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A Step by Step Guide in Branding your Business The most important step to effectively do brand development is to create a logo that conveys a message behind the business to everybody all over the world. Its essence is to do corporate branding for your business. It is a way of devising a functional representation for a company and the company's name.
Probably, you already have a design in mind about how you would want your logo to look best when displayed for your corporate branding. However, you may need to consider the step by step guide and pointers discussed below to make your overall brand development into a reality. Brand development and guide
A perfect corporate branding takes time to develop. You cannot achieve it overnight. It needs proper guidance, nurture, and strategic expertise. Thus, here is a list of some don'ts that you may need to consider:
Author: Justin Bregar Article Source: Article Sphere
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 How to Engage Donors and Volunteers Through Social Media Although social media has been with us for a while now, some non-profits are not integrating it with their outreach strategy. Some of the reasons offered for the non-inclusion of social media spans lack of knowledge about social media, insufficient time and limited resources. While these are valid reasons, the benefits that non-profits stand to gain from using social media to engage donors and volunteers far outweighs its' non-inclusion. For instance, according to Statista, "Facebook had more than 1.94 billion global monthly active users, including over close to 1.74 billion mobile monthly active users." Judging by this fact, incorporating social media networking sites such as facebook, twitter and google+ will increase the ability of your organization to reach a wider audience. Social Media has revolutionized the way organizations gain exposure. As a result, the days of requiring a hefty budget in order to reach a wider audience is over and belongs to the past. To actively engage with donors and volunteers through social media, content should be prioritized. Donors and volunteers alike appreciate relevant and persuasive content. They are more likely to engage with a non-profit that provides relevant content than a non-profit that doesn't. Despite this express desire of volunteers and donors, some non-profits focus predominantly on design and relegate content to the background. What happens is that they end up stagnating and not reaching their engagement goals. One of the best strategies for providing persuasive content is through story telling. Use the art of storytelling to portray activities that your non-profit organization engages in. It is easier to convince people through story telling than through facts since our brains are open to reading about and listening to stories. Also, stories about individual clients tend to elicit high response rates from donors and volunteers alike. Such stories have the propensity to connect them (donors and volunteers) to your cause and to propel them into action compared to stories about large groups of people. A visual means of telling stories is through the use of online videos. Keeping online vidoes short and engaging will lead to the attainment of goals. Some softwares that can be used for online videos include power-point and imovie maker. These programs are easily accessible and are quick to use. Consequently, they save you time and money making them budget friendly options. Now that we are aware of the programs that can be used in the creation of videos, what kind of content can be generated with power-point and i-movie maker ? A starting point can be with events that your organization is already implementing. For example, if your organization is hosting a workshop or a fundraiser, you can record it and share it with a larger audience. Also, you can create videos of your volunteers in action and share them. The possibilities are endless! In order to save time on your social media engagements, apps such as Tube Mogul and AWeber may be opted for. They provide a single point for uploading videos to multiple social media sites. Using social media to engage with donors and volunteers is a worthwhile venture that can yield maximum returns if done right. Storytelling and the use of apps will result in the creation of persuasive content and time saving benefits. Written By Sherita N Brace Sherita N Brace is an International Development Professional and a Blogger. She serves as a Consultant to non-profits and provides grant writing services, program planning services and communications services. Reference: . Facebook : Statistics & Facts. Retrieved October 11th from https://www.statista.com/topics/751/facebook/ 9/14/2017 why should non-profits design their communications strategies with cultural differences in mind?Read Now Why Should Non-Profits Design Their Communications Strategies with Cultural Differences in Mind ? Culture is defined as the way of life of a group of people. It encompasses the way they dress, sing, dance, among others. One of the key characteristics of successful non-profits lies in their ability to communicate their message effectively to their constituents. According to data gleaned from the Institute of Medicine, it is estimated that over 11% (31 million) of the U.S population is foreign born. Therefore, a non-profit desiring to build and nurture relationships that results in positive outcomes should aim at developing an effective communication strategy that takes cultures into account.
