Creating a marketing communications plan

Creative Solutions & Innovations | www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

Creating a Strategic Marketing Communications Plan

Deborah SpectorNPO Connect Marketing Communications Expert

21 May 2013


Creating a Strategic Marketing Communications Plan

Goals for today’s session:Understand the role of marketing

communicationsRole of ResearchReview the elements of a

marketing communications planCreate a strategic marketing

communications plan

What is Strategic Marketing Communications?

Strategic marketing communications is your lense to focus on the people you serve, the individuals you seek to influence and the donors you cultivate.

Through integrated marketing communications you can create powerful, focused & targeted appeals for mission impact, to build your brand and for fundraising.


Why Do Nonprofits Communicate?

Nonprofits communicate for three main reasons:

1. Fundraising2. Programs3. Advocacy



What is a Marketing Communications Plan?

A well thought-out marketing communications plan supports your mission and the objectives laid out in your strategic plan. It allows you to focus your marketing and communications, making sure that all activities work together to support the big picture. The strategy is very important because you are building the components of your organization brand, identity, and everything in between.

A strategic marketing communications plan gives you the focus to know where you’re going, what you need to say & what channels you need to positively interact with your audiences.

7 Characteristics of a Good Strategic Marketing Communications Plan

1. It is participative2. It is dynamic3. It is flexible4. It is audience-driven5. It combines the best of PR and

Marketing6. It contains a mix of strategy and tactics7. It is doable

Hollister, Trubow & AssociatesCreative Solutions & Innovations

| www.creative-si.com | 404.325.7031

Start with your Vision & Mission

Vision: Our ultimate goal is to rid our community of hunger

Mission: Our mission is to fight hunger by engaging, educating and empowering our community

Vision: Our vision is healthy people in a healthy

worldMission: To promote health & quality of life by

preventing disease and disabilityCreative Solutions & Innovations


Think of the words “visionary” and “missionary.” A visionary imagines possible futures, whereas a missionary does the work to achieve the desired future.

Research Tools

Brainstorming sessionsSWOT AnalysisAudience Discovery InterviewsFocus groups



Why Do Research?

– Sets foundation for all communications

– Provides audience insights– Uncovers opportunities, threats,

etc.– Analyzes direction, position,

messages

Message Framework – Foundation Elements Positioning Connects your nonprofit with those with

whom you want to engage & conveys what your organization does better than others.

Example: We bridge diverse cultures & generations by creating opportunities for immigrants to succeed. We partner with other organizations to leverage resources to positively impact our community. We have earned recognition for our successful efforts.

Tagline – Key words or phrase to capture what makes your organization special. Conveys this with passion & commitment.

Example: Touching lives. Creating opportunities.Investing in our children’s futureEmpowering nonprofits to do good

Elevator Speech – The new elevator speech uses the social media strategies to listen, prepare and engage. It enables you to listen & learn from the persons with whom you speak to see if there is any interest in your issue. Then you can segue into your 30 second pitch.


Message Framework – Elements That Change w/Goals

Audiences – what interests which target audiences relative to your communications tactic.

Benefits and Attributes – Key messages about what your organization offers.

Example: Our free job training program provides a pathway to employment.

Key messages or talking points – succinctly elaborate on your positioning statement & provide necessary proof required to validation. Responds to most common questions asked by your current & prospective network.

Example – The immigration system is broken & needs to be fixed.

Proof Points – The massive backlog in visa applications is a clear sign that the system is not working .

Example – Legal immigrants are forced to spend years separated from their families .


Elements of Marketing Communications Plan

Goals & Objectives

Identify & Profile Audiences

Develop Messages & Identify Messengers

Messages & Credible Messengers

Develop Strategies

Select Communication Channels

Implement the Plan

Build in Evaluation Points

Measure SuccessCreative Solutions & Innovations


Organizational & Communication Goal

Organizational Goal Communication Goal

Improve community health by reducing exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment

•Build awareness about orgs work•Increase understanding of the relationship between health & environment•Motivate area residents to advocate


Broad Goal – All communication efforts need to be rooted in a vision for change. What is the big ambitious goal your organization has for change?

Objectives – Concrete Steps to Reach Your Goal

Objectives Must be Smart:

SpecificMeasurableAttainableRealistic

Time-bound


Attributes of Goals vs. Objectives

Differences in Scope - Goals are broader while objectives are narrow & set for certain task.

Specificity - Goals are general while objectives are specific.

Tangibility – Goals may be intangible while objectives ought to be tangible

Differences in time frame – Goals have a longer time-frame; objectives are precise targets set for a short time

Measurement – Goals may or may not be measured; objectives are always measured.


Target Audience

Advertising specialist Tom Duncan defines target audience as "a group that has significant potential to respond positively to a brand message." The key here is the word message.; Effective marketing communications, or messages, each target a particular kind of reader or viewer. These individuals make up the message's target audience.



