In smaller nonprofits, marketing duties often fall to the Executive Director or Development Director who don’t know the ins and outs of tactics like Public Relations (PR). Recently, Jenni has received a lot of questions about press releases, social media influencers, and other PR topics. This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, we want to demystify nonprofit PR and help your organization build a stronger PR plan.
What does “public relations” mean?
Let’s start with a basic definition. When we talk about public relations or PR for nonprofits, the term can refer to any free or low-cost marketing effort which shares your message with the public with the intention of building relationships.
In this context, the public refers to a group of people. In some public relations efforts, you may reach 20 people, and in others, you could reach 20,000.
How is PR different from advertising?
Advertising requires paying a third party (such as a billboard company, media source, and even social media platforms) to share your message. Public relations efforts are different from advertising efforts because you do not pay anyone to share your message.
Another key difference is the relationship-building aspect of public relations. With advertising efforts, you’re generally trying to get people to do something for you in the short term, such as make a donation, attend your event, etc. With public relations efforts, you can (and should!) promote a call-to-action, but you also have another goal of building a two-way, long-term relationship with your audience.
How to Build a Nonprofit PR Plan
I recently released a new mini-course to help you build a PR plan for your nonprofit! I hosted a giveaway on my Instagram page and shared the mini-course with four nonprofit leaders. After they completed the mini-course, I invited them to come on the podcast and share what they learned, plus any additional questions they had about PR. I can’t wait for you to hear all of their stories!
If you need help building a comprehensive PR plan for your nonprofit, I’d love to have you take the mini-course as well. It’s called “mini” because it includes:
A concise, manageable half-hour webinar
An accompanying worksheet to guide you step-by-step through building your PR plan
And a BONUS GIFT: My PR Contact Log template, which helps you know what to research about PR outlets and help you track your outreach efforts.
The mini-course is normally $79, but podcast listeners get a special 10% discount! Listen to the podcast episode about nonprofit PR to get the discount code.
Real-Life Example of Nonprofit PR: Park Center
One of the first people who took this new mini-course is Joanna Mazo with Park Center. Park Center, located in Tennessee, supports adults living with long-term mental illness through a wide variety of programs. Here’s what Joanna says she took away from the Build a PR Plan mini-course:
Nonprofit PR outreach shouldn’t be limited to traditional media.
Many nonprofit leaders believe the major PR outlets are TV news stations, radio stations, and newspapers. While these traditional media outlets shouldn’t be overlooked, there are also plenty of new media sources that can help you spread awareness about your mission, including blogs, podcasts, social media influencers, and more. New media sources can often be more effective at helping you reach your target audience because their audiences are more “tuned in” to their niche focus areas.
Joanna says she plans to research more media sources which can reach people who are interested in topics related to Park Center’s cause and programs. She mentions that one of her favorite parts of the Build a PR Plan Mini-Course is the bonus gift of the PR Contact Log template. The template helps her know what information she needs to research about each PR outlet and keep track of how often she reaches out to each contact on the list.
PR offers a free way to reach new communities.
Joanna appreciates that PR helps you build relationships with media sources who have a built-in audience ready to learn from your nonprofit. For example, someone who hosts a podcast about mental health issues may already have a following of hundreds (or thousands!) of people who are interested in learning about how to support mental health causes. By forming a relationship with that podcaster, Joanna could tap into their audience without having to budget for a big advertising campaign.
PR Story Idea: How COVID-19 impacts your mission
In the podcast, Joanna and I discuss different stories nonprofits can pitch to PR outlets. Joanna talks about how nonprofit leaders can often fall into the habit of only reaching out to PR sources when they have an event coming up--but PR is a strategy that can be used year-round!
One way to tell your nonprofit’s story through PR is to talk about how current events are impacting your organization. For example, in regards to COVID-19, you could talk about:
How COVID-19 is impacting your clients
How staff have had to adapt programs to fit new social distancing restrictions
New virtual programs your nonprofit is offering
Real-Life Example of Nonprofit PR: Mañe'lu
My second podcast guest this episode is Samantha Taitano, the Executive Director of Mañe'lu. Mañe'lu means “brotherhood and sisterhood”, and this organization serves youth and families in Guam through one-on-one mentoring programs, an alcohol/drug/tobacco use prevention program, and a program assisting migrants with their transition in moving to Guam. Here were some of Samantha’s biggest takeaways from the Build a PR Plan Mini-Course:
A press release is not the only thing you need to pitch a PR story.
Many nonprofit leaders believe sending out a press release about their story is enough to land them a spot in the news. However, press releases are irrelevant for many PR sources nowadays.
It’s good to have a press release in your back pocket in case someone asks for it, but most PR outlets are looking for a quick rundown of your story so they can understand the big picture within a few seconds. From there, they can ask you follow-up questions and craft a story that they know will resonate with their audience.
Samantha explains that she appreciates the Build a PR Plan Mini-Course includes a description of everything you should include in your press kit so you can give media outlets exactly what they need to tell your story.
Nonprofits should engage in PR on a regular basis.
Instead of waiting for something big to happen at your nonprofit before you pitch a PR story, Samantha talks about how nonprofits can communicate with PR outlets on a regular basis to build meaningful relationships. You can work on telling part of your story every month, and vary the perspectives you offer from your organization to keep things interesting and newsworthy.
Q&A About Nonprofit PR
In this podcast episode, I asked Joanna and Samantha if they had any questions about nonprofit PR which weren’t covered in my mini-course. Some of the questions they asked included:
Do you have tips for developing creative story angles as we tell stories about our programs?
Is social media a PR tactic?
How should you reach out to PR outlets for the first time?
To avoid overwhelming you with information in this email/blog, I’m going to cut my summary of this episode short. But I’d love to have you listen to the full podcast episode to hear my answers to these questions, plus more PR tips from Joanna, Samantha, and me. You can also learn about a special 10% discount on the Build a PR Plan Mini-Course available only for podcast listeners!
Schedule a Free Call with Jenni to Talk Through Your Marketing Challenges
I would love to take a look at your social media profiles, website, and other marketing materials to help you find new ways to improve your storytelling and calls-to-action! I offer a free half-hour call to all social sector organizations so we can identify some realistic goals and action steps for your marketing, management, and development plans.
If you need more strategic, ongoing support, I would love to chat with you through biweekly coaching calls! I also offer several free and affordable DIY resources to help you walk step-by-step through the planning process for your marketing and fundraising strategies.