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The nonprofit One Warm Coat used a virtual news conference to kick off its annual winter coat drive campaign.

Nonprofit communicators are preparing for a year-end giving season unlike any other.

But while Covid-19 will make it downright impossible to host in-person fundraising events and quite difficult to bring members of the media onsite for site visits and interviews, it also creates some new opportunities.

For example, we’ve discovered that Zoom and other virtual meeting tools make it much easier for resource-strapped nonprofits to gather the media for briefings and news conferences.

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve staged a number of virtual news conferences and have found the format offers nonprofits an easy, accessible way to share important announcements and information with the media. As the year-end giving season looms, nonprofits have an opportunity to generate media coverage by holding virtual briefings with the media to discuss the extraordinary need for donations and offer advice on how to give wisely during the holiday season.

They can also help position your leaders and board members as expert sources.

Advantages of Virtual News Conferences

Virtual news conferences offer several clear advantages over traditional, in-person events. These advantages include:

Logistics — On-site press conferences have always been labor-intensive, with the need to find the right location and proper supporting visuals. Often, these are outdoor affairs, so you also have to contend with the potential for rough weather.

Conversely, the logistics for a Zoom news conference are simple. You simply set up the meeting through your Zoom account, and send the log-on link and call-in info as part of an alert to your media list.

Media members, meanwhile, don’t have to worry about traveling to the event, setting up cameras and microphones, and navigating around each other.

Increased media participation — Because the logistics are simple, virtual news conferences can be well attended by the media — provided, of course, that you’re offering them something newsworthy.

Local TV stations, for instance, don’t even have to worry about sending a reporter to record a live stand up. They can simply have a producer record the session and grab a video sound bite and the reporter can add his or her piece later.

Virtual news conferences also make it easier to attract out-of-town media. We recently coordinated a virtual news conference to announce an important new development in an effort to secure state funding for a community college in Erie, Pa. Because it was hosted online, we were able to get a reporter from the state capital in Harrisburg (located nearly five hours away) to log onto the conference and cover the announcement. That is something that would have been all but impossible at an in-person news conference.

Easier, more substantial follow-up —  You can also make the news conference available to journalists who are unable to attend. Simply hit ‘record’ at the start of the press conference, and, voila, you have he complete session video-recorded and ready to share. Reporters can go back later, watch the recording, and grab the quotes and sound bites they need on their own time.

How to Stage a Successful Virtual Event

Like all virtual events, online news conferences have a different feel than their in-person counterparts.

As a result, it’s important to spend time up front working through the logistics and making sure you come across as professional and prepared. Here are a few tips:

Keep it short — With a virtual news conference, you’re promising convenience. Avoid abusing that promise by wasting their time with a long presentation. Keep the prepared remarks relatively brief (no more than 15-20 minutes) and make sure you’re focusing on what’s going to be of interest to a reporter covering the story. This isn’t a commercial about your organization but rather an opportunity to share important news and insights.

Include multiple voices — Most news reports rely on multiple sources to give them color and credibility. As a result, it’s helpful to try to include multiple speakers who are available to provide insights and answer questions. Recently, we worked with the nonprofit One Warm Coat to host a virtual news conference that explained the dangers of the upcoming winter season and the incredible need for warm coats during Covid-19. To tell the story, the nonprofit’s CEO was joined by the leader of a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., that provides services to those in need, a mother and son who lead coat drives, and a winter weather expert from the Weather Channel.

Develop a clear run-of-show — If you are having multiple speakers, make sure you give them clear instructions on who is speaking when and key talking points. It’s also important to designate someone was the emcee who can introduce all of the speakers and monitor questions at the end.

Nail the logistics — Make sure you spend ample preparing the visual presentation. You want to make sure all of your spokespeople look good on camera. You should also schedule a run through before you go live – mostly to ensure everyone is properly lit and positioned at an ideal distance from their screen. This will also allow you to make sure all of your speakers understand the run of show and how you’ll moderate questions.

Remind participants that everything is being captured on video — After months of living our professional lives on Zoom, most of us are familiar with the idea that the camera is always rolling. But because this is being broadcast to the media — and because they’re potentially using the video in their reporting — you’ll want to make sure that people remember to stay focused and alert (and avoid stepping away or picking their noses).

Finally, remember that your virtual event promises something that will actually be useful to the media. We recommend organizing these events to provide practical advice that will resonate with audiences or to discuss a unique or pressing challenge.

You might even consider partnering with other nonprofit organizations to help cover multiple angles.

With the right hook and enough preparation, a virtual news conference can help your organization share its message and gain media coverage — even during this challenging time.

