Be Aware

I've been trying to look for inspiration for each post.  This week, the inspiration found me.  As I was procrastinating earlier today, the below video came up on my Facebook newsfeed.  I don't want to take anything away from it, so please just watch and then read my thoughts and reasons for sharing.

I was extremely touched by this video, as were my friends on Facebook and many others who have commented on YouTube.  Many anti-bullying organizations and campaigns have taken different approaches to spreading awareness and getting the word out on how bullying affects kids today.  Popular campaigns have consisted of celebrities talking about how they were bullied in school and were able to overcome adversity in order succeed.  Even though we love our celebrities, they still don't seem like real people for a multitude of reasons.  We can't always relate to them due to their fame. That's why real, authentic videos like the one above are just so much more powerful.  As far as I know, this boy uploaded this video on his own—not as a part of a campaign or because a non-profit organization asked him to do so.

With that said, non-profit organizations should be aware of what is going on, especially on the internet.  An anti-bullying organization should respond to this video in a helpful and powerful way.  In no way am I suggesting that this boy's misery be used to make an organization look good.  Instead, I'm saying that an anti-bullying non-profit that is truly committed to its mission is responsible for supporting kids in such situations and should use this opportunity to make a difference. That's the case for all non-profits.  If there's a current hot topic (especially a viral video) related to your non-profit's mission or cause, it would be a mistake to ignore it.  That would be like the American Red Cross not responding to the natural disaster in New Orleans.  With controversial hot topics, one should obviously assess the situation and be careful before getting involved. However, when there's a situation that directly coincides with what it is that your organization is about, then absolutely get involved right away.

I haven't seen a bigger or better sign of someone asking for help than this video. I'm sure that plenty on anti-bullying non-profits have just the resources and contacts to help this boy out.  Have you heard of any anti-bullying organizations directly responding?  Let me know by commenting below.

#GoodSpotting

This a fun video to promote a giving back and caring centered campaign, perfect for the holiday season.  I haven't talked too much about social media on this blog, but it is an absolute must in order to gain attention nowadays.  Twitter is great because of how easy it is to share (with 140 characters or less), and every non-profit organization should have one.  If your organization can develop its own hashtag like the above video does, then it makes it that much easier for people to include you in tweets and for your non-profit to eventually become a trending topic.  I suggest creating a hashtag before major events so that people can tweet in preparation for the day and while actually at the event.  It will only help to make it a success, and people will definitely notice!

All Campaigns are Image Campaigns

This post as well as the previous one are more focused on hot topics in the news today rather than local non-profits.  However, both aim to highlight weak public relations efforts and how to address negative attention properly, and this can be applied to any and all sectors. 

No matter if you're organizing a fundraising campaign for a non-profit or a presidential campaign, image is of the utmost importance.  For the non-profit campaign, if the organization is not transparent in terms of how it spends its donations or if there has been a recent crisis of some sort it can pretty much be assumed that the fundraising goal will not be reached.  With a presidential campaign, the ultimate goal is to make people believe in and support a certain candidate.  If the candidate's reputation is in decline or if he has a significantly embarrassing interview, or set of interviews, his poll ratings will undoubtedly suffer.   It's not rocket science, it's just common sense. 

Now, a current campaign that may soon be known as short-lived has grabbed a lot of America's attention is that of Herman Cain, potential republican presidential candidate.  The below video recaps some of the major turning points in his campaign thus far:

Since this is not a political blog, I will attempt to only analyze the Cain campaign in terms of how it has dealt with the media.  As the CNN video explains, Cain seemed to be gaining support for a little until faced with his first set of major crises.  Probably most detrimental to the campaign, Cain was hit with several allegations of sexual harassment during his time at the National Restaurant Association.  Sexual allegations are arguably the most difficult to deal with, and to recover from.  In the public relations field, reactionary measures are typically taken as opposed to proactive measures.  In my opinion, Cain handled the situation poorly because he did not seem to take the allegations seriously. Matters were only made worse when Ginger White recently came forward saying that she and Cain had a 13-year affair.  

