Month: April 2014

How Can Non-Profit Organizations Raise Funds Through Effective Communications?

Last week, a friend of mine asked me if I could help her explore some creative ways to gather funds for one of the non-profit organizations she is working with. We got down to research to find potential markets, audiences, and creative ways that have been used in the past. We found that some ways which were once popular are no longer effective for grabbing attention to a cause. For example, the method of distributing a crushed and rolled paper instead of a brochure or sending emails or messages to raise awareness for the organization leading to money contribution. Of course, these methods are not outright wrong, it’s just that with the passage of time, people are getting accustomed to such gimmicks and these do not surprise the audiences any more. In order to get attention, it is most important to develop creative surprises to arouse curiosity and then satisfy it.

Although the creative fundraising events can best be designed knowing the organizational goals, yet there are some common activities that we can do in the present times to gain fame for our organization. Here are some tips:

+       Follow hashtags of events and news that align with the aims of your organization. This can be called news jacking in which you tie the organization’s name for promotion to another event. This is quite similar to what the journalists do when they write their features or specials. They have a news peg to attract audiences toward their news.

+       Collaborate with another famous non-profit organization. This is like cross-promoting your events or organization. An average salaried person will not usually take the initiative to donate in many organizations, if he donates at all. When people choose an organization to which they will donate, they usually close their minds to other organizations, thinking they have chosen one and obviously they can’t spend all the money in funding charities. If your non-profit collaborates with another non-profit for mutual benefits, then you will be able to target a wider audience base. You will be able to educate these prospective donators without consuming their extra time. This will position your organization in their minds by aligning it with their existing knowledge and also get you the required funds.

+       Visit schools and educate children about your organization. Children can be the best motivators of their families. They can be the ambassadors of the organization’s messages. If they feel excited about something, they will speak about it, and through children their families will gain awareness about the organization. Children can be given interesting materials to read and through them these materials will reach so many households which otherwise could have been forgotten or difficult to target.

+       Have a blog and promote it through your social media pages. This blog should contain event lists, names of sponsors, pictures, videos, and interesting information about your organization. It should also allow people to ask questions and have their queries resolved through the members of the organization.

+       Develop badges in soft copy for the sponsors, volunteers, members, and other people that are aligned with the organization. These badges can be given to them to be promoted through their individual social media networks. It should be made a completely voluntary task. They should be encouraged that demonstrating that they endorse a non-profit would boost their reputation.

Due to increase in media vehicles and media awareness, promotion has become easy, but persuasive creativity is needed. These were some tips that came to my mind for boosting the awareness of non-profit organizations so that people donate more funds to them. For more ideas, please check the video below that I just found on YouTube. Do you also have any tips to offer? How would you creatively generate funds for non-profits? Please share your views and contribute to the creativity thread.

Picture source: http://bit.ly/1hDtn6a

Video: http://bit.ly/1eoq2Hr

Why Some Brands Stay Alive and Others Die?

Why are there some brands that survive more than 100 years old and some that fail within months? Does this mean that the brand initiators of the less surviving brands are not dedicated? Probably they are. Then does this mean that they have less money to dive into expensive gimmicks? But if the product or service is satisfactory, then less expensive gimmicks can compensate. Then what is the reason?

Amongst the “more than 100-year old brands”, some top rated include Coca-Cola, Johnson and Johnson, Kellogg’s, and General Electric. They have not just survived, but excelled in their industries.

By the way, do you know that The Coca-Cola Company and Johnson and Johnson started in the same year? Yes, both these brands came to life in 1886. I am working on an academic project for these companies and I had the opportunity to interview some of my friends who are loyal brand endorsers of Coca-Cola and Johnson and Johnson.

I was keenly looking for answers… I was searching for variety in responses… But at the same time I was searching for sameness. What is common in the two that keeps them going? Some interesting interview responses uncovered thee similarities:

+       Consistency: Humans like predictability. If we have tasted or used some product or service and we like it, we are more likely to choose it over and over again if we derive the same feel out of it. For example: same taste, same aroma, same comfort, same smoothness, and so on.

+       Adaptability: Brand that fail to meet the changing needs of their customers lose their scope of surviving. This does not meet brands compromise on consistency. Brands need to modify their products/services or need to revive their approach to reach their target audience so that they always remain alive. For example: brand packaging, cost modification according to competition, and so on.

+       Availability: A brand that is not easily available and accessible, especially in the early years of its life, can lose out on competitors who are more readily available and better established. Brands may choose to stay in niche markets, but it is important to show readiness to serve consumers.

+       Brand recall: It is important to understand for brands that colors, visuals, name, taglines, characters, and other verbal and nonverbal elements play a crucial role in brand recall. A good brand recall means that the product/service is at the top of the mind of the consumer and he/she will remember the brand’s identity and make the purchase.

