In my day job, I help companies tell stories. These anecdotes help businesses convince potential customers, future employees and even investors that their products are worth buying, working for and investing in.
It’s these basic storytelling and persuasion skills that helped make my Project 25 campaign for Never Settle a success ($710 in 25 days!). So how can you replicate it? By using three handy PR techniques, of course!
1) Use all the platforms available
In today’s hyper-connected world, there are so many ways for you to communicate with your loved ones. I used every social media channel I had an active presence on to promote Project 25: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Frontback and LinkedIn. And by posting on at least one platform every day linking to my donation page at different times of the day, I made sure that my friends were aware of what I was doing.
Plus, I made sure to personally reach out to 10-15 very close loved ones (colleagues, family members and friends) to donate on a personal level via email – as well as encouraged them to share the link themselves.
If you’re looking for a quick how-to on creating compelling social content, look no further than this Buffer blog post. And for a quick primer on the difference between all those social networks, here’s a pretty infamous meme:
2) Be clear, concise and concrete in your communication
When telling people about your fundraising campaign, be sure to do so in a crisp manner – and if you can swing it, use visual elements. People love pictures!
Questions to ponder as you compose your donation page, as well as any collaborating material are:
- a. What are you asking for, and why?
- b. What will they get in return?
- c. How can you get them to interact with your material? Is there anything you can do to make the process interactive, more of a conversation? Can you evoke any emotion?
Pro tip: the top two emotions that people respond to on the internet are rage and delight. Play with the former at your own risk; I counsel focusing on evoking warm and fuzzy feelings from your potential donors, not anger!
3) Show value and ROI for the investor
People give for a multitude of reasons. But in order to help your campaign, it may help to think about giving back as an investment temporarily.
A smart investor buys stock because she thinks she’ll get a return on that investment. She sees promise in the industry, wants to support the CEO or has positive associations with the brand she’s buying.
So how do you replicate that with philanthropy?
Give a little to those that give to you. It can be through things that just take a little love and care. If you’re a great baker, tell your friends that those who donate the most will get a plate of your famous snickerdoodles. If you’ve got a big truck, promise your most generous donor you’ll be his personal moving man for a day. Perhaps you’re famous for your eye for photography – so offer some prints for your top donors! In my case, I exchanged donations for blog posts.
Showcase your fun talents, boundless creativity, or surely endless kindness. I promise you, everyone has one. Because anyone can give an abundantly warm hug, or send a thoughtful letter – and who doesn’t want a card or a cuddle?
–Clare Sayas, Team Never Settle
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