As we all strive to foster stronger connections with diverse communities and supporters, we know that effective communication strategies play a key role. Whether you are raising awareness for a cause, mobilizing volunteers, or fundraising, the ability to communicate your message and tell your story clearly and in a compelling way is crucial.
Here are some actionable ideas and strategies to enhance your outreach and communication efforts in 2024.
Infuse Creativity into Connection
Themes can serve as a catalyst providing a framework that encourages innovative ideas and unique approaches, fostering a more dynamic and engaging experience. Themes can even lend themselves to a popular, modern communication tool we know and love: the hashtag.
Try it out:
- Choose a theme that aligns with the purpose of your mission, your history, an event, or a project you are working on
- Infuse that theme into your upcoming communications
- Plan to carry that theme for a designated amount of time that works for you and your organization
- Seek feedback to understand how well the theme resonated with audiences and participants
Use the insights you gather by testing several themes over time to inform planning for everything from future communications to events, naming opportunities, and more.
Practice Clear Messaging
In a world filled with information, simplicity and clear messaging cut through the noise. A simple, focused message is more likely to capture attention amidst the myriad of communications competing for your audience’s time and interest. A straightforward message is also memorable and makes your mission more accessible to a broader audience as opposed to excluding those not familiar with complex terminology or jargon.
Try it out:
- Draft sample messaging that relates to your organization’s mission and goals
- Challenge yourself or a member of your team to edit it for clarity and simplicity with your intended audience in mind
- Turn the activity of drafting messages for simplicity into a teambuilding exercise when planning future communications for your organization
You may find this crucial step helps your team brainstorm a range of memorable messages that will stand out and capture the attention of participants, donors, and friends of your organization.
Use All the Things
Leveraging multiple channels and platforms enhances your organization's visibility and diversifies your reach. Different individuals prefer different communication channels. Some prefer social media, while others engage more with email newsletters or traditional mail. Using multiple channels allows your nonprofit to adapt to the communication preferences of your audience, meeting them where they are most comfortable.
Try it out:
- Identify an existing or upcoming communication
- Adapt the content for the many different channels and platforms you use to communicate with your participants, donors, and friends
- Take a recent appeal, newsletter, or press release you’ve already got and extract its content to feature across a variety of communications channels and platforms
Pro tip: Many organizations create an annual report or impact report. The content of those reports often incorporates storytelling, images, and data summaries – and all that content lends itself very well to many different communication platforms. A multi-channel approach for sharing the content of a communication you have already drafted increases the chances of reaching and engaging current and expanded potential audiences.
Start your new year with a commitment to try something new. Share these ideas and strategies with a member of your team and let us know if there is something you would add to our list. Together, we can make the most of our communications—one theme, one simple statement, and one connection at a time.
THIS MONTH'S FOCUS
As you start a new year, you might have a long list of work resolutions. We’re not here to add to your list, but to give you some ideas on how to make those resolutions a reality. Why not try something new?
