Thoughts on Communication

Several interesting blog posts and news articles have me thinking about the changing nature of communication and how we view it. First off, from the Chronicle of Philanthropy we learn that a) the average age of a Facebook user is rapidly rising, and as it does so, its value for fundraisers will increase because b) social networking sites are increasingly being used for personal communications over regular ol' e-mail.

Next we have an article and a blog post that quite succinctly answer the question: Is anybody really listening out there? The answer is a resounding, "Yes."

From Donor Power Blog we see exactly how word of mouth (and he uses a great term from the Church of the Customer, Wominomics) can help or hinder us.

And from ABC Entertainment News--that's right, folks, Entertainment News, we see how Demi Moore's twitter feed may have saved a woman's life. This is not the first time that Twitter has been used in a real-time effort to spread information to appropriate parties, but it certainly is a great example of just how mainstream it has become as a platform for quick and effective communication.

Lessons learned? Use Facebook. Use Twitter. Be good to your constituents and listen to what they are saying about you. And be assured, people are listening to you.

Transparency to a Fault can be a Good Thing

I personally can't handle shopping at Trader Joe's, precisely for one of the complaints mentioned in this catchy little ditty: the parking situation is always abominable.



But as Jeff at Donor Power Blog points out, complaints such as parking coupled with the homemade quality of this cellphone video is exactly what is so great about this unauthorized ad: "It's not marketing," he says, "It's relationship."

Relationships are multi-dimensional. They include positives and negatives. In a good relationship, the positives outweigh the negatives.

The only places where no negatives exist are the fake worlds of advertising, marketing, and branding.

And nobody believes them any more.

Does this make those who are afraid of giving too much power and control of our messages to others through social media feel less frightened?

How Informercials Can Help Us All

Whether you hate them or watch them obsessively in the wee hours of the night, infomercials are pretty recognizable in terms of their formulaic presentation, and this guy argues that their formula is one that can bring success to any organization! Watch the video and see what you think.

According to Rohit Bhargava, the key components to an informercial are:

1. Have a backstory.
2. Show the product in action.
3. Use real testimonials.
4. Make a specific offer.
5. Give a reason to act NOW.

Frankly, this formula does look pretty much spot-on to me in terms of building a case for a fundraising campaign. Thoughts?

Hat tip to Donor Power Blog for this one.

Evangelical Groups are Still Okay in the Economy, What About Museums?

According to Jeff over at Donor Power Blog, evangelical organizations are actually doing okay during the recession, and on top of that, they are also employing specific strategies to their fundraising approaches to help keep their heads above water during this trying economic times. This is according to a survey from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Some of the strategies that they are now employing include increasing one-on-one contact with key donors, changing the style of their message and specifically developing materials that address how the organizations are responding to the economic crisis.

So what about museums? Anyone have stats yet about how their fundraising yields are comparing with the past few years? Have any museums been making changes in their messages or approaches to fundraising? What has been working? What hasn't?

E-Newsletters a Waste of Time?

This is slightly old news now--I'm already falling behind!!--but Jeff over at Donor Power Blog recently mentioned an article from Third Sector Online that stated that "Email newsletters to supporters are a waste of time." This apparently comes from President Obama's digital strategist. But neither the article nor Jeff's post actually cites any hard data to back this up--other than the overwhelming success of the Obama online campaign. Neither does the article differentiate between the different sorts of newsletters and e-newsletters out there in the nonprofit world. For example, museum organization newsletters tend to have articles about topics relevant to their membership rather than just status updates on the organizations themselves. So, Mr. Gensemer, are those e-newsletters a waste of time, too?