Stories that stick, the ones your audience don't forget...

A Halloween tale for those whose nonprofits are yet to yield results 👁️👁️

Brett Jordan | Unsplash.com

If you think brand storytelling is just for corporate businesses and commercial organizations, you couldn't be more wrong. Storytelling matters, and it's a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. And if you think marketing is not something you do because you're a charity, wrong again.

Stories can be integral to getting your nonprofit or charity into the hearts and minds of your potential grant providers, donors, or volunteers. Finding stories that stick helps to cement those connections with your audience.

You may be at a disadvantage if you run a nonprofit or charity as you may never have relied on storytelling to get your job, and might lack the confidence in producing them regularly.

One way for people to find out more about your nonprofit or charity, and what moves people to donate, become shareholders or employees, is to simply ask them why.

Ask them why they got involved/decided to work with you/make a donation. If they're an employee, what drew them to you, and what made them choose to apply for a job? How has the nonprofit organization or charity changed since it they first started working with you - is it better, worse?

Having a well-defined narrative for your organization can make you feel that you're becoming too commercialized, but this isn't the case at all. You are merely using storytelling as a tool to let people know why you do what you do, and what compelled you to help/support certain types of people.

Perhaps something happened to either you or a friend or relative that made you feel compelled to take action and support those with similar problems.

How to build a brand story and create a stories that stick.....

Earlier, I mentioned speaking to your employees to glean more information on how they feel about your nonprofit/charity. Another thing you can do is review your data.

Unlike a conventional commercial business, you won't necessarily have 'customer data' per se, but you may have collaborators, donors, and shareholders who've contributed pearls of wisdom that can highlight your nonprofit/charity's strong points, reasons for wanting to be involved with you, and why donors felt it necessary to donate.

Use this valuable data, share it with your audience (but remember to anonymize where necessary). You can either use storytelling using the 'voice of the customer ' (or in your case voice of the collaborator/donor/shareholder) and weave their words into your stories, so your readers can be inspired to take action.

Or you can interview someone who you feel has a good story of their own to tell from the data you've looked at, and turn this into a case study or a video, even.

What makes a good brand story?

What makes a good brand story is something that will resonate with the people you're trying to reach. Some brands create stories that aren't really true to inspire people to take action, but with a nonprofit or charity, honesty is perhaps the best policy.

A story with a beginning and an end can be a simple yet powerful tool that helps connect and something that really resonates with your core audience. The best stories come from the people who helped you get started and the stories of the donors who overcame their own barriers and fears to raise money for you.

What's your founder story? How did you start? Once you've got this nailed, how does this influence your brand message? Are your values clear, and are they consistent throughout all your stories and messaging?

Anything heartfelt and honest has the hallmark of a good story, but try not to wallow in mawkish, overly sentimental stories that may give the impression of not being true, even when they are.

You want to hit people right between the eyes with your storytelling, not make them feel you're not really who you say you are, or that you're telling a story that conflicts with your nonprofit/charity's values.

Call to action - brand storytelling requires powerful calls to action

Try to be original and impactful with your calls to action. You want the reader to take action, but what action do you want them to take? Subscribe? Donate? Become a volunteer? Looking for shareholders? Need some new employees? Let your call to action steer them to the right place. A confused reader doesn't become a donor or anything else because they've left the building, or in your case, left your website.

Good navigation and clear language, avoiding convoluted or technical wording (unless it's necessary), will not only help steer your readers in the right direction, but it'll also help make your content accessible and inclusive.

So make sure that the only horror story this autumn is on Halloween and not your nonprofit's website! 🎃🎃

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Need some help with brand story strategy, copy, or content? Why not get in touch by emailing me here - gillianjonescopywriting@gmail.com

If you have sooo many questions about my services, then why not take a look at my FAQ pages, and if you'd like to take a look at my services and packages, go ahead - and I hope we can get to work on your nonprofit or charity content and copy soon. Packages aren't written in stone. We can create something bespoke if you want to talk to me about your copy or content needs - if we put our heads together, we can come up with something that works for both of us.