+       Memories: It takes time to create memories related to brand, because this aspect goes with brand history. But brands that believe in the above factors are bound to create memories. Brand credibility is enhanced if a brand was used by grandparents, parents, and then children. But memories can also be created if a brand does not have a detailed history. Brands can be associated with memories related to parties, birthdays, anniversaries, and so on. Memories lead to development of emotional connections with the brands that ultimately leads to better brand recall and increase in brand ambassadors.

We are born with brands, they surround us. As we grow in years, some of them stay with us, some wither away, and some even outlive us. Only brands that innovate to adapt to the changing times can mark the benchmarks of brand longevity.

Are you a loyal consumer of any brand? Which one is it and why do you endorse it? What is most important aspect of a brand that compels you to buy it? Share your views and contribute to the pool of thought.

Picture source: http://www.fabmarketing.biz/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Branding-cropped.jpg

How Engaged Are You?

Companies are now learning to believe that employees are not just a stakeholder group. Employees are the company itself. They are the key people who define a company’s success graph. When companies frame communications only for the external publics, they fail to realize that it is internal culture that drives external reputation. Gallup’s 2013 State of the Workforce Study points out that only 30 percent of the U.S. workforce is engaged. And do you know how much does employee disengagement cost? An estimate USD of 450 billion to 550 billion!

Interestingly, there are three categories of employee engagement according to Gallup. They are:

+       Engaged: Employees work with passion and feel emotionally connected to the organization. They create and develop, and are the initiators of innovation to drive the organization ahead.

+       Not Engaged: Employees are basically in a “checked out” mode. They are like sleepwalking through their workday and lack passion and energy. They invest time in their jobs because they have to, but not because they want to.

+       Actively Disengaged: Employees are unhappy and also loudly claim their unhappiness. They lead to bad word of mouth publicity. They undermine the efforts that the engaged employees make to improve the company. They are the toughest to be motivated.

It is a challenge not just to move the disengaged employees upward, that is, into the engaged category, but also to sustain the engagement levels of the employees already engaged. Gallup’s Q12 survey is a great way to find the percentage of employees in an organization that fall into each category.

How to Engage Employees?

Many communication professionals by now know and offer many innovative solutions for employee engagement. To add to that list, I have a few to offer.

+       Crowdsourcing Contests: Companies can conduct social media property audits to assess the company’s existing social media landscape and analyze the discussions that take place on each platform. The key issues identified on each platform can be documented and the internal platforms can be used to crowdsource solutions to the problems. Crowdsourcing refers to throwing out questions to the employees and involving them to generate solutions. It leads to collaborative brainstorming. There may be contests where the best contributors of innovative ideas can win prizes.

+       Soft (copy) Badges: Companies can introduce excellence badges in soft copy forms and provide them to the employees and suppliers who can place these on their social media pages. This technique will enable them connect with the brand even when they are not in the internal corporate setup. Excellence badges can be given on a quarterly basis to employees who contribute innovative ideas or exhibit special skills. Pictures of these employees can be uploaded on the company’s social media platforms as well, like Twitter and Facebook using hashtags.

+       Innovative Day-Off: Employees in each department can be given a paid innovative day-off on a quarterly basis. They may be asked to come to office on these days (but work only on an innovative idea) or stay at home, but contribute to the company’s growth a great idea. These days can be called “great idea days” and the employees can be asked to contribute a valid idea with a one-page proposal stating why they feel an idea would work. This technique can work in cycles, wherein a company may ask the employees to contribute individual ideas one time and work in teams at another time. The best contributions in each cycle and annually can be awarded.

+       Snowball Surveys and Coalitions: Organizations can conduct snowball surveys to find out the most trusted persons by the employees for receiving company information. The most popular and trustworthy sources of information in each department can be identified and their coalition can be formed at each facility. Then organizations can use these coalitions to disseminate messages and expect a higher receptivity of the messages. Coalitions communicate internally through informal channels like lunch or water cooler discussions. These surveys can also be administered in the supply chains and a supply chain coalition can be formed.

Adequate employee engagement through consistent communication is not just the right of the employees, but also the need of the company to achieve greater success. Does your company take the initiative to engage you? If yes, how? Or do you, as an employer, take steps to engage your employees?

References:

The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication, edited by Tamara L. Gillis

The Credible Company, Communicating with Today’s Skeptical Workforce, by Roger D’Aprix

“Employee Engagement, What’s Your Engagement Ratio” report by Gallup Consulting

Picture source: http://bit.ly/1fIurA1

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4nwoZ02AJM

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRnmMlAfUlE

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rd9zQborxI