Archive for the 'storytelling' Category

Huddle featured in LinkedIn Applications

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on October 29, 2008
in networking and storytelling
. 0 Comments

Originally posted on the NetSquared blog.

Many individuals and organizations are testing and exploring new ways to collaborate on projects and connect work virtually.  LinkedIn, an online network of more than 30 million experienced professionals from around the world, serves as a networking space for business professionals and the job posting service is seeing more and more activity.  Today is the launch of LinkedIn Applications and Huddle is a featured app!

What are LinkedIn Applications

Much like adding applications to your profile on other social networking sites, like Facebook, LinkedIn Applications let you pull in content you are creating across the web —blog posts, presentations, and even travel plans—and display it on your LinkedIn profile to share with your network.

LinkedIn Applications enable you to enrich your profile, share and collaborate with your network, and get the key insights that help you be more effective.

You can determine who can view your application content and even contribute content via the application in LinkedIn without visiting the other site, like with the SlideShare app. Check it out!

What is Huddle

Huddle is an online collaboration tool providing secure online workspaces with powerful project and collaboration tools.  Connecting your online workspace with your business contacts can be a powerful combination for your work or business.

The Huddle Workspaces application for LinkedIn includes all key functionality of Huddle.net and you can easily sync it with your existing Huddle account. Simply log into LinkedIn and you can immediately set up workspaces to use with as many of your LinkedIn connections as you like.

You can try out Huddle for free; learn more.

Check out the LinkedIn Application directory to add applications to your profile, or learn more about using LinkedIn as a social networking tool.

Make your messaging fun!

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on August 27, 2008
in case studies, marketing and storytelling
. 0 Comments

Originally posted on the Net Squared blog.

Sending out yet another email to your members can be painful sometimes when you really want to say the same thing you’ve already tried to tell them countless times. We’ve all been there, either on the sending or receiving end of those messages. But, making something fun that delivers the message means you get to make something new and interesting, your members get to enjoy what you’ve created and the message is in there without any more of the boring blah blah blah. But, how do you do that?

Earth Day Networks’ Lesson in Making the Message Fun

Lesson learned: engage your members first, and actions (both service and donations) will come more naturally.

EDN sent out an email message announcing the new ecological footprint calculator. It doesn’t talk about any other programs nor does it ask for anything other than checking out the tool. (To see the original email, see file below.) With five links back, the messages says:

Earth Day Network has just released its newest tool to combat climate change: The new, updated, and much more fun Ecological Footprint Calculator.

In this new tool created by Global Footprint Network, you can create a three-dimensional avatar of your choosing, and tour your virtual neighborhood. Then you will be asked a series of questions about your food consumption, energy use, favorite mode of transportation, type of residence, recycling commitment, and spending habits. You can even choose to take a long version or a short version of the quiz!

The Footprint Calculator will tell you how many “planets” would be necessary to sustain human life- if everyone lived just like you, and how many acres of land and tons of carbon necessary to sustain your lifestyle. You can even revisit your quiz to see where she “went wrong”, and find out how to reduce your carbon footprint.

If you are a teacher or professor, encourage your students to take the quiz and experiment with the answers. An interesting, engaging and highly educational way to teach sustainability and inspire change.

The message isn’t the most important part of the package, though it is important (and anyone who has tried to write copy for an email announcement knows how true that is). What is important to consider here is what you can do when you click through to the calculator. In a Second Life-like way, visitors create a virtual-self (choose hair, skin, and clothes colors) that walks through a virtual land. As the virtual-self walks down the street, questions pop up asking about consumption, travel and housing. The answers determine what kinds of structures are built up and factor into the carbon footprint calculation. I’ve never had so much fun facing the reality of carbon usage!

After answering all of the questions and determining a score, visitors are provided with a few options, including editing the footprint questions, exploring scenarios to change the footprint in real-life, learning more, taking action, and joining the network. These are all great options for further engaging a now more-knowledgeable visitor, and further building a relationship based not only on the organization’s mission/work, but on what he or she can get out of the relationship with the organization that further supports that mission/work (more of the changing the world business!). Engaging with new (and return) visitors first is the key to building a lasting relationship with members/funders online.

Check out the Earth Day Network’s Footprint Calculator!

What unique techniques have you or your organization used in sending out a message in a new way? Is there an organization you think does this well?

Leave a comment on the Net Squared blog, too!

Foundations should tell a different story

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on June 16, 2008
in storytelling
. 0 Comments

Last week, I read a post from Inside Philanthropy called Foundations need to tell their story better.  It discusses the idea that foundations aren’t doing a good enough job telling the world about all the wonderful and diverse things they do.  It is a good idea and one that applies to many, many organizations, not just foundations.  I think the best part, though, didn’t come until the very last sentence: “foundations must do a better job telling their story, and helping the groups they support tell their own story.”

I think that if foundations want to really show the diversity and greatness of their investments (grants, PRIs, MRIs, etc. are all investments in one way or another), they should tell the story of those they are investing in—the nonprofits.

