Hi there! In today’s very special episode, we’re talking about the secret to getting attention from the people you want to reach online.

Know what the secret is? You have to give, give, give and then give some more to everyone you want to reach.

How do you do that? You use your online presence in a way that’s helpful to your audience. You become a resource for people in your local area through your social media whether it’s…

• Facebook or Instagram
• Emails
• Blog posts

If you GIVE to your audience, they’ll give you their attention in return. Because they are getting something out of it. They have something to gain from giving you their attention.

When they benefit from what you are telling them, you are creating the “know, like and trust” feeling in your audience.

This helps:

• Form relationships with your audience
• Build your credibility as someone to go to
• People get to know what your organization is all about
• Illustrate how you help in your community

So today, we’re talking about how to keep everything simple and easy to understand. and I have some real-life examples you can use to serve your community through your organization’s social media, emails and blog posts.

By the end of this episode, you are going to be fired up with ideas of how to give to your audience online and get their attention… and you’ll be feeling like you can’t wait to start.

Think about your social media like those free samples at Costco, or Sam’s or the grocery store. Whether you actually WANT the sample or not, you usually at least slow down and take a peek at what they’re offering. We like free samples because we get to try something without committing to it.

All of this applies to giving to your audience through your nonprofit organization’s social media, emails and blog. By offering something that is a benefit to them, at the very least, they are going to slow down and survey what information you’re handing out.

The main thing to remember before you offer anything is that above all, and most importantly, you have to stay true to your BRAND. If you only take ONE thing away from this episode, THIS IS IT. Stay true to your brand.

Remember back in episode 4, we talked about your nonprofit organization’s BRAND? We talked about identifying 3-5 main things you want people to know about your organization. Those things need to be the focus when you talk about your nonprofit.  Check it out at NonprofitPotential.com/4.

Social media, email, blog posts – it’s not just about having a presence, it’s about having a RELEVANT presence.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about…

Creating a post that says “Happy October” or “Thank goodness it’s summer” doesn’t have to do with a brand or a mission. The post is not serving anyone. It has no meaning or purpose.

Remember to ask yourself when you’re creating content for your audience – WHO CARES? Is it just to get something on social media, or does it actually have a purpose?

Say it with me this time! Social media, email, blog posts – it’s not just about having a presence, it’s about having a RELEVANT presence.

Here’s an example of giving to your audience using the month of October or fall, use that as a theme but not the point of your post.

I just got this great email in my inbox this morning from a pregnancy care center that had the Top 5 Things To Do when You’re Pregnant this Fall… the email included some short and sweet ideas of pregnancy-friendly things to do in that nonprofit’s local area, including attending the State Fair – AND, it gave a brief reminder for pregnant women to stay off the rides on the midway.

If you’re a pregnant woman checking her email with a whole list of unread emails vying for your attention, this is one that is talking to her. She has something to gain from it, so she’s more likely to read it.

Pro-tip: That email can be repurposed into a social media post. And it can be repurposed into a blog post. You can use all of that great content and squeeze a bunch of different things out of it! Just make sure that you are staying in your lane with one of the 3-5 main points of your brand.

OK, here are a few more examples from different types of nonprofit organizations to give you ideas for your nonprofit organization.

Let’s say you’re a dog rescue or a fostering program or an animal shelter – obviously you have a lot of adorable pictures of dogs to post and stories to share, but you can take your relationship with your audience to the next level by

• offering tips to keep dogs active when the weather is bad outside with games and activities to do inside.
• how to keep dogs safe and healthy in winter weather
• signs your dog might have dental issues.

If you know about these things, or you have the ability to research these topics just a little, you can be your own expert! Use the knowledge you have to serve your audience.

If your nonprofit is a community garden, serve your audience by posting, emailing or blogging about…

• your top 3 tips for taking care of roses in the fall
• how to protect your plants from early season frost
• or choose a really specific topic, make it a short piece with a little bit of really good information, and share it with your audience

Ask yourself, what are they going to get out of this? What is the point of this? And, most importantly, is this in line with my brand?

Always remember to use the formula that works…

On Facebook and Instagram, use:

• picture
• a caption and
• a call to action

In an email or a blog post, it’s almost the same…

• a great subject line or blog title
• a picture
• a few paragraphs
• and a call to action

Back in episode 13, I went really in depth about how to write a quality email newsletter and gave some specifics, if you want to listen to that go to NonprofitPotential.com/13

Here are a few tips for emails and blogs from that episode:

• Emails only need to be about 200 words, give or take
• Blog posts are good when you want to go in depth about something. Keep your blog post at 1,500 words or less – about a 7 minute read tops.

Think of your marketing as a big 3-tiered cake. At the base of the cake, you have your blog post – it’s the biggest of all the tiers. Then the second tier is an email – it’s a little smaller, more condensed. And at the top, you have your social media posts – it’s the smallest part of the cake. Your blog is where you can go really in depth, your email is a slightly smaller version, and social media is the smallest version. It all has the same flavor, it’s just in different sizes.

And – to keep going with the cake analogy, you don’t have to have all three tiers. If you only have one tier right now, you’re doing great. But working towards having all three tiers is an excellent goal to have.

The most important thing to remember is to GIVE, GIVE, GIVE.

Give information and let people know about your services – and keep repeating yourself with those 3 -5 things about your brand you want people to know about.  If you keep doing this, you’re going to see your relationships with donors and the people you serve grow.

A note of encouragement…

I know there are days where you might just feel like you’re on the verge of quitting. You might feel like you just can’t get traction, you’re just spinning your wheels. You might feel like you keep trying and trying and nothing is happening. If any of this sounds like you – I’m here to tell you – DON’T QUIT. You cannot quit. The difference between YOU and people that fail is that you haven’t quit.

You kept going, even though it was hard. Even though you didn’t have overnight success. You didn’t quit. You can’t quit!

If you feel down – because we ALL HAVE DOWN DAYS. We all have days where we’re on the verge of quitting! KEEP GOING. You’ve already come this far, and if you just hang in there, keep trying, keep using all the things you’re learning, keep taking steps forward, one at a time, I promise, you will get to the top of that hill!

And if you get bucked off the horse – because everyone gets bucked off – getting back on is what matters.

I have some free tools and resources for you that will help you, motivate you, and guide you through your next steps… Check out NonprofitPotential.com and get in on it now. You can download things like the FREE GUIDE that breaks down into easy-to-understand steps how and what to do for REALLY GOOD Facebook and Instagram posts – and it’s free and yours to keep forever.

Get access to that free guide now and other great tools at NonprofitPotential.com

Links mentioned in this episode:

Episode 4: NonprofitPotential.com/4

Episode 13: NonprofitPotential.com/13

FREE GUIDE - What Makes a Good Facebook or Instagram Post

Instagram.com/NonprofitPotential

Facebook.com/NonprofitPotential

If links are not visible in your podcast app, visit the Episode Webpage and Show Notes at https://nonprofitpotential.com/17