The post How to Stage a Successful Virtual News Conference appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

Flickr Creative Commons photo.

When I advise nonprofits on how to build effective media relations strategies on a modest budget, I preach the importance of being focused.

Instead of casting a wide net, nonprofits are often better served by identifying a handful of journalists who are influential in reaching their highest-value audiences – then working to build relationships with those journalists.

In turn, they are more likely to get their story told in a meaningful way to the people who are most likely to support their work.

I lean on this strategy because it works.

When nonprofits concentrate their media relations efforts on a limited number of high-value targets, they are more likely to get consistent, positive and meaningful coverage.

But as many organizations are assessing whether their practices and strategies are reinforcing racial and social inequities, our PR firm has been taking a long look at whether this strategy unintentionally leaves some important audiences out.

In some cases, that answer is yes – particularly if the efforts are focused exclusively on getting stories told to wealthy donors, business owners, or policymakers.

Moving forward, we’ll be designing strategies that also explicitly attempt to reach more diverse audiences.

And as you develop your media relations strategy and calendar for 2021, it’s important to consider doing the same.

This is critical — especially if your organization is taking steps to diversify and expand its donor base, have its board more accurate reflect the makeup of its community, or build trust and greater awareness.

This doesn’t mean you should stop working to get your story told in the local business journal or on the society pages.

But you should also be making sure you’re taking deliberate steps to expand your circles.

For some groups, this might mean devoting a portion of your time and budget to developing relationships with journalists at neighborhood weeklies and websites in parts of your community that don’t include the richest Zip codes.

For others, it might mean identifying story ideas that resonate with outlets that specialize in providing news and information to Latinx, Black, Asian-American, LGBTQ, Indigenous people, and other audiences.

You can start leveraging resources like BlackPR.com – a service that distributes press releases to the Black media – and enlisting consultants or volunteers who are adept at reaching diverse audiences.

It also makes sense to have ongoing conversations with all of your organization’s stakeholders to find out what media they rely on, and where they typically get news and information – and where they think you might be missing opportunities.

If you’re not taking any of these steps right now, it’s time to take a step back and consider whether your media relations efforts are aligned with your values.

The post Do Your Nonprofit’s PR Efforts Include Diverse Audiences? appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

In the real world of fast-moving news stories, you need a little more time and preparation for crisis communications.

When Peter Panepento and I wrote Modern Media Relations for Nonprofits, we included a section of the book to cover crisis communications. We thought we had seen it all. From controversial staff departures to hot-button public issues, Peter and I had coached nonprofits through what we understood [at the time] to be critical crisis moments.

Then along came 2020! 

The hot mess of civil unrest, cancellations, closings, re-openings, and closing again have created little crises everywhere. If it feels like you need an Olivia Pope style intervention, you are not alone.

How do you handle crisis communications WHEN THE WORLD IS IN CRISIS? Well, Peter and I will cover this in an upcoming webinar on August 13th.

But until then…

What Would Olivia Pope Say to Communications Directors in Crisis?

Remain Calm: Put on your mask first; oxygen, that is. Remember that pre-COVID moment when you were sitting on a plane and the flight attendant demonstrates how to put on a mask and then encourages us to remain calm and take care of ourselves first? That was a life lesson.

Olivia was always telling people to calm down when they showed up in her office in a panic. She often started by telling everyone to BREATHE.

It’s hard to be a fixer if you are operating in a heightened state of panic. But this isn’t new for communications directors. As Kivi points out in her book, CALM not BUSY, chaos tends to land on the desk of the communications director.

Kivi writes:

“Many nonprofit communications directors feel like they work in a constant state of chaos. You might feel worn out because there are simply too many things to do. You likely have too many choices and too many decisions to make on each item on your to-do list, compounding the chaos.”

Kivi wrote this in her book pre-COVID, but doesn’t this sound familiar? 

“You might feel rudderless. Your boss either doesn’t consistently provide strategic direction, changes that direction frequently, or has left you alone to figure it out…

Communications work is fast-paced and constantly changing. The job of a nonprofit communications director is so varied from nonprofit to nonprofit that there is no common job description or playbook to follow. Everyone—even those nonprofits that really seem to have their acts together—is making this up as they go.”

From the outside looking in, panic will start to show in your communications. Some of what I have received from nonprofits during COVID seems rushed and frantic. One organization sent a note in an email about cancellations that I am positive it was incomplete. If you feel like you are living in a constant state of crisis, it’s okay to ask those around you to slow down. Close your eyes, imagine Olivia with her hands gently on your shoulders before you send out the next urgent email.

