PR Practices for NPOs in Post-Pandemic World

According to a recent survey conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, circumstances faced by 60% of nonprofits in 2020 posed a threat to their long-term financial stability. In light of this reality, many Nonprofits have had to reconsider how they communicate with their supporters and the people they help. Nonprofit organizations can prepare for a post-pandemic future by employing a number of strategies. The fate of your nonprofit organization rests squarely in the hands of the people. Nonprofits can't raise money from contributors and accomplish their mission if they aren't well-known or widely regarded as effective. Having a strong public relations campaign in place can do wonders for a nonprofit, helping them gain recognition, new supporters, and more hands-on aid from the community. This post discusses the steps necessary to develop a public relations strategy for any nonprofit organization in the post-pandemic era. Following are the steps:

1. Set Campaign Goals

SMART objectives are widely employed by both for-profit and non-profit organizations. The purpose of this method is to provide people with concentration, determination, and direction while professionals work toward your objectives. Following the five pillars of the SMART Goal System, one can strategically plan any next public relations effort.

1.1 Specific

One need to be as specific as possible in your PR campaign's aims. Here are some questions to ponder as you develop your public relations plan:

-What purpose does the campaign serve?

-What is your target amount for donations?

-Other than generating cash flow, do you want to accomplish anything else?

-Is there something you'd like the general public to know?

-Want to discover new contributors and volunteers?

1.2 Measurable

Asking questions is the first step; next comes the effort of finding solutions. The timeline for success is more easily predictable if the goals can be quantified.

One may readily gauge the success of your next PR campaign by setting a monetary target. Fundraising isn't the only metric one may use to evaluate the success of your public relations effort. Here are some quantifiable targets to aim towards in your nonprofit's public relations campaign:

-What is your target audience size for social media?

-Is there a specific target you have in mind for your YouTube views?

-To what extent do you seek Facebook likes and shares?

1.3 Attainable

The third consideration when organizing a PR campaign is whether or not the desired outcomes are realistic. Smaller organizations that cannot afford extensive advertising must rely on existing supporters and word of mouth to grow. These methods will not be as effective in reaching an audience as more conventional or online forms of promotion. This is something to take into consideration as professionals plan the next PR campaign's measurable objectives.

1.4 Relevant

PR is an essential strategy for achieving your goals as a corporation. Keeping your organization's objective in mind is crucial when developing a public relations strategy and communicating it to the general public. It's imperative that the PR aims are in sync with the work you're doing. Otherwise, the public relations objective may cause confusion and may even damage your reputation.

1.5 Time Based

The vast majority of individuals are procrastinators, therefore without a strict deadline, your campaign is doomed to failure. Set a date by which you must have accomplished your PR objectives. One can use this to push yourself and others to give financially or of their time by sharing it with potential donors and volunteers.

2. Know your Target Market

Before beginning a PR campaign, you need to have a solid understanding of the audience to which you will be addressing. This is extremely important to keep in mind while composing posts for social media as well as emails, solicitation letters, and press releases.

This is also a crucial consideration when determining how you will communicate with the general audience. It is possible that sending letters will be a waste of money if increasing the number of younger donors is one of your goals. The majority of younger contributors conduct research on nonprofit groups and contribute online. Before you begin to create your campaign, you should first define your target demographic. This will assist steer you in the right direction.

3. Do Campaign Branding

Before beginning a public relations campaign, you should outline your organization's and campaign's branding, in addition to identifying your target audience. Today, social media has increased awareness of the non profit organizations. This is fantastic, but it also means that you have little control over what people say and how they react to your organization. There are things you can do to address this issue and define your organization before others do.

When developing a public relations strategy and deciding how the public perceives your nonprofit, keep its mission in mind. If your mission statement reads more like a textbook, including it in your public relations campaign will be ineffective. But one still still want to include it, so it might be best to create an image or key phrase to help donors connect with the work of NPO, just like how any for-profit company introduces its new product in market.

4. Use Alternate methods to reach your Target Market

You must reach out to potential donors and volunteers once you have identified your target audience and developed a compelling statement and image for your organization. Public relations allows you to reach your target market in a variety of ways, including traditional media, social media, events, and donor solicitation letters. According to the Marketing Rule of 7, people must "hear" a message at least seven times before it sticks. With this in mind, you should try to reach out to your target audience as many different ways as possible. You may want to include traditional media, emails, solicitation letters, Facebook ads, events, YouTube videos, peer-to-peer online campaigns, and events in your public relations strategy. You will have an easier time deciding how to reach your target audience because you have spent time understanding them and developing a brand that will work best with certain types of media.

