Nonprofit Performance 360 Issue 13

PIPP I PATTON

Branding in the Digital Age

Branding is the process of establishing a significant and differentiated presence that attracts and holds onto a loyal following in your market. Branding grows your audience online. Gary Vaynerchuk says that in our cul- ture, it is a battle for people’s attention. In the internet age, branding can apply to two different strategies: first, SEO, search engine optimization, building your brand online so that Google sees you as the most relevant authority for particular search terms and, second, social branding, which I call Value Based Branding, where you accelerate the sales process by building relationships or a link with your audience; it’s the easiest to implement right away and will produce the fastest results.There has never been a better time to build a brand online! Value Based Branding works like this: • You determine the type of content that will add the most value to your audience and present it in a way that causes them to bond to you emotionally. • You can then show them ads without compromising your connection with them. How Do You DoThis? Start with Facebook, using Live at least 3-4 times a week. Don’t worry that no one is watching. When a couple of people watch your Lives, Facebook will see what you are doing and show the next one to a few more people, and so on. Once you create content, download your Facebook Live and upload it to your channel on YouTube. Then find several 60-second nuggets from your video and

post them to your Instagram account. Next, separate the audio from the video and upload the audio to your podcast. If you don’t have one, go to www.anchor.fm and start for free. Have your video transcribed and post your content in written form on your blog. Don’t have a blog? Start one. Finally, publish either video or written content on LinkedIn. You now have a presence on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Podcast, your blog, and LinkedIn. Content Source and Delivery As a nonprofit, you should already have three or four core pillars. If you have more, you might consider simplifying them. Your content should always be about one of those. Tell stories that are aspirational, motivational, and inspirational. Your stories should have a framework: • Begin with a central point that relates to one of your core messages. • Use a story to drive the point, preferably one that taps into the emotions of your audience. • Then utilize a parable or metaphor to further clarify your message. Always Include an Offer In all your content, it is essential to have an offer or call to action. This should be done multiple times in continued on page 36

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