A great way to start telling the story of foundation grantees is to create a virtual tour of your programs.  Instead of text-heavy program descriptions, incorporate photos and videos of funded programs to highlight success as well as provide examples of the funding areas.  Many foundations list grantees on their website; if yours does, there should be links to the program/project/organization and a way to follow up with the program/project/organization contact so others looking to do similar work or get an understanding for the foundation’s focus can contact grantees.

Just a couple quick thoughts.  I’d love to hear yours!  Do you work for a nonprofit that has been featured in some way by a granter?  How did it feel?  What effect did it have on the organization or the foundation (to your knowledge)?

Mercy Corps’ Story Arc

Published
by
Amy Sample Ward
on June 2, 2008
in events and storytelling
. 0 Comments

Last week was the May event for the Portland 501 Tech Club.  We had a great opportunity to hear from Roger Burks of Mercy Corps who presented on the art of storytelling around and about crises.  It’s an interesting topic as many organizations who work in advocacy or aid find that their work is driven and their membership engaged around crises, but it is in those times that staff time can be the most strained, causing communication to suffer.

Roger laid out a story plan for organizations to use when a disaster strikes:

  1. Breaking news and details (can also include stock photos of the area or maps, etc.) - Day 1
  2. What the organization is doing (include stock photos or any photos coming out of the area) - Day 2
  3. From the field reports (include personal photos/videos from place of reports) - Day 3
  4. Updates (includes news stories, organization involvement and field reports with any photos and videos that accompany) - Day 4 and beyond
  5. Real-time field journals/blogs (great ways to send out short stories, updates, photos from the field with organization staff and partners working in the field) - Day 4 and beyond
  6. Beneficiary stories (help tell the story of those the organization is serving/helping) - Day 4 and beyond
  7. Community fundraising stories (help tell the story of local people and organizations working to fundraise themselves) - Week 1 and beyond
  8. Partnership stories (explain how the organization is partnering with other organizations and individuals) - Week 1 and beyond
  9. Milestone stories (1 month, 3 months, 1 year, etc. are great time-based milestones for reporting on the situation and progress) - Month 1 and beyond

It is important to create a place on the organization’s website for those looking to donate, a button that is clear and obvious and does not navigate the user to more stories or content but to the donation form.

Sending out emails to your membership is a great way to keep them informed of the above information, but keep in mind the balance of information and asks (asks = fundraising calls).  You gain loyalty from your membership (new and old) and create a presence as an information agent by providing quick and truthful news that isn’t tied to fundraising every time.  Try separating your emails into news-information and updates-fundraising, where the first may include news updates, links to more information, and firsthand reports from organization staff, while the second includes information about what the organization is doing to help, how it is partnering with other organizations and individuals to be more effective and ways the membership can help (which includes donating).

Has your organization responded to a disaster either locally or internationally by integrating the website, email notifications, and staff reports?  What did you find most useful in fundraising?  What did you find most useful in connecting users to information?

Stories as the answer

Published
by
amysampleward
on April 18, 2008
in storytelling
. 0 Comments

Storytelling is a big hot topic for nonprofits - especially when it is done in a digital or dynamic way. Kivi Leroux Miller wrote a great post today about five key questions about organizations that should be answered with stories.

Her list includes:

1) What Do Other People Think About This Group?

Answer with Testimonials. When someone is learning about you for the first time, they’ll be curious what other people think about your organization, your staff and your effectiveness. You can talk about how great you are, but that’s not nearly as convincing as testimonials from other people who aren’t on your payroll (or even on your board).

2) Are People Here Like Me?

Answer with Profiles. When someone donates time or money to your organization, they are joining a virtual community of people who believe in the same cause. If someone is not quite sure if your nonprofit is a good fit for them, showing them that they fit in with other supporters can help overcome that barrier.

3) Does This Work?

Answer with Success Stories. Do you get the job done? Are you going to make a difference with the money I give you? Success stories show donors (and potential new donors) exactly what it is you do and how you do it.

4) What Difference Can a Single Person Make?

Answer with Personalized Giving Options. Big problems are overwhelming. If you swamp people with the enormity of the need, they are likely to tune you out and move on to something that feels more manageable. 

5) Can I Come Along?

Answer with Personal Chronicles. For your supporters to fully engage with your nonprofit, you have to be willing to share what’s really going on. A small but important segment of your donor base won’t be happy with the level of detail they get in your newsletters. They’ll want more and you should give it to them.

To read the rest of the details and examples, click here.

The one question I think is missing, is: Who are you?

It is important to remember that your organization is made up of humans who do all have lives outside of the office and have passions that have brought them to the same organization for a reason.  It is important to showcase your wonderful changemakers, both to recognize them as complete people, and to show your audience/community/supporters/members that they can identify with individuals in the organization and not just the mission.

How do you do this? With blogs, videos, pictures, etc.  There are many ways to show that your organization is made of great people.  Take pictures at your next staff meeting and have everyone make their own nametag with paper and crayons to hold up for the photo.  Let everyone create a short 10-30 second video about how they discovered the organization and wanted to start working there.  Start a blog on the website for staff to contribute to about things other than specific press releases, project announcements, etc.

How are you using storytelling in your organization?  What is another question that you would add to this list that could be answered with stories?