Since the public does not know for sure if the allegations are true or not, the Cain campaign needed to be careful with how it responded.  As of now, Cain has simply denied everything and continues to state that the accusations are part of a character assassination against him.  Pointing the fingers is never the best method, especially if the allegations turn out to be true.  Cain's image has been significantly damaged throughout all of this and now his potential presidential candidacy is at risk as a result.  As a matter of fact,  it was reported today that Cain is "reassessing" his presidential campaign, which does makes it seem like he is trying to hide from all of the negative attention. 

All in all, it is almost impossible to avoid image attacks during a campaign but what is important is how they are dealt with.  My advice is to first be proactive when possible.  When a crises comes up and reactionary measures must be taken, I suggest that a campaign does not make it seem like it's trying to hide anything.  People are not dumb.  The public can tell when the fully story isn't be told or when things are getting pushed under the rug.  Obviously it isn't always possible to divulge all information, but it is better to admit one's wrongs than to lie.  In today's world with 24/7 media outlets, the truth almost always comes out.

Occupy with Purpose

By now, most are all familiar with the Occupy movement that has spread throughout the world.  If you're like me, you're probably a little unsure as to what exactly the "occupiers" want.  I've personally seen signs that say "Abolish Money" or "Compost Capitalism" or "Boycott Bank of America," while others say things like "Throw Me a Bone, Pay My Tuition!" So is it an anti-capitalist movement or just a movement about people complaining about any and everything?  It's hard to wrap my head around why the overall mission of the Occupy movement is so ambiguous since it has been extremely successful in terms of gathering support in major cities worldwide.  How have so many joined this movement when the cause does not seem to be clear?  After doing some research, it seems as if the protestors are a little confused themselves.  Check out this video below because it shows the lack of understanding that the demonstrators seem to have, even as members of such a large movement (just as a note, I don't approve of the harsh title of the video).

The public relations efforts of the Occupy movement have not been well organized.  This is due, in part, to the lack of a single, unified message. Members of a movement this size should be able to answer questions like Why are you here? or What is it that you want? without such disjointedness.  The uninformed demonstrators who want to have a voice have become the Occupy movement's biggest deterrent in becoming anything more than a baseless set of protests.  

In order to fix this issue, I first suggest that a spokesperson be appointed.  Now, I understand that one person cannot possibly represent the entire global movement, but there can at least be a spokesperson for each city.  These reprsentatives should collectively develop a clear, carefully crafted message explaining the mission of the movement, with input from their own cities of course.  Most importantly, these spokespersons must be in constant communication with one another so that they are always on the same page. They should also be the ones who take on interviews and deal with media entering their city's sites.  I strongly feel that these steps will help create a more legitimate image for the Occupy movement.

Just for fun, below are a few pictures I've taken from the Occupy movements in both Boston and London:

Occupy Boston

Occupy London

The Thing About Websites...

is that they're extremely important! In today's world, a website that is not both interesting and user-friendly will undoubtedly have negative affects on an organization. Our society is all about finding what we want when we want it. On top of that, we have short attention spans and won't get interested in something unless it's eye-catching. Now, instead of going into a whole spiel about what makes a website effective, I'm going to show a few examples and point out what's wrong with each. I'll also explain how each can be improved in order to make the overall site stronger. These examples are from non-profits in the Boston area:

1) Greater Boston Food Bank


Let's say I'm interested in attending a GBFB event. First, I visit the homepage and search around for events. I click on the events link on the "Events" link at the top and it brings me to the frame below. I only see four events listed and I'm not free for any of them. There isn't a calendar for me to click on to see future events, so I'm not really sure what to do.  I decide to click on the Nov. 13th event just to see what GBFB events are all about because I'm still super interested.

Okay, well this event sounds like fun. I decide to click on the link to get even more information. 

Wait. Now I just opened up a whole new window. Oh, and I'm not 21 so I can't even enter this other site. It's whatever, I can't even make the event anyway.  I'll check back later.

After clicking on just a few links, the organization loses a future participant because of this not so user-friendly process.  First, the site should have a calendar of all future events, not just the next four.  Moreover, the events should be categorized according to different interests.  Also, in this case, the event  should be labeled "Over 21 Only" to not confuse interested participants. The biggest issue I had with this whole set-up was that the link redirected me to a website that I am not even technically allowed to visit.  For all events, I should be able to get all of the information I need from the host organization's site.  If I had to buy a ticket, for example, it would be frustrating to have to go and search through an entire new website for information I  on the same event.  Lastly, even though you may think that interested participants may check back, they often forget. You need to make the call to action clear and easy to actually act on.

