1. Communications 101: tips and tools
Michal Blaszczyk
Communications Manager at Bond
@michalblaz
2 May 2019

2. Bond is the UK network for international NGOs

3. Why is communications so important?
Lets the public know what your mission is and why your cause is important.
Gives you a chance to demonstrate the important work you do and your impact.
Builds an audience of supporters.
Lets people connect directly with your NGO.
Gives donors and partners confidence in your abilities.
Helps you keep up with people’s expectations - today’s audiences expect organisations to have a digital presence and brand

4. The communications mix

5. What do we mean by integrated communications?
Brand: your identity and mission
Website: your shop-front for your work and brand
Content: your stories, news and blogs
Social media: your regular channels for engaging with your audience (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn)
E-communications: newsletters and e-marketing
Direct marketing
Media: your stories being covered in the press

6. Digital channels mix
Today’s digital audiences engage with us through numerous touchpoints, which should all work together to help meet your objectives.
Your website is your digital foundation and houses all your content
You social media channels are great for having conversations with supporters and partners, but should also drive people to your website
Your e-communications, whether a newsletter or fundraising campaign, should always drive people to your website

7. Best practice for creating content

8. Key messages
Consistency is key to getting your mission and message across.
Define your purpose
Define your key messages
Test these messages out with your audience
Make sure you articulate these in your content and across your channels

9. Content is king Tell a story: write about people, not projects
Harness the power of user-generated content: use other people’s content, whether written, photographic or video. This incudes from the people you serve, your supporters and your staff
A picture is worth a thousand words: use photos of your work, your supporters or your staff
Use graphics too – great for highlighting your visual brand
Make it a listicle: “5 women making a difference in their communities”
Test and learn: try an idea out and see if it works!

10. How people read online
Bond — This is the title of your presentation

11. Writing tips for compelling comms
Be human and have a conversational tone of voice
Put people first – you exist to help people
Avoid international development/NGO speak
Keep it short and simple – be concise and use short sentences
Use the active voice, not the passive
For blogs/news: get your key point and details across in your first two paragraphs
Use headings
Write short, eye catching titles/headlines
Don’t forget your key messages
People’s attention is limited and is a precious commodity in the digital world. S

12. Tips for building an audience

13. Some ideas for building your audience
Jump on popular hashtags/events on social media that make sense for your cause, either planning a campaign around one of these hooks or promoting your existing content
Repurpose your successful content across all your channels
Run a campaign where you get your supporters to share something on their own social media
Reach out to your local press with a story
Monitor your digital channels and see what works for your audience!
People’s attention is limited and is a precious commodity in the digital world. S

14. Free tools for strong channels and audiences
Bond — This is the title of your presentation

15. Creative tools
Canva: a simple, easy to use graphic design tool. Charities can get the premium version for free.
Unsplash and Flickr: free high quality photos you can use for your channels. Mostly licensed under Creative Commons, but double check when you use a photo whether you have to credit the source.
Image sizing: Landscape is a website which lets you resize images. It has the ideal image dimensions set for different social media channels.
More people are finding content through Google searches.

16. Community building tools
Mobilize: an easy platform for managing volunteers or campaigners. You can set up groups and people can receive updates on the groups they join.
Tweetdeck and HootSuite: a free platform for scheduling tweets in advance. You can also better monitor how your Twitter account is performing. You can also monitor certain hashtags you like, search terms and other accounts.
More people are finding content through Google searches.

17. Google tools
Google Analytics: monitor how many people come to your website and what content they engage with
Google AdWords: each charity can apply for a monthly $10,000 grant for advertising in Google’s search results
More people are finding content through Google searches.

18. Any questions? Discussion: What do you do for communications?
What’s your biggest challenge?
What has worked for you?
What hasn’t worked for you?

19. Thank you for listening
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Bond, Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RL, UK
+44 (0) ・ bond.org.uk
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