Ask the Experts: Understanding Your Audience

Each month, I invite guest contributors to speak about timely, relevant, and sought-after topics that are important for cause-focused organizations like yours to be aware of as you grow. For August, I've invited my friend, Jen Gordon, to share about uncovering the hidden desires of your donors and customers. Understanding your audience will be a key to your success.

Q. What are the latest trends in your industry?

A. What I’m seeing lately is a trend toward companies identifying their marketing strategy first, and then outlining the tactics they will take to align with that strategy. By “strategy," I mean really digging into the hidden and unspoken desires of your prospect, and developing your approach to that audience around those wants.

In the past I’ve seen marketers using tactics like, “Hey, let’s send out a direct mail piece like the one I saw from XYZ organization.” Or, “Oh, let’s send an email campaign about our next fundraiser,” before truly identifying why their prospects would want to engage the content.

There has always been interest in the marketing world around the psychology of marketing, but today there is a lot more content readily available about the psychological drivers that cause prospects to take a certain action, to leave, buy, or donate. Nir Eyal writes a blog that focuses on consumer behavioral triggers and habits. Though most of his work focuses on software development, the concepts he teaches are applicable to any industry.

Q. What is the biggest mistake you see people making in regards to what you do?

A. One of the mistakes I have seen many times over the years of creating landing pages and sales funnels is that business owners may have a short-term plan or campaign they want to launch, but don’t have a clear roadmap for the year in terms of where they want to be in 30/60/90 days or six months, etc. They generally know what they want to achieve, but the path getting there is often unclear.

Right now, I’m working on a marketing calendar (with some inspiration from this SEJ post) for my own product, the Hope Deck, using Google Sheets, Google Calendar and Trello—all free tools!

Q. What is your best piece of advice?

A. If you aren’t trained on how to uncover your prospect, donor, or customer’s hidden, unspoken wants/desires, then find someone who is. :) Learning how to do this while working on the Hope Deck has completely changed how I connect to, and communicate with, my audience.

It has allowed me to understand how I can bring the maximum amount of value to my customers. I no longer assume that I am a part of my target audience, which I have done in the past. My mind is open to a wider range of problems people want to solve, and emotions they want to feel or not feel.

Q. What is one thing readers can do this week to improve?

A. Start figuring out what your audience really wants—not what they need, but what they want. I created a spreadsheet for the Hope Deck where I am in the process of identifying my customer’s unspoken desires. Don't get overwhelmed. Keep it simple to begin, and then edit or expand it over time.

Q. Anything else we should keep in mind?

A. The best way to uncover these hidden wants and desires is to actually talk to your customers or donors. I’d recommend recording the conversations, if possible, so you can review them later and pick up on details you may miss in the moment. Another option is to get them in writing through emails or surveys. You'll then use their language when speaking to them in your emails, social media, and any other communication pieces, so that it's familiar and relatable.

And be sure to ask them open-ended questions about why they choose to partner with, donate to, purchase from, or do business with you. Most of the time they won’t express their hidden desires outright, but you can infer from their answers what is important to them, and from there brainstorm motivation, emotional triggers, and things like that.

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Jen Gordon is a momma, artist, and entrepreneur based in Atlanta, Georgia. For the past eight years of her career, she’s specialized in conversion centered design, working closely with marketers and business owners to increase sales by testing and optimizing their sales funnels. Her geeky passions include finishing stuff, brain rewiring, crafts of any sort, and anything Dolly Parton has ever said or sung. :) You can find her latest creative project, a collection of inspirational postcards, at www.HopeDeck.com.

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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Make It Easy For People to Talk About You

This month we've been talking about building your business, lessons to learn from, and making it look more professional. Today I want to give you one of my top tips for getting the word out about your organization, a new product or service, latest initiative, or some other big news you want people to know about.

I first heard about this strategy in an interview Jon Acuff did years ago with Connect Faith magazine. It certainly wasn't the focus of the article. It was just sort of a side note in the feature, but it stopped me in my tracks. I think I literally quit reading and exhaled, "hmmm," aloud. It was so simple, but so remarkable for me as an event marketing professional. I started implementing it immediately, and never looked back. It was an incredibly effective tool for the organization I worked for at the time (that they still use), and it's proven itself time and again for the clients I work with now.

So, what is it?

Provide social media samples and images for your network of influencers.

Let me explain. You likely write emails, blogs, and social media posts for your organization's latest, greatest, and next big thing. You spend a lot of time crafting exactly what needs to be said, sending it out to your database, and posting it on your social outlets. If you have a staff or board, maybe you even give them a nudge to forward and share it. You're excited, and you know they will be too. You're gearing everyone up to shout this message from the rooftops! Perhaps, if you're a real go-getter, you even send a reminder.

But after the launch, you look back and hear . . . crickets.

