weekend in boca vii - cody switzer - "what story is your organization telling?"

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Presentation by Cody Switzer, Web Editor of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, at the 2014 Office Depot Foundation Weekend in Boca Civil Society Leadership Symposium Chronicle of Philanthropy web editor Cody Switzer talks about the importance of telling a story in everything your organization does: from selecting photos to posting on social media, the design of your website, the content of your appeals, and more. Sometimes, you might be telling the wrong story without even knowing it. He shares advice and examples from nonprofits telling great stories about what they do and who they are.

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featuring

What Story Is Your Organization Telling?

May 2, 2014

Cody SwitzerWeb Editor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy

@clswitzer | @philanthropy

“Storytelling is an essential component of nonprofit communications”

Meyer Foundation’s “Stories Worth Telling” Initiativewith Georgetown University

“I’ve become convinced that almost all nonprofits could engage more supporters and have a greater impact if only they were better at telling their stories.”

Rick MoyersVice President for Programs and Communications

The Meyer Foundation

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Offers 'Embedded Reporter’ FellowshipApril 21, 2014http://bit.ly/1fkOpB8

“It’s not sales-focused, it’s not stories about concerts that are coming up and we’re trying to get you to buy a ticket. It’s interesting content first and foremost. We’re meeting our audience on new terms and often their terms.”

Eileen AndrewsVice President for Marketing and Communications

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

1753

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Harper’s

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Washington and Lee University

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Library of Congress

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Source: Wikimedia Commons

What’syour

story?

A story is a journey,

a conflict,a pattern

Set-UpWho are the characters? Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist?

ConflictWhat is the problem? What’s at stake for the protagonist and antagonist?

ResolutionWhat can be done to fix the problem? Who will do it? What’s next?

Narrative Structure

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Your audience has been

here before

A story is a relationship

“As a storyteller, you're forever at the mercy of your audience. They get to decide whether they resonate or reject your message. So you have to think about your audience a lot, and how to help them self-identify, see themselves in the story.”

Michael MargolisFounder and President of Get Storied

Your audience will always fill in the ______,more than youeven expect.

For sale: baby shoes, never worn

A Six-Word Novel

“Your tweets, Facebook postings, etc., should have as many of these attributes as possible.”

helpfulusefultimelyinformativerelevantpracticalactionablegenerouscrediblecollaborativebriefentertainingfunoccasionally funny

From Sree Sreenivasan,Chief digital officer at theMetropolitan Museum of Art

Don’t makeyour story

just about you

Warning:

http://youtu.be/IDC5yOSuCv0

“Can I have it like that?”

Peak chart position: 49th in the US

“It’s more bragging than it is anything else, so when I made that record it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to… I had to really take a long study of what I was doing and talking about on that record.”

Pharrell Williams on CBS NewsApril 13

http://cbsn.ws/1fmgEVH

http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM

“Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth”

Peak chart position: 1st in the U.S. and 11 other countries

Everything tells a story

1. Visuals

2. Video

3. Web Design

4. Press Relations

Visuals

Photographed for Wikipedia by Kbh3rd.

“Your charity may have the most innovative or successful or tear-jerking story, but without photos, many news-media outlets won’t give that story good placement—especially in the digital age.”

Sue LalumiaArt Director

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Team Rubicon, http://bit.ly/1mSGX81

Mending Kids International,http://bit.ly/1kkxqBR

Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s Path to a Cure

Environmental Defense Fund’s board of directors on CNN Money, http://cnnmon.ie/QWzCHe

Nichole Armstrong of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, http://bit.ly/1hbfgAf

“It’s an entry point for stories about our work—not just photos on cards… They show things that you’ve never seen or could never see on your own.”

Heather LucaCreative-Services Senior Director

Conservation International

Video

The Generic Brand Video

http://youtu.be/2YBtspm8j8M

Invisible Children’s “Kony 2012”

http://youtu.be/Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Rainforest Alliance’s “Follow the Frog”

http://youtu.be/3iIkOi3srLo

“Homeless Veteran Timelapse”

http://youtu.be/6a6VVncgHcY

“It Gets Better: Dan and Terry”

http://youtu.be/7IcVyvg2Qlo

6-Second Appeal Challenge

https://vine.co/v/hTPgDWlPT70

Web Design

Three out of four millennials donors said they were turned off when a nonprofit’s Web site had not been updated recently.

Achieve 2013 Millennial Impact Report

Six in 10 said they wanted nonprofits to share stories about successful projects and programs and appreciated information about an organization’s cause and the people it serves.

Achieve 2013 Millennial Impact Report

“The most important thing you can do is to just understand the basic principle of eliminating question marks.”

Steve Krug“Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to

Web Usability”

http://one.org

http://splash.org

http://goodwill.org

Press Relations

Dear Ms. Cody Switzer Blogger,

Understand the reporter• What types of stories do they

write?• What is their coverage area?• How would they like to be

pitched?

The Press Release Workflow

Become a Resource• Share good stories, even if they

aren’t yours.• Point them in the right direction

of the right people to talk to.• Remember to both give and

receive

Ask a key local reporter or editor out for coffee to

see what they are working on and how you can help.

Make It Easy to Cover Your Group

• Have the basics listed out somewhere on your site• Put contact information on your

page• Make photos easy to download

What’s your story?Are you telling it now?

Source: Wikimedia Commons, Washington and Lee University

Questions?

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