Don’t go low, stay high: Yep. Olivia would put her hands squarely on your shoulders, look you straight in the eye at close range, and tell you this. This is also NOT the time for pouting and tantrums online. This is not the time for arguments on social media. Sharp communication professionals understand that in times of crisis, it is easy to point fingers, get angry, respond in frustration, and the like. However, blaming and pointing fingers just makes you look like you do not have a firm grasp on the issue and/or problem at hand. Even if the crisis was not caused by your organization, even if you are the one responsible (or left) to clean up the mess – respond carefully, not with snark and sarcasm.

Focus on opportunities: Olivia Pope: “We are not out of options. I am not out of options. I am never out of options.” When responding to a crisis, it is important to be both in the moment and of the future.

What does this mean? Well, it means that when it comes to crises, it is important to be as many steps ahead of everyone else as possible. Think about not just your Plan A or B, but your contingency plans C through Z. The more ways you can think of for the situation to play out, the more ways you can plan to respond. Sure, everyone hopes things work out the way they plan, or at the very least, the way they SAY they plan for them to go.

But, if 2020 has taught us anything, it is that the moment you think you have a handle on something, that’s the moment you realize you don’t have a handle on anything. In times of crisis, the situation can turn on a dime and you need to be ready to respond to those changes. Actually, you need to be responding to as many of those changes as you can BEFORE they happen. Answering hard questions before they are even asked is a great way to put forth a message of confidence and control over the situation.

I am sure this is where Olivia would tell you: “You look like you’ve got it covered because YOU DO have it covered. No questions. No confusion.”

Be honest: “The truth is scary. But it is also powerful.” Last week, I found out that a nonprofit that has provided services for my mother while she lives in a nursing care facility will shut down permanently. I worried about their work when nursing care facilities in our state closed their doors to anyone other than staff and medical professionals. Communication throughout the pandemic has not stressed the sense of urgency. Staff people were terminated (probably the communications director). The lights went out on emails. When I contacted a recently laid-off staff person, I asked why they didn’t let donors and supporters know they were going through a crisis. A leadership decision was made to say nothing since they were not essential. While their services are not considered “essential,” the joy brought to my mom and fellow residents was vital. I guess I believed in their mission more than their leadership.

Find the silver lining: Some of the best examples come from organizations that take the time to feature staff’s personal stories or give virtual tours of their offices. One domestic violence shelter had an outbreak of COVID and had to close their doors. The shelter took the time to paint its location. It was something needed for years, but personnel struggled with closing the doors for service in order to make necessary building updates. Instead of focusing on having to close temporarily for shelter services, the communications director uploaded pictures online of the new and improved family room and playroom. The organization was even able to raise some building fund money in the process along with new toy donations for the reopening of the shelter.

Over the summer, I helped a festival that waited a little too long to cancel its press release that originally began with … “Due to the Governor’s Executive Order….we regret to inform you that…” to instead shift the focus on the fun things they COULD do. This included virtual tours and a focus on vendors that had signed up for the festival. They had an impressive online turnout and picked up a few new vendors along the way.

Now is the perfect time to prepare for the next crisis. Because this too shall pass…but maybe not a quickly as we all thought. And even the dynamic Olivia Pope would struggle in 2020.

On August 13th, Peter and I will be focusing on real scenarios rather than the fictional Olivia Pope.

We’ll prepare you for some common types of crises, including:

• Internal scandals in which a member of your staff or board has acted inappropriately
• Situations in which your organization’s financial decisions or practices are called into question
• External events, such as George Floyd’s murder, in which your organization needs to consider taking a public stand
• Disasters and pandemics

We’re updating our playbook from Modern Media Relations to prepare you for communications in a world of crisis. Join us for the webinar, so that you can say, “It’s Handled!”

The post Comms in Crisis? You are NOT Olivia Pope. appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

Flickr Creative Commons photo by Alvin Chua

Many communicators overvalue the importance of press releases.

Yes, a press release is an important part of your nonprofit’s media relations toolbox. But it is just one tool.

Most nonprofits that are successful in getting meaningful media coverage do so through building relationships with journalists and other influencers — and then leveraging those relationships into placements in stories.

It’s much less common — especially in today’s competitive and chaotic media environment — to get coverage by simply sending press releases to every newsroom on your media list whenever you have something new to announce.

Instead, the release should be thought of as a supplementary piece — something you use to provide critical supporting information.

But that doesn’t mean you should stop there.

Press releases can have other uses beyond getting your story covered in the local newspaper.