Few people shared the message.

They said they would. They were excited. They had every intention. But, in the end, time or writer's block or a Netflix binge got in the way.

They'll do better next time, right?

Maybe. I'm not usually a cynic, so it's entirely possible. But I'd rather you provide all influencers with sample social media posts and images to make it as easy as possible for them to talk about what you've got going on.

In the interview I mentioned above, Jon stated that when the events he was speaking at provided him with posts he could literally copy and paste on his social media outlets, it removed any barriers to his good intentions slipping away. 

Sure, you'd probably rather someone gush in their own words about your organization, but what's better: the slim chance that they might do it, or the high probability that they will? I think most of us would prefer the second option.

So, that's what I started doing and it worked BIG TIME! Awareness and engagement increased. Influencers thanked us for supplying them with exactly what they needed, and in the end, we reached more people, sold more products and event tickets, and gained a larger base of supporters.

What's an influencer?

This might all sound great to you, but perhaps you're asking yourself exactly who an "influencer" is and how you find one of these mythical creatures. Probably the purest definition from a marketing perspective would be someone with a large and established network. They influence crowds. These are usually big name folks. 

Maybe this is the person who started your organization, a spokesperson, a celebrity affiliation, well-known speaker, author, or personality, and people like that. To work with them on the level I'm talking about here, you'd already need an established relationship. It's highly unlikely that you can just email George Clooney and tell him that your organization provides relief to third world countries, and by the way, you have a new product coming out, and would he post it on Twitter if you wrote him the samples . . . Ummmm, sadly, probably not. (But if you try it, and it works, please let me know!)

In addition to the types of men and women with large networks, I believe you should also include all others already in your circle. The "low hanging fruit," if you will. After all, everyone has a network of some size. And sometimes grassroots movements are the most effective. So, be sure to include staff, volunteers or interns, board members, event speakers, and anyone who has a vested interest in seeing your organization or event succeed. When you've made it this easy for them, you might just be surprised who ends up sharing.

What should you include?

As mentioned, you should include pre-written social media samples and images. The three I am typically asked to write for include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But you'll need to determine if those are right for you.

Here are a few other tips:

• Make sure all pre-written text is the correct length for each outlet. For example, don't send people copy that should be Tweeted about, but extends well beyond the 140 character count. #annoying

• Ditto with images. They aren't a one-sized-fits-all. Make sure you provide images that are correctly sized for wherever you're asking them to share.

• Write it from that person's point-of-view, when necessary. At times, it may be fine for everyone to say the same thing in the same way, but with some easy tweaks on your part, it will be far more effective. For example, if you're sending these items to event speakers, write it as "I'm speaking at..." rather than just general event info. (Or include both)

• Try writing two to five examples for people so they can use whatever fits their voice/brand, or can say different things at different times without just sounding repetitive.

• Encourage people to customize the text for their own voice or brand, but don't expect it. Some will, but most won't.

• Always provide a deadline or schedule, and always send a reminder. Again, people are busy, so if you're on a timeline, they need to be made aware of it.

• Deliver it in whatever way works best for you and your crowd. This may be via email, Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Site, a hidden webpage, or something else. I would not suggest sending huge, mass emails, though. Segment the group as needed. For example, send an email to staff only, and don't include event speakers unless they are staff members.

Want to take it a bit further?

• Include videos for sharing as well.

• If the people you're sending these items to are also bloggers, you might even consider writing some blog posts they can copy and paste as well. (Don't forget images or video!)

• Ask people if there is anything else you can provide them with for sharing. Maybe their website has a banner image that can be used, or maybe they have an email list and would be happy to send something out that is customized for them.

• Host this "spread the word" kit on your website so that other fans can share it.

• Include a "spread the word" kit or just one or two samples and images in confirmation pages and emails to event attendees. (Don't give them too many items or they'll get overwhelmed.)

Anything else to remember?

Hopefully, you're excited about this strategy. In fact, you're mind is probably already buzzing with the different items you can put together, and how you can utilize it for your next launch. I can't wait to hear about how it goes!

The other added benefit of this technique that we haven't really talked about yet, is that this strategy allows you to control the message. Maybe you've asked someone to share about your event before, for example, but they got the details wrong, or didn't make it sound very exciting, or just missed the mark somehow. This trick ensures that your message is said exactly as you wanted. No more guessing. (I have a PR background, so this this method means a lot! ;)

Before I go, I do want to give you one note of caution: use this strategy sparingly. You want to save it for important things, not a coupon for $5 off an next order. Definitely don't wear your people down, or they'll be less likely to share when you really need it.

Other than that, there are lots of ways you can tailor this strategy for your cause and organization. And if you find a way to improve upon it, let me know!

