3 Branding Shifts to Help Your Nonprofit Stand Out

by Kerstin Heuer, Co-founder of Non-Profit Today

Follow-up blog post for April 29 webinar
CCVO Capacity Building webinars offer presenters the opportunity to expand upon their topic in a follow-up blog post. Below is Kerstin’s summary of the 3 branding shifts that nonprofits can make to stand out in the online noise.

Be honest: Are you showing up like a chameleon trying to reach everyone (with little success)? Or are you saying different things and standing up for something with a consistent message so more of the right people support you? 

Social media is flooded with content. Facebook has over 2.74 billion monthly active users, an increase of 12% year over year. In order to be seen you need to break through the noise. Sharing more content is not an option. You need to have a message that connects. The only way to do this authentically is to be relevant to your specific audience’s needs, which means that you might have to stop being friends with everyone.

Shift #1: Three Branding Pillars to create a solid brand foundation

At Non-Profit Today, we have been helping non-profits to create sustainable brands for the last 10 years now, and while branding seems often very complex and hard to understand, we condensed it to a framework based on three pillars that foster real connection.

Pillar 1: Identity 

Your uniqueness comes from your vision, mission, deeper purpose, brand story and unique perspective. This is what sets your organization apart from any other organization. Know who you are and lean into it.

Pillar 2: Connection 

While connecting with the right people sounds obvious, the reality is that many organizations struggle to identify who their audience really is and as a result, they are not connecting on a deeper emotional level. The purpose of sharing your message is to create a connection.

Step 3: Impact

Creating impact and change is the ultimate goal for any non-profit organization. With the right system and strategy that support your vision, you will be able to focus on what matters most. 

Shift #2: Create a Messaging Ecosystem that makes your service irresistible

If your stakeholders are tired of your exhausting membership drives and fundraising events, it might be time to transform your service and become more irresistible. 

In short, it’s time to become the organization that the right people love to support/join. And with “right people'' we mean people that feel aligned with the transformation your service creates. And that starts by creating a messaging ecosystem that is aligned with your values and vision. You probably already know that sharing stories is the way to connect with your audience. But the truth is that it’s not enough to just share success stories. The key is to create messages based on your vision and values so that people create that deeper emotional connection with every story you share. 

Here’s how: Start by asking better questions that create real connection. You might be thinking that you already know who your people are and what they want but I want to challenge you to be the empty cup. Know nothing and ask. Determine how many different audiences you have (donors, clients, volunteers, staff) and be really specific with what they need most and how you can support them to get closer to their dreams. Instead of asking what can they do for us, ask “What value can we offer them?” Remember that value for a donor or supporter is usually not something tangible. It’s all about how we can make them feel and what role they can play in our story. You can use a simple persona template get started. 

Once you know what their actual concerns are, identify transformations. (Rather than talking about tangible benefits, like hours of counseling for example, share before and after stories that connect hearts.) But here is the most important essence: You need to create your messages based on your brand values and vision. Here is an example: Let’s say you are an organization that lends medical equipment like wheelchairs and crutches. Your values are mobility, independence, and dignity and your vision is to enhance the quality of peoples' lives. The stories you share need to reflect that. Instead of posting a photo of Paul lending a wheelchair you could talk about how Paul can now attend his friends wedding because the wheelchair makes him mobile and independent.

Shift #3: More impact by setting up the right systems

Switch from exhausting and disjointed everyday tactics to having a focused branding and marketing strategy, as well as focused systems that support your vision. If you’re feeling burned out or not making much progress, you might be in desperate need of a focused strategy with an overarching plan and goals. 

Here is how to do it:

Step 1: Get your leadership team together and identify the bigger goals that are aligned with your strategic plan and vision. Your broader goal could be to increase awareness for example.

Step 2: Create measurable objectives so you know when you have reached your goal. Increasing subscribers of your email list by 25% for example.

Step 3: Identify the best strategy to reach your goal. I would like to challenge you to think outside the box: How can you get in front of someone else's audience that is aligned with yours? A strategy could be to get featured on podcasts or build strategic partnerships. Get creative. Collaboration with others can help you to drastically increase your reach.

Step 4: Optimize processes and set up automations. From donor welcome emails to onboarding videos for volunteers and staff. There are many ways you can create more capacity for you and your team. 

How do you feel about your nonprofit’s branding? Does it help supporters understand who you truly are? Does it show them your heart? Are they inspired to get involved?

Your nonprofit branding influences how your audience engages with you, and helps them decide if they want to be in a conversation with you, whether or not to trust you, and how they’ll take action. You can’t leave it to chance.

About the Author

Kerstin Heuer helps NonProfits to create brands beyond the visual so they can connect with the right people to support their cause. She is a co-founder of Non-Profit Today and creator of the “5 Pillar Social Media Content System” and  “Brand to Impact”, the branding program for small non-profits. With over 25 years of industry experience and lessons learned from work on 500+ non-profit projects, Kerstin is skilled in collaborating with NPOs to make sure they have a clear message and the traction they need to spread it. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at kerstin@non-profit.today.