View it, instead, as a foundation for getting your message out and starting conversations around the news coming out of your organization. Here are 6 ways to make it happen:

1. Use it as the source of an op-ed or thought leadership piece: 

There’s news, and then there’s what that news means. Take a look at the content of your news release and consider if there are any angles or facts you can expand on to offer unique insight that would be relevant to your audiences.

2. Share it directly with your donors and volunteers:

This may sound like a no-brainer but lots of organizations don’t think about consistently sharing news with their core stakeholders. Get the news out in your newsletters, internal channels, and online communications.

3. Pitch it to like-minded organizations:

It’s not only the media that can amplify your message. Think about trade and advocacy organizations that might welcome the opportunity to share your news. My firm recently reached out the American Association of Community Colleges to let them know about a nonprofit client’s successful effort to get a community college approved for Erie County Pa. They plan on publishing our press release in their daily newsfeed to members and the public and may do a follow-up piece for their bi-monthly magazine.

4. Reach out to media that might have a connection to your newsmakers: 

Does your press release focus on an individual who would be of particular interest to specific publications? For instance, if you hire a new executive director or CEO, share the news with your new hire’s hometown newspaper. “Local product makes good” stories are often a slam dunk. You can get you some glowing coverage to share online, and you can’t really put a price on the potential benefit of your newsmaker’s mom proudly sharing the news around the old neighborhood. Also, send the release to colleges the person attended so they can publicize the news in their publications.

5. Build a micro-social media campaign around it: 

You can get more mileage out of a press release if you think about it in Tweet-sized pieces. Definitely promote the release itself via your social networks, but you can also build engagement by pulling out some interesting facts or quotes from the release and then rolling the posts out in a period of time.

6. Think hyper-local and radio: 

Of course, everyone wants to land in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, but the competition is fierce. Same goes for daily papers and TV stations in mid-size to large markets. One way to potentially reap at least some limited coverage is to pitch to smaller daily or weekly newspapers in your area and also local radio talk shows. Also don’t forget about local radio for paid advertising if it would be relevant. It’s pretty affordable and depending on the topic might connect with a key demographic you are trying to reach.

So, while we don’t want to overvalue the press release, we shouldn’t pity it, either.

Look at it as one tool that can be the catalyst for many promising communications opportunities.

The post 6 Ways to Get More Value Out of Your Next Press Release appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

Rising Senior Chloe Greer!

This is why…

I’ve seen hundreds of good, bad and ugly nonprofit pitches as a media correspondent and former producer for the Public News Service. One report by Agility PR Solutions found that nearly half of all journalists worldwide receive more than 25 email pitches a day, while producing fewer than 25 pieces a month. So when we receive a GREAT pitch…it’s time to celebrate!

Sixteen-year-old Chloe Greer’s pitch is by the far the most genuine I’ve seen a long time. It can be overwhelming to think of pitching stories to press when the world has turned upside down. Chloe’s pitch was confident, clear and concise.

Meanwhile, I have been getting a host of really bad pitches lately that start with “Dear Journalist.” Insert [Immediate Eye Roll]

I have to admit that I’ve been “pitched” by this nonprofit with a rather lengthy press release, but I trashed the original pitch because they were not ‘local enough” for our publication.

But Chloe was local. Thankfully they reached out. She sent the following email in my inbox shortly after I mentioned the nonprofit film production in her hometown paper:

“Hello Antionette Kerr, My name is Chloe Greer and I recently seen your article on ‘Local family joins global theatre production’ I am also in this Digital Performance Project. Also my friend Lucy Duran is, who lives In Lexington also. We both have participated in Lexington Youth Theater plays. Please let me know if you need any more information.”

Note: With Chloe’s permission, I’ve included her exact words. It’s important to see that pitches are generally more polished grammar wise, but she’s 16 and there was something appealing about the notion that she wasn’t being overly massaged by communications staff. In fact, it was her authentic voice that clued me in that she was not being coached to get another story for the nonprofit film org.      

She ended with:

Oh — and it’s the creation of a non-profit youth theatre company. Wish us luck!

Chloe’s pitches reflect the most important elements of a good pitch. I teamed up with my friend Danielle Baldwin to talk about one of her favorite topics. She has worked in several aspects of the public relations world to present our small pitching award to Chloe.

Together we want to point out 5 noteworthy things Chloe did right.

1) Do your homework:

Chloe took the time to understand what I cover. Previously, the affiliated nonprofit sent a long press release about the film production. My coverage area was limited to one county [not mentioned in the release] so I trashed it. It took other actors and Chloe to “localize” the context. Most reporters are too busy between shrinking newsrooms, mandatory weekly furloughs and breaking news to figure out how a “non-essential” story deserves more than a second glance.