Identify Your Target Audiences

Clients Faith CommunityFormer Clients EducatorsAdvocates Health Care ProvidersBoard members Business OwnersVolunteers Targeted MediaDonors BloggersFoundations Twitter InfluencersLocal elected officials Partner

OrganizationsCommunity leaders SponsorsColleagues @ other chapter Former

donors/sponsors

Audience SegmentationAudience: ________________________1. Describe what you know about this audience’s

knowledge, attitudes & behaviors related to your issues.

2. What are the barriers to this audience fully supporting or participating in reaching your goal?

3. What are the characteristics of this audience? How do they spend their time? What is gender, ethnicity, income level. What or who could motivate change or action?

4. How does this audience participate in the social media platforms that you use?Creative Solutions & Innovations


Messages

Messages that resonate with passion and commitment are key for your nonprofit to raise above the noise.

Messages: Show importance, urgency or magnitude of the

issue. Put a “face” on an issue. Show the relevance of the issue. Must be tied to specific audience values,

beliefs or interests. Reflect an understanding of what would

motivate your target audience. Be memorable.


Message WorksheetAudience________________________1. What are the barriers & benefits to your

audience thinking, feeling, or acting on your issue?

2. What change in attitude do you want to motivate in your audience to meet your goal?

3. What change in behavior are you trying to achieve?

4. Based on what you know above, what are the three most compelling sentences you could use to motivate this audience? *These are your messages!



StrategyStrategy is an idea, a conceptualization of how a

goal can be achieved.Examples of communications strategies: Develop Key Messages Prioritize Key Audiences Identify Ways to Reach Audiences Conduct Ongoing Blogger Outreach Develop Best Practices for Social Media Define & convey our brand & brand value to

target audience Expand marketing reach to engage more

people in each target audienceCreative Solutions & Innovations


Strategy & Action


Communications Awareness Comprehension

Conviction Commitment

Mass 40% 10% 5% 5%

Direct 40% 50% 20% 10%

Small Group

10% 20% 35% 15%

Person to Person

10% 20% 40% 70%

• Awareness brings your nonprofit to the attention of an audience• Comprehension develops an understanding of an organization• Conviction matches individual interests to institutional offerings• Commitment assists in the decision process

Adapted from Barton-Gillet Company


Channels

Communication Channels carry the message to the target audiences.

Integrate The Mix


Comm Channel

Provide Info & dialog

Fundraising News & Link

Promote Research

Provide Resources

Promote Events

Website

Blog

On-line Newsletter

Email

Facebook

YouTube

Podcast

Twitter

Webinars

Conference

Face to Face Meetings

SEO Press Releases

PSA

Conference Call

POST Method – Blending New & Traditional Media


Post Method is simple yet profound in that it provides a user-friendly system for using traditional and emerging communications channels. Although developed as a for-profit system, it is easily adaptable to nonprofits. The acronym refers to the four-step approach:

P is for People. Don’t start a strategy until you know the capabilities of your target audience and know their social behavior.

O is objectives. What are you trying to accomplish? Decide on your objectives before you decide on a technology. State your objectives in SMART terms.

S is Strategy. How do you want the relationship to change with your target audience? How do new and traditional media support your objectives with your audience?

T is Technology. What are the appropriate tools and tactics to address your target audience? What do you have the capacity to implement?


People: Evaluate social media activities of your community.

Objectives: Identify the goals & accomplishments you want to achieve

Strategy: Plan how your organization’s relationships with community will change

Technology: Decide which traditional & social media tools are most applicable based on P,O, & S.

Roles & Responsibility

Everyone is a communicator.Who does what?How do you involve volunteers?How do you train?Who has final sign-off on

initiatives?Is there a protocol for sign-off?


Work PlanHow do you roll out the

implementation?Create and manage a steady

stream of activities.Ensure coordination in timing and

impact.Build in evaluations before the end

of the year.Be clear on who does what & by

when.Creative Solutions & Innovations


BudgetStaff costsMaterials developmentWebsite implementation and

maintenanceSoftware & hardwareConsultingTechnology systems



Reality Check

Do you have enough resources?Are you finding ways to include key

staff, volunteers, and leadership?Do you have buy-in from your

chapter? What about national?Can you measure your success?

Measure Success

Measure ImpactUse anecdotal as well as

quantifiable measurementsBenchmark prior to startingIdentify mix of outputs &

outcomes. Outputs are a measure of your efforts. Outcomes are the changes that occur.


When Your Plan is Complete

When your plan is complete you will have:

Seamless communicationsAccountability to the bottom lineA strategic process that meets

identified objectivesAn awareness plan focused on

increasing revenue streams, programs &/or advocacy



Thank You!

Interested in a recording of today’s session?

Please contact – NPO Connect

Email: [email protected]: @npo_connect

