NGOs are all about awareness.
You want people to know about you so that they will donate and support your non-governmental organisation. As an NGO, you are also trying to raise awareness for a specific cause or issue.
It is all about creating awareness.
NGOs aren't exactly big-budget organisations that can spend huge amounts of money on marketing campaigns. That means that you will have to increase your awareness in some other way.
The best way to achieve your awareness goals is through PR.
To help NGOs get the most out of their PR, Alrika Möller from media update compiled her top tips for NGO PR.
Build relationships with the media
To build awareness for your organisation, you need the media to give you coverage. Media coverage does not just happen unless you are a trending celeb or a massive news story.
That means that
you have to ask the media to give you some
attention — and even then, they might not say yes.
Building relationships with the media will give you a platform for any and all communication you need to do.
These relationships will provide opportunities to reach a bigger audience and draw attention to the messages that you send out.
A great way to
build those relationships is to provide them with
timely and accurate information that they can use. Another great way to foster such relationships is to make sure you provide
stories worth telling. Add a
personal touch.
Be aware of public discussions
Timing is a massive part of PR.
You need to keep your eyes and ears open to the big stories and public discussions of the moment.
The current discussion and stories can either cloud your message, causing you to go unnoticed in the background, or they can act as a great segway to your message and ultimately add some volume.
If there is a big news story causing a global discussion regarding a
specific cause or message, then it will
overshadow your message — regardless of how important your cause is.
On the other hand … a global story or conversation can be related to your cause or message. PRs can then piggyback off the story to increase your buzz and attention.
The current conversations being had by the public can either overshadow or amplify your message. It is the PR's responsibility to know what those stories are and how to use or avoid them.
Use storytelling
If you want people to not just pay attention but remember your message and care about it, you have to evoke emotions.
Emotions come from
storytelling. Tell them stories they can
relate to or stories that will
tug on their heartstrings. Use a story that will
shock people in such a way that they won't forget it.
NGOs often feel like just another business. That is why PRs need to use the power of storytelling to humanise the organisation. A great method of humanising an organisation is by telling real human stories.
In the world of business, people will get involved in a project because they believe there is some benefit in it for them. NGOs aren't businesses, and therefore they cannot rely on the Sharktank or Dragon's Den method of getting donors or support.
Their only way of getting people involved is to make people care about their cause and mission. PRs can tell stories through:
- video content
- social media posts, or
- by utilising the media space.
Measure your results
Every good PR will tell you that the success of a PR campaign or move is not always that obvious. And if you don't know how things worked out last time, how will you be able to improve the second time around?
Popular measuring methods include:
These methods will not only let you know what is being said about your NGO, but they will also give you insight into how your message is being perceived and what people know about your cause.
Knowledge is power, and if you have that type of knowledge, you have the power to structure your message and coverage in a way that targets the conversations being had about your organisation. This allows you to clear up misconceptions or answer questions.
NGOs do important work and have important messages to share. It is part of the PR's job to communicate that message in the best way possible.
Doing PR for an NGO can sometimes be a lot more complicated than it seems. Ask your burning NGO or PR questions below, and we will help you out.