Your homework should also include letting the reporter know if you have read his or her past story. Looking for themes with reporters is a great way to get your message across. If you see a reporter writing about topics consistently that means one of two things:

1) They are assigned to that topic

2) Or they have a personal interest in the topic

Both are good news for you!

2) Show that your topic is something that people are passionate about:

The media needs viewers, readers and an audience. Share your current experience with the subject of your pitch and any effect it may or may not have had on your own life. Has this topic played a big part in your life, now or previously? And ask yourself, “Why now?” What makes this topic newsworthy? If you cannot answer that one simple question on your own, your pitch and the subject might need a bit more work before it is ready for prime time.

Does your pitch require that you do some additional investigative research in order to be thorough and accurate? Be prepared to answer questions about the research required and how you plan to go about doing that research. Could the subject benefit from an interview with a leading authority? Could you get that interview on your own? Would you need help doing so?

3) Focus on people directly impacted:

If it’s not personal to you, who can tell a personal story? In general, journalists will be more interested in people than organizations. We are often looking for people “directly” impacted by the problem you’re seeking to address, rather than the organization’s position.

Chloe talked openly about the student-driven nonprofit providing important opportunities and how she struggled mentally with losing the outlet of performance with the COVID-19 closings of theater and productions. If you have people willing to be open that’s going to help the compelling story.

4) Save the mission language for later:

Hold your elevator speech for donors. Journalists might care about your nonprofit’s mission but that’s often secondary to the people involved in the organization. The mission language is what boilerplates were made for!

After I responded with interest, Chloe sent all the nonprofit boilerplate type stuff and I used it as secondary content.

5) Seek SEO hype whenever possible:

Can you directly tie your subject to other timely or popular pieces on the Web? Can you provide linkable URLs related to your topic? Finding ways to make your pitch and its content SEO-rich in multiple ways is also an optimal way to make sure your pitch is successful.

We are in a time where search engine optimization is baked into every piece of popular content on the Web. Once you get to the point where you are actually building an article based on your pitch, it is crucial to make sure you curate that content in such a way that it has a real chance to rank high in search engines when someone searches using popular terms for a subject, that you just happen to have in your article.

These days, Search Engine Optimization of online content is no longer an option, it is a given. The content of your article after you have successfully pitched will be no different. Sure, your editor or the company you are pitching to could easily add keyword afterwards, but the more you can do this on your own (and your sample work reflects this as well), the greater your chances will be of having your pitch accepted.

One last thing…You should disclose any conflicts of interest…

In Chloe’s case, she warned me that she was also pitching the name of her friend Lucy. That helped me to decide not to run both of their stories within the same month.

Ask yourself…is the subject of your pitch something you are an expert on because of personal or previous professional experience? Will your content end up discussing a company you have previous work experience with or one in which you have some kind of personal or professional relationship? Are you married to someone who works in the industry you are discussing or for a company you may mention in your article?

If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” then you need to make sure you disclose that upfront, long before you are asked or it is discovered in some negative way. Answering any of these questions with a “yes” does not necessarily cancel out your opportunity to pitch successfully or have your pitch accepted.

Contrary to what you may expect, the fact that you have a more, shall we say, complicated relationship with the topic of your pitch, may work in your favor and may give you a leg up when it comes to having your pitch accepted. Either way, disclosure is paramount, for professional and legal reasons. Be honest, be explicitly clear and do it at the time of your pitch, not afterwards.

Should you be pitching right now?

The answer is “Yes!!!!” The news cycle is crowded but busy journalists are always looking for compelling stories, and there are plenty of ways to get your stories out there. Chloe is just one example.

A report from Adweek says journalists spend less than a minute reading most pitches!

Be like Chloe and make yours count!

The post The Award for Best Pitch Goes To… appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

Flickr Creative Commons photo by fotologic.

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to be prepared for the unexpected.

During the first half of the year, we’ve been confronted with two events that have turned our world on its axis — the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.

In both instances, nonprofits had to confront urgent and tragic situations that they weren’t planning for. And, in doing so, they had to make quick decisions about how to communicate effectively about complex, sensitive, fast-changing events.

It’s safe to say that we’re not finished with having to confront big, unexpected crises.

At some point — likely soon — your nonprofit will face another defining moment where it will be essential to provide clear, timely communications.

Whether it’s a worldwide crisis like COVID-19 or something of your own making, you need to be ready.

So if you haven’t already, it’s important to have a crisis communications protocol in place so you’re not caught flat footed and so you can manage your communications effectively and with integrity.