People from various cultures have unique ways of viewing issues/incidents that influences their realities. For instance, individuals belonging to high-context cultures(Asians, Native Americans, Latin and African Americans) tend to use indirect communication styles and focus less on verbal interactions. On the other hand, individuals belonging to low-context cultures (mostly Anglo-European Americans) employ a direct communication style and focus more on verbal interactions. With that said, certain colors can also evoke strong emotions among individuals of one cultural group whereas the same colors will have little to no effect on individuals from a different cultural group. Owing to these nuances, it is essential for a non-profit to tailor its' message and branding materials with the culture of its' target audience/constituency in mind. Decisions on factors such as colors, images and symbols used should be carried out with their cultural underpinnings in mind. Failure of non-profits to develop a communications strategy that incorporates linguistically and culturally appropriate messages will result in a rejection of its message. Another unwelcome effect will be the negative perception that its' brand might develop. There are many resources that a non-profit can utilize to ensure the delivery of thoughtful, timely and culturally sensitive messaging to its constituents. Also, nonprofits can reach out to communications specialists at SNAB Global Development who can help them in the design of their communications materials. Written By Sherita N Brace Sherita N Brace is an International Development Professional and a Blogger. She serves as a Consultant to non-profits and provides grant writing services, program planning services and communications services. References:
7/18/2017 five reasons why non-profits should incorporate social media as part of their communications strategyRead Now five reasons why non-profits should incorporate social media as part of their communications strategySocial media is now ubiquitous and shouldn't be ignored. Incorporating an effective social media strategy will benefit non-profits in the long term and short term. Five compelling reasons why social media ought to be included in a communications strategy are:
1. Immediate access to Constituents: A non-profits constituents, stakeholders and support base can be provided with immediate updates on programs, reports, activities etcetera through social media. Most individuals access social media on a daily basis. As a result, providing updates through social media is a quick way of sharing information. 2. Social Media is Ubiquitous Social media is now part and parcel of modern life. People tend to use social media for informational purposes, entertainment purposes among others. By incorporating social media into its' communication strategy, a non-profit stands to reach wider audiences which in turn generates awareness for its' programs. 3. Social Media is Cost-Effective Non-profits make tough financial decisions regularly. Marketing and advertising efforts can be expensive and leave a dent on budgets. For instance, generating publicity for an event by printing out 100's of flyers is not only expensive but can fail to achieve the desired goal. This is due to the fact that most of these flyers often end up in the garbage bin. Yet, there is a more cost effective and environmentally friendly way of creating publicity for an event without resorting to paper flyers. This equally effective medium is Social media. Thus, electronic flyers can be created and shared with the general public in a more rapid and cost-effective manner. 4. Improved Search Engine Rankings A good search engine ranking will enable a non-profit to capture substantial traffic on the internet. For a non-profit, this means that it can be discovered by potential donors and individuals interested in its' mission! The criteria for search engine ranking is always changing. For instance, in recent times, it is simply not enough to blog regularly and use relevant meta tags. Google currently considers other factors such as social media engagement. Therefore, a non-profit with wider following and engagement is deemed as more credible by search engines compared to a non-profit that doesn't have a social media presence. Consequently, a non-profit with social media engagement earns improved search engine rankings. 5. Effective Brand Insights: Through Social Listening(process of monitoring digital conversations to understand what customers are saying about a brand and industry online - TrackMaven), a non-profit can gain insights on brand and program perceptions held by its' supporters. In essence, each time a non-profit posts on social media, it can analyze comments as a means of having first hand views on what its' supporters/stakeholders are thinking. A non-profit can also assess the kind of programs that generate the most interests by segmenting content syndication lists. Findings from this exercise can be incorporated into the planning of programs. Social media is essential to a non-profits communications strategy and should be prioritized. Spending five to six hours weekly on social media branding will result in immense benefits for a non-profit. Written By Sherita N Brace Sherita N Brace is an International Development Professional. She serves as a Consultant to Non-Profits and provides grant writing services, program planning services and communications services. References:
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