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The Campaign
The Birthday Project
The Hero
A boy named Lory
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LETS GET DIGITAL
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What is Digital?
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“Digital” is a Lifestyle
– People living a digital lifestyle
“If it’s not on Facebook, it didn’t happen”
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Everything you need to create and publish great content is already in your pocket
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Pick the right tool for the right size of story
SM
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SHORT STORIESWhy?
• To keep in touch with your audience with high frequency when time is limited
When?
• During an event • When a program or service is being delivered • When something is happening in real-time • When you’re busy
What and Where?
• Short status updates, photos, short video • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Periscope, Snapchat
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MEDIUM STORIESWhy?
• To keep audience informed of your activity • To show stewardship
When?
• After a recent event • When there is a news update • When giving thanks
What and Where?
• Blog post, longer status update, video, email • Your website, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr,
SoundCloud, Pinterest
M
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LONG STORIESWhy?
• To explain a mission, program or concept • To engage users with richer content
When?
• When introducing your organization for the first time.
• When you need to educate the audience
What and Where?
• Long form content, integrate audio and video • Your website, YouTube, Medium, Exposure,
SoundCloud
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–– http://contently.com/strategist/2015/09/16/5-ways-content-goes-viral/
“Contrary to popular belief, long form stories have a better chance of going viral than short posts, with the
optimal length being upwards of 2000 words.”
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http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are
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• The brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text
• Strong visuals invoke a visceral reactions
• Visual content increases engagement e.g. more shares, likes, comments
VISUAL STORYTELLING
Visual Storytelling Tools
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Camera Snapseed Over
Capture Edit Add text overlay
Instagram - #filters for photo and video
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Flickr - Photo Management
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Canva - Visual Design Templates
– http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-300-hours/
“300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute”
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Mini-Videos
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Vine
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Temporary Videos
SnapChatPeriscope
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Animoto - Professional Videos Made Easy
THANK YOU!
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@bunmun
www.birthdaysforall.org