With the giving season in full swing, nonprofits are looking to attract potential donors. To inspire consumers to give to your organization, you need to build awareness for your mission and accomplishments throughout the entire calendar year. Whether it is local, national or trade media, securing media placements for your organization is crucial to generating much-needed visibility. However, what happens after the articles go live? To maximize the value of your good news, it must be shared!
Use this three-step formula to attract greater attention for your nonprofit’s media hits:
Get Social
Your social platforms are valuable tools for amplifying media coverage. By sharing articles and clips of radio and TV interviews on social media, your followers – and prospective donors – are able to see important third-party validation of all your hard work. When posting, be sure to tag the news outlet and reporter whenever possible to potentially reach a larger audience and help build stronger media relationships. Do not be afraid to post more than once. Find new ways to highlight the article, whether it is pulling out a truly impactful executive quote in the piece or referencing a statistic that frames the issue.
Tip: Be mindful of not just what you are posting but when you are sharing as well. For example, users on the west coast will likely not engage with a Tweet that is posted during the morning hours on the east coast.
Engage Your Stakeholders
You also want to make sure your employees, corporate partners, volunteers and board members are looped into your positive media momentum. After all, your stakeholders are champions for your mission and have the power to share the story with their own networks for even greater awareness. Consider sending a media round up to these people, encouraging them to share the article on their own social channels.
Tip: Make it easy for other people to shout out your good news hits by providing a brief summary of the story and suggest social copy for all platforms.
Make it a Campaign
Each piece of coverage likely maps back to important initiatives or goals for your organization. Use these media hits as supporting materials for larger internal and external campaigns. Whether it is eblasts, brochures, newsletters, presentations, letters to donors or annual reports, coverage can be included to demonstrate the success you have achieved. For example, if the local news ran footage covering your recent fundraising gala, share the video in your next newsletter. If your organization has been featured in a top-tier business publication, include a quote from the article in a presentation to potential corporate partners.
Tip: Remember to tailor to your audience. For example, a feature in the New York Times would be worth including in your annual report, whereas a compelling human-interest story in a trade publication would work well in a newsletter.
With the new year right around the corner, it is a great time for your nonprofit to start developing positive communications habits. By identifying opportunities to highlight your press coverage, you will be able to generate more recognition for your team’s efforts.
