Mobilize Donors in DigitalThe Power of Storytelling May 7, 2014 by Sean Howard as seen at the Blue North Summit

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“Interruptive marketing with no perceived value is increasingly ignored or avoided by consumers.”

- Justin Kirby, Best of Branded Content Marketing

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Image source: http://blog.creamglobal.com/right_brain_left_brain/2012/06/clutter-kills-digital-media.html

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The future of online giving is tied to telling stories that matter.

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1. Get your digital priorities straight

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Technologies are going extinct at a never before seen rate

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An app will not save you.

15It’s about integrating digital into your organization

16Size Matters, but…

Reach in social is constrained by the strength of our relationships

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Thus the value of our digital investment is defined by our capacity to engage our followers

Follow / fan

Consume / like

Engage / share

Activate / mobilize

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Thus the value of our digital investment is defined by our capacity to engage our followers

Is what we say interesting?

Are we relevant?

What does our content say about the sharer?

Follow / fan

Consume / like

Engage / share

Activate / mobilizeHow much do I care?

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This is the least effective revenue generating tool on the Internet.

No matter how you dress it up.

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23It’s About the Content

Everyone thinks about where to be online and how their logo appears

When it’s the content that people engage with, not the logo.

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2. Focus on content that matters to your audience.

Donor fatigue (give us money, give us money, give us money, etc.) Lack of dedicated digital resources Organization not in the business of creating content Repurposing of other content is generally not a viable strategy

25Key Challenges

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Full report link: http://bit.ly/2014contentstudy

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Our Mandate Audience Interests

We have a publishing problem

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Live Orchestral Music

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sports

classical studies

live music festivals

rock concerts

bollywood

movies

world history

Live Orchestral Music

high schoolband

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sports

classical studies

live music festivals

rock concerts

bollywood

movies

world history

Live Orchestral Music

high schoolband Raptors in the playoffs

TSO had success with arrangements in the past Rapper Drake known for support of TO/Raptors

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Content calendars are not a content strategy They can be a useful tool but are prone to mindless content

37Content Calendars

38Content Calendars

Wonderful presentation on story streams vs. content calendars by Jon Crowley and Jeremy Wright http://bit.ly/storystreams

39Story Streams

40Story Streams

Blocking Charts Create framework for future content Align on priorities and number of posts per story stream

41Story Streams

Core Mandate Supporting Beliefs Story Streams

Story Streams

Story Streams

Supporting Beliefs

Actors / Voices

Actors / Voices

Actors / Voices

Story Streams

42Story Streams

Support Dollars at Work 40%

Key Events 20%

Founding Values 10%

Behind the Scenes 10%

Impact Stories 20%

Make it matter! Our audiences are trained to filter out the noise. Be able to pitch the benefits of an initiative in 5 words or less.

43When we do talk about ourselves

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Trees so you can breathe!

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Help a child in need

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Remember how to be human

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3. Expand and extend the stories we tell.

Greenpeace put out a whitepaper titled “Top 5 tips for actions that mobilize online” based on a workshop on what they learned in 2013 Full report: http://bit.ly/1mwREcW

48Greenpeace tips

Suspense / Jeopardy Too often we wait until after an action has succeeded to communicate the results. We lose the opportunity to build suspense. What risks do we face? What is difficult about this initiative? Not all initiatives should be successful. There should be a sense of jeopardy. How can you take the event and extend it forward in time?

49Greenpeace tips

Personal Stories Who is involved in the initiative? Can I relate to them? What drives the people involved? Why are they doing this? What other voices can we highlight? The affected? The volunteers? The community? It should be about “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

50Greenpeace tips

Interact - Make It Collective Involve your audience in the story! Have many ways to get involved - not just donations. Can they volunteer? Sign a petition? Send messages of support to the people affected or involved? Can they engage with key supporters? Can they participate from home? Push for solidarity.

51Greenpeace tips

Make it Long It takes time for a story to gain traction and for people to join in and share it. Begin the story well in advance of the initiative. Continue the story after the initiative is over. What are the results? Check back in on the initiative.

52Greenpeace tips

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3. Expand and extend the stories we tell.

Recap

1. Get your digital priorities straight2. Focus on content that matters to your audience.

WORKSHOP 54

Start on the back of the worksheet. Write down two to three initiatives your organization has recently completed or is working on that you believe would be of interest to your audience

Pick one and write it down on the top of the worksheet Write a pitch for this initiative in 5 words or less

Be sure to answer “WHY SHOULD WE CARE?”

555 minutes

Greenpeace framework Identify how you can expand and extend the stories you can tell around the initiative you selected List each idea you come up with in the appropriate box

568-10 minutes

Share and support one another Pitch your idea to your table (in 5 words or less) Then give one example of how you could extend or expand the story of this initiative

578 minutes

Sean HowardThe Connected Brand sean@theconnectedbrand.ca 647 272 9361 twitter.com/passitalong ca.linkedin.com/in/seanhoward/

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