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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6 Easy Marketing Tactics You Should Steal Right Now

We're wrapping up "Marketing May" here on the blog! So far, we've covered trends and strategies, marketing 101, marketing plans, and daily marketing implementation. Whew—that's a lot! Even if you started with very little understanding of marketing, you should feel a lot more confident now, and also feel more prepared to add some intentionality into your organization's marketing and communications efforts. 

Today, I'm going to take it one more step further and give you six easy marketing tactics that you should steal right now. These are pulled directly from the playbooks of your peers and organizations that we all admire. 

Okay, so stealing may sound a little dramatic. If you prefer, substitute the more flattering word emulate. The truth is, there are proven strategies and techniques that organizations like yours should be implementing—immediately. By doing so, you're setting your cause up for greater attention and success.

Don't believe me? Just check these guys out! They all have a very loyal base of followers, fans, and supporters.

And though I have categorized them into nonprofits and social enterprises, the general ideas will work for everyone!

NONPROFITS

Atlanta Dream Center reaches the lost, rescues those in need, and restores the brokenhearted through their three primary ministries: iAM (the homeless), Out of Darkness (trafficked and prostituted women), and Metro Kidz (at-risk children). 

What you should steal: Every time they rescue a woman or have ministry win, they share it on social media. It gives their supporters an opportunity to celebrate with them, see real-time updates, and for volunteers and donors, a chance to see their contribution at work. They also provide recaps and larger figures in their direct mail and newsletters.

IF:Gathering exists to gather, equip, and unleash the next generation of women to live out their purpose.

What you should steal: They do a fantastic job of showcasing their event as it is happening through social media. It's surprising to me, but many organizations don't seem to promote their event in action, only before and sometimes after. IF utilizes quotes, video, and photos through their social media that make you really want to be there. They also mobilize and empower their audience with their hashtag and a photo booth. While events are certainly not easy to pull off, they are a very simple way to get people interested in, and excited about, your cause. 

Orange provides resources and events for church leaders and volunteers to maximize their influence on the faith and character of the next generation. 

What you should steal: They regularly use guest contributors for the Orange Leaders blog. This strategy allows for plenty of content that they don't have to create themselves. Additionally, the contributors promote their post once it is published, providing additional traffic to Orange's blog and social media.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISES

Lamon Luther creates expertly crafted furniture by employing the homeless, thereby giving them a hand up, not a hand out.

What you should steal: Many people in the Atlanta area know, and love, Lamon Luther. Their furniture is always in high demand, it seems. And though they primarily produce goods for individual homes, they have done a great job at building partnerships with other businesses to drive demand, expand their reputation, and of course, obtain larger orders.

Raven + Lily is an ethical fashion and lifestyle brand dedicated to empowering women through jobs by design.

What you should steal: Everyone loves free stuff, and Raven + Lily fans are no different! Sometimes they host their own giveaway with one or two of their stylish products, and sometimes they team up with other ethical brands for a huge grand prize. Either way, I've got to assume this steadily builds their email list and social media following.

Warby Parker was founded with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective: to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. For every pair purchased, a pair is distributed to someone in need.

What you should steal: They offer a fairly simple selection of eyeglasses and sunglasses, but they take advantage of holiday calendars in their marketing and make it work year-round. You'll find them reaching out to you via email or social media for back to school, summer, and even Christmas. They know holidays are on your mind, and they want a piece too.

Any other nonprofit or social enterprise marketing tactics that you recommend? Tell me what you've seen, or what's worked for you!

And if you find yourself short on time for new marketing efforts, here are five things you can stop doing this week that will free up some of your energy.

Other posts in this series:

• Ask the Experts: Marketing Trends and Strategies

• Marketing: What is it, and why do you need it?

• Marketing Plan: Is your mission missing its map? (Free Download)

• Stop Wondering What To Do Every Day

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PIN THIS POST FOR LATER:

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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Stop Wondering What To Do Every Day

Do you wake up each morning and have to reprioritize or reevaluate that day's To Do list? Are you continually getting lost in your list, or do you waste time on tasks that don't matter? Is asking you to fit marketing into your routine just crazy talk?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, hopefully today's post will help. 

It's "Marketing May" here on the blog, and so far we've covered marketing basics, like what the heck is it and why you need it, as well as the latest trends.

And last week, we also talked about marketing plans, defined them, and stressed their importance. They are a valuable document many people tend to overlook, but they can be enormously helpful in defining priorities, even at a weekly and daily level. And once the work of creating your marketing plan is done, you're way ahead of the game!

The next obstacle, now that you have a plan in place (if you don't, more below), is figuring out how to execute it on a daily basis. Small business owners and employees like you have a wide variety of items on their plate. And marketing in all its forms can often take a backseat to more "pressing" matters. I totally get it. But effective marketing is how you can get ahead. It's a key to not only sustaining your organization, but growing it. And who doesn't want that?