Here’s some advice on what you can do now to ensure that you’re ready to respond:

Assemble a team

Your organization should have a designated crisis team that you can mobilize quickly if needed.

This group will likely include your CEO or executive director, your head of communications, and your board chair. Some organizations choose to include other top executives and/or its legal counsel as part of this team.

This group should be considered always on call and empowered to make rapid decisions about how it should handle a crisis.

Because crises don’t always happen between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays (in fact, it’s rare they do), contact information for this group should be at the fingertips of your communications director or top executive — and members of this team should be informed in advance that they could receive a call in the middle of the night.

With any luck, that after-hours call never happens.

But it’s important to make sure you’re ready in case it does.

Designate a spokesperson

If your organization is faced with a crisis, it’s important to designate someone who is empowered to speak on your behalf.

Often, this person is the top executive. In some cases, though, you might choose to have your communications lead or your board chair fill this role.

He or she should be prepared to face tough questions and be briefed on the facts before doing any interviews.

As a result, your spokesperson should have some experience in front of the camera — and you might consider providing them with media training so he or she is equipped to handle the heat.

Be ready to issue a statement

Silence is often your worst enemy in a crisis.

The longer you wait to say something publicly, the more it looks like you have something to hide.

There are some exceptions to this rule. For instance, in the early days of the recent racial justice protests, many organizations chose at first to listen before speaking publicly.

But pausing too long to listen could have dire consequences in fast-moving situations.

This is especially true if your organization is at the center of the storm.

As a result, you should be ready to quickly put together a written statement that shares everything you know about the situation — and tell the truth.

Crises often grow worse when organizations withhold information that — when revealed later — make it look like they were hiding something.

State the facts clearly and, in cases where you’re investigating what happened, make it clear that you’re still gathering information.

As you draft your statement, it’s important to try to step outside of your role with the organization and think about what you’d want to know as an outsider who was reading or seeing a story about the situation.

What would you want to know? What would make you trust the organization? What would force you to doubt its account?

Be careful about jumping to conclusions in your statement.

Sometimes, you simply need to share the basics and acknowledge that you’re gathering the facts. If the story is fast moving, you cannot afford to wait until you have all of the information before you put out a statement.

Get something out quickly, show you’re on top of it, and say that you’ll have more to share later.

Coordinate with others

In some cases, your organization’s crisis might involve other groups — such as law enforcement or another nonprofit.

In these situations, identify who are the spokespeople for these organizations and, if possible, work to coordinate your efforts.

Have a media kit

In crises, it’s also important to provide context.

Your organization does great work and has a mission — don’t be afraid to make the media and the public aware of what you do and why you do it.

At the very least, you should develop a fact sheet about your organization ahead of time that outlines what you do, your outcomes, and other vital information about how you operate (including facts about your budget, your history, etc.). Make it as easy as possible for the media and your supporters to have context and information that helps people understand who you are and what you do.

Keep this information up to date and have it at the ready whenever you are talking to a member of the media — whether it’s for a positive story or during a crisis.

Manage the message

Whenever possible, try to direct the media to talk to your designated spokesperson. But also understand that reporters will also be looking for other sources.

If the story is big enough, a reporter might contact other members of your staff, members of your board, donors, volunteers, or others who are connected to your organizations.

Be prepared for this by communicating clearly with your team, your board, and your supporters about the situation. Provide them with information about what you know — and offer them advice for handling questions.

Think of all of your audiences and channels

While most organizations default to making statements to the media, it’s important to remember that the news media isn’t your only audience. You need to think about how you’re going to communicate internally — as well as to your donors and those on social media.

If appropriate, be ready to issue any statements via your social channels, through email, and on your website.

And have someone on your team who is prepped on how to address questions and criticism on social media.

Be honest

It bears repeating that your should always aim to tell the truth. This is especially true in a crisis.

Tell as complete a story as you can. If you don’t know the answer to something, don’t speculate. Make it clear that you don’t know the answer.

If you learn relevant information  — positive or negative — that affects the story, meet with your crisis team to discuss it and decide how to address it, whether it’s by issuing an update or being prepared to talk about it when questioned.

Crises tend to disappear more quickly when you get in front of the story, acknowledge your mistakes, and show that you’re moving forward.

Hopefully, you never have to follow this advice. But if your organization ever faces a controversy, planning ahead and being upfront can help you deal with it quickly and responsibly.

The post Is Your Communications Team Ready for 2020’s Next Big Crisis? appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

Flickr Creative Commons photo by Steve Bustin.

By Peter Panepento

It’s not easy for nonprofits to get news coverage. And that’s especially true during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the news industry has changed, fewer journalists have nonprofits as part of their beat — and during Covid-19, most have been reassigned to cover some aspect of the pandemic.

