cody switzer - what story is your organization telling?
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What Story Is Your Organization Telling?
May 2, 2014
Cody SwitzerWeb Editor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
@clswitzer | @philanthropy
“Storytelling is an essential component of nonprofit communications”
Meyer Foundation’s “Stories Worth Telling” Initiativewith Georgetown University
“I’ve become convinced that almost all nonprofits could engage more supporters and have a greater impact if only they were better at telling their stories.”
Rick MoyersVice President for Programs and Communications
The Meyer Foundation
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Offers 'Embedded Reporter’ FellowshipApril 21, 2014http://bit.ly/1fkOpB8
“It’s not sales-focused, it’s not stories about concerts that are coming up and we’re trying to get you to buy a ticket. It’s interesting content first and foremost. We’re meeting our audience on new terms and often their terms.”
Eileen AndrewsVice President for Marketing and Communications
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
1753
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Harper’s
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Washington and Lee University
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Library of Congress
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Source: Wikimedia Commons
What’syour
story?
A story is a journey,
a conflict,a pattern
Set-UpWho are the characters? Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist?
ConflictWhat is the problem? What’s at stake for the protagonist and antagonist?
ResolutionWhat can be done to fix the problem? Who will do it? What’s next?
Narrative Structure
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Your audience has been
here before
A story is a relationship
“As a storyteller, you're forever at the mercy of your audience. They get to decide whether they resonate or reject your message. So you have to think about your audience a lot, and how to help them self-identify, see themselves in the story.”
Michael MargolisFounder and President of Get Storied
Your audience will always fill in the ______,more than youeven expect.
For sale: baby shoes, never worn
A Six-Word Novel
“Your tweets, Facebook postings, etc., should have as many of these attributes as possible.”
helpfulusefultimelyinformativerelevantpracticalactionablegenerouscrediblecollaborativebriefentertainingfunoccasionally funny
From Sree Sreenivasan,Chief digital officer at theMetropolitan Museum of Art
Don’t makeyour story
just about you
Warning:
http://youtu.be/IDC5yOSuCv0
“Can I have it like that?”
Peak chart position: 49th in the US
“It’s more bragging than it is anything else, so when I made that record it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to… I had to really take a long study of what I was doing and talking about on that record.”
Pharrell Williams on CBS NewsApril 13
http://cbsn.ws/1fmgEVH
http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM
“Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth”
Peak chart position: 1st in the U.S. and 11 other countries
Everything tells a story
1. Visuals
2. Video
3. Web Design
4. Press Relations
Visuals
“Your charity may have the most innovative or successful or tear-jerking story, but without photos, many news-media outlets won’t give that story good placement—especially in the digital age.”
Sue LalumiaArt Director
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s Path to a Cure
Environmental Defense Fund’s board of directors on CNN Money, http://cnnmon.ie/QWzCHe
Nichole Armstrong of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, http://bit.ly/1hbfgAf
“It’s an entry point for stories about our work—not just photos on cards… They show things that you’ve never seen or could never see on your own.”
Heather LucaCreative-Services Senior Director
Conservation International
Video
The Generic Brand Video
http://youtu.be/2YBtspm8j8M
Invisible Children’s “Kony 2012”
http://youtu.be/Y4MnpzG5Sqc
Rainforest Alliance’s “Follow the Frog”
http://youtu.be/3iIkOi3srLo
“Homeless Veteran Timelapse”
http://youtu.be/6a6VVncgHcY
“It Gets Better: Dan and Terry”
http://youtu.be/7IcVyvg2Qlo
6-Second Appeal Challenge
https://vine.co/v/hTPgDWlPT70
Web Design
Three out of four millennials donors said they were turned off when a nonprofit’s Web site had not been updated recently.
Achieve 2013 Millennial Impact Report
Six in 10 said they wanted nonprofits to share stories about successful projects and programs and appreciated information about an organization’s cause and the people it serves.
Achieve 2013 Millennial Impact Report
“The most important thing you can do is to just understand the basic principle of eliminating question marks.”
Steve Krug“Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to
Web Usability”
Press Relations
Dear Ms. Cody Switzer Blogger,
Understand the reporter• What types of stories do they
write?• What is their coverage area?• How would they like to be
pitched?
The Press Release Workflow
Become a Resource• Share good stories, even if they
aren’t yours.• Point them in the right direction
of the right people to talk to.• Remember to both give and
receive
Ask a key local reporter or editor out for coffee to
see what they are working on and how you can help.
Make It Easy to Cover Your Group
• Have the basics listed out somewhere on your site• Put contact information on your
page• Make photos easy to download
What’s your story?Are you telling it now?
Source: Wikimedia Commons, Washington and Lee University
Questions?