2) Haley House

As I mentioned above, having a site that is eye-catching is necessary. However, you have to be careful to not let the focus be entirely on how good the site looks. The focus always has to be on what you want the visitor to get out of each and every page of the site. The above is the homepage for the Haley House and all I really get out of it is the image of someone cooking. Since this is a non-profit there are, in my opinion, two important things that must displayed on the homepage. First, how to donate--whether it be of time or money. Non-profts can only survive through its supporters, so their sites have to make it easy for people to help. Second, a non-profit should absolutely include its mission statement on the homepage. What's the do or die? Why is this organization so important? The non-profit's cause and purpose must be clear.   

3) Back on My Feet

Now this example combines issues form the two examples above. Let's say I'm feeling extra charitable today and decide that I'd like to give a donation to BoMF. First, I visit the homepage and find the "Support/Donate" link at the top. It's nowhere close to being the largest link nor is it the easiest to find.  When I do click on the link it takes me to the page to donate.  However, this page looks more like an "About Us" section with the organization's mission statement, philosophy, and vision.  I continue to read through the top contributors and other information until I find the "Make a Contribution" tool after scrolling down to the bottom of the page.  My options are either limited to say the least. At this point I've kind of lost my motivation and decide to go to the site of another non-profit to check out its donation section. This is a combination of the other two examples because 1) the donation tool is not one of the focuses on the homepage and 2) the process to act and actually make the donation is not simple and user-friendly. The "Support/Donate" page definitely needs a makeover in order to attract more donors.

What Works

So, as I said in my last post, no one likes the in-your-face guerilla marketing.  I also mentioned that even though I consider myself to be a philanthropist, I still rarely make a donation to someone representing an organization out on the street.  Of course it makes sense for non-profits to seek support on college campuses, especially in the Boston area with so many college students, but the correct tactics must be used.  I, for one, as a broke college student, prefer to give my time rather than money to help out a local non-profit.

I recommend that organizations spend less time begging out on the streets and more time working to form relationships with colleges and their community service centers, greek systems, and other student-run clubs in order to generate the support desired.  I suggest creating a presence on the college campus you're trying to connect with.  Take the time to show that your organization cares about making a long-lasting relationship with the school instead of just a single donation and the students will actually WANT to help out.  Students are always looking for volunteer opportunities.  Make sure it's easy for them to get involved, and do this without shoving pamphlets and other garbage down their throats.  If you don't annoy them, they won't ignore you. 

It's a matter of knowing your audience and what appeals to them. It doesn't matter how noble your cause is — if you go about things the wrong way, your efforts are essentially worthless. Now, here's a video on that very subject from a great organization committed to spreading outstanding ideas called Technology Entertainment and Design, otherwise known as TED.  TED has many inspirational talks, and I think this one illustrates the importance of knowing your audience in a simple, yet brilliant way. Check it out!

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Don't Be Annoying

As a BU student living in an urban setting, I have had my share of annoying persons stopping me on my walk to class in attempt to get me to donate to one cause or another.  Only once has it ever worked—and I consider myself to be a philanthropist. When I think back as to why I've said no to those who've approached me about what seem to be worthy causes, this what I've come up with (which I think can be applied to the greater public):

1. I don't like to feel forced or pressured into anything.  As a potential donor (whether it be of my time or money), I need time to think it over.

2. Will this donation actually go towards the cause or will it just pay for more annoying street campaigners? In other words, is my donation helping to pay the salaries of the people that bother me so much? If so, do not expect me to sign up.

3. Bad timing.  Most times I'm in a rush to get to class or work and actually don't have time to listen to a pitch.  It could be my favorite non-profit asking for a donation, but I just honestly can't afford to be late.

4.  Obnoxious street campaigners.  I don't respond well to someone yelling, "WHY DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT THE EARTH?!!"  Nor do I appreciate it when binders, pamphlets, flyers, etc. get shoved in my face.  The few bad experiences that I've had have caused me to almost always pretend to be on the phone or sending a text when walking past.

In my next post I will make several suggestions for better campaigns that will improve— rather than destroy—an organization's relations with the public.  For now, please just:

photo credit