Making matters worse, many are working in newsrooms that are smaller than they were even a month ago, due to layoffs and furloughs. And all are adjusting to having to cover stories virtually.

But just because it’s more difficult to get coverage, it doesn’t mean you have no shot.

In fact, there are some great opportunities out there to get attention if you’re mindful about what reporters are looking for — and are willing to be flexible.

Here are four ways to stand out:

1: Pitch positive stories with a personal face

— We’re all looking for good news right now – and people are craving uplifting tales and silver linings. If you can offer a hopeful angle or a unique way forward, you have a good chance of grabbing attention. But simply having a positive angle isn’t enough. Many nonprofits make the mistake of making their organization the center of their story pitches, but the real power in positive stories is having a strong emotional hook. And that usually comes through personal stories. Instead of pitching a story about the number of meals you’re serving, think instead about an inspiring volunteer who is helping prepare or deliver those meals — or a family that has been helped. You won’t necessarily be the subject of the story, but your chances of coverage are much greater — and you’ll still be a part of the final tale.

2: Pitch local expertise on national trends

If your nonprofit is locally focused, use that to your advantage by pitching your leaders as experts on national trends that connect to your mission. It’s likely your nonprofit can help put a local face on the fact that many arts organizations have gone dark, provide a local perspective on the impact of social distancing, or talk about the challenges faced by students who are learning remotely. If your goal is to try to get visibility through the media, think about how you can leverage your knowledge to provide local context.

3: Embrace Zoom and FaceTime

In every pitch or news release, make it clear that you have an expert or experts who are available to be interviewed via Facetime, Skype or Zoom. This can be a huge differentiator as reporters are working in virtual environments.

4: Submit an opinion piece

Op-eds remain an especially smart option right now for organizations seeking news coverage. Even if they don’t get picked up, you can use them in your own channels to amplify your message.

Of course, even the best pitches will get ignored if they’re not delivered to the right people — and in a thoughtful way.

In my work with nonprofits, I’ve found much greater success when I can deliver personal pitches to reporters. So rather than blanketing newsrooms with press releases, I recommend taking a more targeted approach.

For the reasons outlined above, that’s especially important now — but it’s also a bigger challenge.

Thankfully, the media database company Cision this week released its annual State of the Media survey, which included some timely guidance from journalists about how to pitch them during these challenging times.

Here are three tips they offer (all of which we can validate through our experience working with the media over the past six weeks):

1. Email should be your primary channel
   This is true all of the time, but it’s especially true now. Like all of us, reporters are facing a lot of unusual pressure. Now is not the time to be cold-calling them or trying to get cute with mailings or social media. Stick with email – and keep your pitches short.
2. Do your research
   Beats are fluid – especially now. Before you do outreach, check out what a journalist has been covering in recent weeks to see if they are still the right person for your pitch.
3. Be patient
   As noted above, journalists are underwater, so it might take them longer than normal to reply. Don’t be afraid to follow up after a few days if you haven’t heard back. But set your expectations appropriately and avoid being a nag.

These are challenging times — and the media can play an important role in helping your nonprofit advance its mission.

While there is no surefire way to ensure the media will cover your organization, now is a critical time to be lifting your voice and attempting to draw attention to the issues that matter most to the people you’re trying to help.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post How to Get Your Nonprofit’s Story Told During Covid-19 appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

It’s also forcing all nonprofits — no matter the mission — to rethink their short-term media relations strategies.

Here are five tips to consider as you think about how you want to communicate with the media during the coming weeks and months:

Rethink Your Calendar

The spring is often an important time for nonprofits seeking news coverage. For many organizations, March through May are the months when we release new reports, host public events, and schedule important announcements.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to consider a backup plan for these releases.

If you can, delay your announcements for later in the calendar. If there’s no compelling reason to release the information now, it’s likely better to wait until we have made it through the crisis to make it public.

If you can’t delay, plan to make your announcement virtually and adjust your coverage expectations accordingly.

Most media is focused exclusively on COVID-19 for the immediate future, so if there isn’t a connection to the pandemic, your announcement will likely draw less attention than it would during normal circumstances.

Consider New Approaches for News Conferences and Interviews

Because of social distancing, press conferences, in-studio appearances, and (in many cases) in-person interviews aren’t happening.

If you’re making a COVID-19 announcement that you’d normally make with a news conference, consider a video message or a virtual event instead.

Prepare experts in your organization to do TV-interviews via services such as Skype or Facetime — and coach them on how to show up properly.