Even better, you can create your daily To Do list from your marketing plan! The easiest way I've found to do this is to essentially put your marketing plan document into an Excel sheet. You can even download a copy of mine here. 

How to Create Your Marketing To Do List

This Excel sheet is, of course, customizable, so I encourage you to make it your own, and add any fields that you think will help you and your organization. 

Mine contains:

• Item - Easy enough to pull right off your marketing plan. This could include print ads, email blasts, social media scheduling, and similar.
• Date - I like to include the public date. For example, when an ad will show up in a magazine, or when the social media post goes live on Facebook. It's usually a good idea to sort the sheet by this date so the more urgent items show closer to the top.
• Circulation - Because I was in public relations, I still like to look at these numbers. They're also helpful to see how they increase or decrease year to year. So, for a magazine ad, the circulation is how many issues are printed. But when talking about a Facebook post, you can include how many followers you have for your page or how many people saw it. Whatever you decide, I suggest including numbers that give you some perspective on how many people are seeing or interacting with your efforts. This can help indicate if your strategy and budget are working.
• Status - I like to know where I'm at on a task. Is it complete, submitted, drafted, with the designer, etc?
• Notes - Always a good idea!

Another option is to add a column for items that need to be updated later, like web graphics. If you're working on a launch, as an example, then post-launch, you'll need to go back and update your website, social profiles, and things like that. So, it can be helpful to have a column that triggers you to take that action.

Additionally, you might consider creating categories for big deadlines if you have a long-term project, initiative, or event. For example, the annual conference that I worked on had four major deadlines throughout the year. Opening day took place in the fall, we had another deadline before the end of the year, one late winter, and one early spring. So, I created categories on the Excel sheet to make everything easier to look at in a glance for each "bucket" in the timeline. To make this happen, you can simply skip a few lines between tasks for each major deadlines and use a colored line to separate them. Now, the entire event is still on the same Excel sheet, but I can see tasks associated with each deadline separately as well.

As you see, its not overly complicated. It's actually a pretty simple layout. But it is extremely productive, and will help you stay on task. Using this format was a lifesaver for me when I managed five events that each had their own deadlines and associated tasks.

Dig Deep

Be sure to add every item you can think of, even smaller details like changing staff signatures, or emailing staff and key stakeholders with updated information. Anything you can put on this list moves it out of your head, where it may have a chance to get lost.

I realize this format is unlikely to take the place of your current To Do list in its entirety. There are always other odds and ends that need to happen as well, especially if you wear multiple hats. However, it should go a long way in helping you organize your marketing and communications efforts so that they can become a larger priority in your week, rather than continually put on the back burner, never to be reheated again.

What if you don't have a marketing plan?

Many of you probably find yourselves in this category. But don't worry, all is not lost! 

Remember when you were in school and you had to create an outline for your research paper? Which did you do first? For me, it was easier to write the paper and then the outline, for some reason. The same principle applies here. Try creating your in-depth To Do list first, if you feel that needs your attention now. Then you'll be able to write your marketing plan from there. 

But I do encourage you to eventually go back and write your marketing plan. For all the reasons why, check out last week's post.

What now?

Whether you're creating your task list from a marketing plan, or starting with the list and moving backwards, this should make your day-to-day much easier.  It can be oh so helpful to see everything laid out in front of you at a glance rather than juggling a bunch of papers, separate lists, or keeping it locked up in your head.

Now you know what you need to do that day by referencing this task list because you have every item and deadline in black and white on one sheet. So, if you see that an email blast needs to go out in two weeks, you can work backward depending on how long it takes you to prepare it. Both short-term and long-term items are visible, helping you to manage your time better.

This will, of course, take some trial and error. If you are a person who loves systems, like me, you may adapt more easily. If you are used to playing your days more fast and loose, you may have more trouble initially, but implementing this idea will save you time and frustration because you'll automatically understand what each day has in store from a marketing and communications perspective.

As a result, you'll begin working further out, which removes a lot of the added stress of being in reaction mode or the frustration of working on projects in the wrong order. Your days can be tackled with greater intention, making better use of precious time.

Let me know how it goes!

And don't forget to download my task list template.

"This spreadsheet idea has saved my life, and made me so much more productive in the past year." - Erin J., Orange

Finally, you may also be wasting time on a few things that are sucking up your time, and not getting you anywhere. Wouldn't you love to free up some time and energy, so you can begin to focus more on what matters most? 

Other posts in this series:

• Marketing Trends and Strategies
• Marketing: What Is It, and Why Do You Need it?
• Marketing Plan: Is Your Mission Missing Its Map? (Free Download)
• 6 Easy Marketing Tactics You Should Steal Right Now

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PIN THIS POST FOR LATER:

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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