5. Pitch out to Media

Nonprofits have always reached out to the public through newspapers, TV, and radio to tell them about the work they do on the ground. It's not easy to get these news outlets to pay attention to your nonprofit. The trick is to get to know reporters and send them press releases that give them ideas for interesting stories.

5.1 Press release

The best way to get your local newspaper's attention is to write a press release about what you're doing and why it's important enough to cover. Newspapers get a lot of press releases every day, so if yours doesn't stand out, they might not read it. We have a blog post that will help you write a press release that gets read and doesn't get thrown away.

5.2 Media list

When you send out a press release, it's very important to send it to the right person. Sending your press release to an old email address or a journalist who doesn't cover that topic anymore is the quickest and easiest way to get it ignored. Reporters change jobs often, so you should make sure your list of media is up to date.

Larger nonprofits have people whose job it is to build and keep relationships with media outlets. These people are called “PR Managers” or "Communications Managers." Small nonprofits that don't have their own PR staff can get free or paid media lists from a number of companies

Getting press coverage has always been hard, but services like Help a Reporter Out (HARO) make it possible for nonprofits to pitch their organization directly to journalists who are looking for similar organizations. Journalists use HARO to post story ideas, along with information about the source and a deadline for pitching. Your organization can sign up to get three times a day access to requests from journalists. When you find a story idea that fits your organization, send an email to the journalist explaining why your organization is good for their story and wait for a reply.

5.3 Social media

Many nonprofits wonder if they still need to use traditional media. Social media have made it easier for nonprofits to reach the people they want to reach without using traditional media. Since it's free to use social media, nonprofits of all sizes have started using it to spread the word about their organization. Organizations have used new tools like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to reach a larger audience. Crowd funding, Peer-to-Peer, and ads are all ways for nonprofits to reach thousands of new donors every day.

5.4 Paid media

Paid media ads are another way to get the word out about your PR campaign. Social media that doesn't cost you anything is great, but you can reach more people with pay-per-click and display ads. Google now gives grants to nonprofits for free advertising on the first page of its search engine for up to $10,000 a month.

6. Network and Develop Personal Relationships

The effectiveness of your public relations effort will be determined by the individuals you have working on the ground. The use of social media has made it simpler for nonprofit organizations to reach out to the public, but your campaign won't get very far without a solid support network behind it. Word-of-mouth communication and the use of tools such as peer-to-peer campaigns are two of the most effective ways for board members, funders, and volunteers to help spread the word about your organization. The first stage in developing influential advocates for your organization is to track down supporters who already have a strong emotional relationship to the cause you represent.

PR and Branding Recommendation for KMW

I recommend that KMW, in addition to its existing Facebook page, build Twitter and Instagram profiles and begin posting often about their mission, upcoming offerings, and development process. KMW's current website is an excellent starting point, but its design should be more mission-oriented. Because KMW presently does not have active programs, it would be beneficial if there were resources for veterans linked on the website. Once KMW has active programs, descriptions of the programs, as well as a clear link showing how to participate, should be placed on the website and social media pages. Finally, KMW should begin networking in the community and building partnerships with other groups. The REC, which has ties to several area farms, and Veterans Inc are ideal places to start.

Conclusion:

The need for a public relations strategy is also emphasized by the fact that nonprofits must reach out to society to ensure that the work they do is recognized publicly. This is significant because they require potential recruits as well as societal donors willing to step up and support them. Some nonprofits in the United States and India frequently host fundraising events and activities. These events must be publicized in order to attract audiences and inform donors about the work that these nonprofits do.

References:

-Ensor, K. (2021, November 26). Why is Public Relations Vital for Nonprofits? | Building a Smart PR Strategy. Nonprofit Blog. https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/public-relations-for-nonprofits

-Nonprofit Public Relations. (n.d.). https://www.managementstudyguide.com/nonprofit-public-relations.htm

-Wilson, D. (2021) Strategies for nonprofit success in a post-pandemic landscape, Philanthropy News Digest. Available at: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/the-sustainable-nonprofit/strategies-for-nonprofit-success-in-a-post-pandemic-landscape (Accessed: November 16, 2022).

-Couillard, E., Tedisco, J., Drude, M., Zappala, C., Hoffman, A., & Adhikari, M. (2022). Veteran-to-Farmer Programs: Evaluation and Recommendations for Practice [Capstone Practicum]. Clark University.