Focus on What’s Most Important

COVID-19 isn’t just a crisis for your nonprofit. It’s a crisis for everyone.

With that in mind, pitches and releases that focus on how the crisis is disrupting your organization aren’t likely to get much traction.

However, if you can find ways to show the impact on the people you serve — and the need that exists for helping them through the crisis — you’re more likely to get results.

Whenever you can, avoid making your messages and announcements about you. Make it about the people who depend on you.

Partner with Others

A pitch about how COVID-19 is impacting your arts organization’s financial future is likely to get lost among the avalanche of similar pitches that are coming into newsrooms right now.

A pitch that shows the impact of COVID-19 on your community’s arts scene as a whole will likely get much more lift.

Now, more than ever, think about how you can work with your fellow nonprofits to crowdsource information and resources and work together.

A number of U.S. community foundations have been taking this approach — and they’ve been able to work together to share information that shows the collective magnitude of their work during this crisis.

If possible, find opportunities show your collective impact and/or need.

And Remember, Journalists Are Swamped, Too

This crisis isn’t just upending your work. It’s completely changing the way journalists are approaching their work for the short term.

Many of them have been assigned to cover temporary beats as a result of the crisis — and most are working remotely and needing to practice social distancing.

As a result, adjust your expectations accordingly when you send information. It might take them longer than normal to reply — and they might not cover your news the same way they do during less chaotic times.

The post COVID-19 and Media Relations: A Quick Guide for Nonprofit Communicators appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).

Don’t frustrate the reporters you’re trying to reach.

When your nonprofit has something newsworthy to announce, you spend hours putting together a pitch and press materials to accompany your big announcement.

Then, you take the time to review your media list to make sure your contacts are up to date and decide who you should be sharing the pitch with.

Then you hit “send” — with the hope that you’ll get a flurry of responses from journalists who are eager to share your news with the world.

And then … crickets.

What should you do?

Your initial reaction might be to follow up early and often — with the hope that your persistence will convince the reporter that your story is worth covering.

This urge is likely amplified when you have an anxious executive director wondering why her phone isn’t ringing off the hook with reporters who are looking for the scoop.

Instead, take a deep breath … and take the following steps instead.

Step One: Follow the 3-day rule

Reporters get a lot of pitches — and they often have pressing deadlines.

As a result, it’s rare that they’re just sitting at their desks waiting for your email to light up their inboxes.

Give them some time to actually read your email and consider whether they’re interested.

Unless the pitch is extremely time-sensitive, I typically like to give reporters three to four days before I follow up to see if they received the pitch and if they have any questions.

Sooner than that and you come across as aggressive and desperate. You also send a signal that you’re not being respectful of their time.

Step Two: Keep it short and sweet

You don’t need to send a fresh pitch or go into sales mode when you follow up.

Instead, you just need to keep it simple.

My preferred tactic is to reply to the initial email with a short note saying that I just wanted to follow up to see if they have questions or need more information.

That’s it.

Again, the idea is that you want to be respectful of their time while also giving a polite reminder about your pitch.

More often than not, you’ll get a reply to your follow-up note with either a request for more information, an update on where the story stands, or a note saying that they’re not interested.

Step Three: Avoid pestering

If you don’t receive a reply to your second note, you can assume that the reporter isn’t interested and move on.

At this point, resist the urge to follow up again — or to try calling.

You want to avoid getting blacklisted by the reporter for future queries — so there’s little to gain by sending multiple notes or bothering them with an unwanted call.

Treat the reporter how you’d like to be treated by someone who was pitching you.

Step Four: Pivot forward

All is not lost if a reporter says no or gives you the cold shoulder.

If the outlet is really important to you, you can consider sharing the idea with a different reporter or editor — noting that you had reached out to one of their colleagues previously.

If you’re hoping the reporter will consider future pitches, you might consider sending a separate note a week or two later inviting them to provide you with some guidance on how they prefer to be pitched and the type of stories that they are looking for.

I used this tactic recently on behalf of one of our nonprofit clients with a reporter at the Wall Street Journal who was not interested in a previous pitch.

She took me up on my offer for a quick call so I could learn more about how I could provide her with ideas that would be valuable to her — and by the end of the call I had offered her an idea that sparked her interest

If you’re smart, you send your pitch days — or even weeks — before you want media coverage in order to give reporters a chance.

The bottom line: You shouldn’t be afraid to follow up with reporters after you send your initial pitch. But you should be thoughtful about how you do it.

By being patient and polite you’ll get more coverage — and you’ll help build relationships that will pay off in the future.

The post When — And How — Should You Follow Up After a PR Pitch? appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing Guide (NPMG).