JM Communications

03/24/2023

Turning digital marketing into conversions is like helping someone up a ladder: If the steps require them to reach too far, they won't climb. Make each call-to-action reasonable for where your audience is in their engagement relationship with your organization.

03/23/2023

Many people make the mistake of thinking that paying for ads will bring them the kind of response and engagement they're not seeing from their organic efforts. But if your messaging is doing nothing for you organically, paid advertising won't do much for you either . . . except waste your money. Unless you have a big announcement, save the ad money until you have enough data to know what gets noticed by your target audience.

03/22/2023

Including images with as many posts as possible is an excellent way to make your posts stickier—that is, to get more people to stop and look. Carousels (a collection of images) is even better. And video is best of all.

03/21/2023

Check your website regularly to ensure that all information is up-to-date, relevant, and still aligning with your brand messaging. Maintaining a blog—even just one short post a week—is also a great way to keep your website on search engines' radars.

03/20/2023

Make sure your website is informative, engaging, easy to navigate, and has lots of call-to-action (CTA) buttons to keep people exploring and moving toward conversions. Also, it pays to invest in quality SEO, both on-page and off-page.

03/17/2023

Look at what gets results . . . and what gets crickets. Which posts get people talking? Which kinds of media have the most impact? Which ads see the most conversions? Digital marketing isn't a science. What works for you and your audience should be always changing, always adapting, always innovating.

03/16/2023

Messaging pillars uphold your brand story and guide the content "buckets" that will populate your content strategy.

03/15/2023

Creating customer personas for your target audiences can help you visualize an individual that you're communicating with in your marketing content. Doing this will make your content more personable, natural, and engaging.

03/14/2023

As the saying goes, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." But if you're going to invest time and money into a digital marketing strategy, make sure you know what your organization is seeking to get out of it. And be sure your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.

03/13/2023

Who you (an individual) are and who your organization's brand is—these are different personas and voices. Make sure you've done the work to clarify your brand identity and messaging before you start posting anything.

03/10/2023

Let's face it: There's A LOT of marketing noise out there. And while there's value in looking around at what your competitors are doing, it's even better to notice what they're NOT doing. Where are the gaps that need to be filled? What are the needs that are being overlooked? How can you try something that no one else is even thinking about? Be willing to get creative. Innovate. Take risks. That's what will set you apart and get you noticed.

03/09/2023

To be human is to be a part of a tapestry of stories. We think in stories and, more importantly for your organization, we *remember* in stories. Stories make us feel, make us think, and connect us to others. When we tell our stories, we participate in something larger than ourselves. BUT . . . storytelling is hard. What do we include, and what isn't core to our message? What clarifies who we are to others, and what only serves to confuse others? Bringing in someone to help you hone your story and messaging will reap dividends not just in terms of marketing, but also in understanding why you do what you do.

03/08/2023

When you're ready to take a deep dive into your brand, this is the time for some hard truths. Take a deep breath, re-read your missions statement and values, and be real with yourself: Is everything you're doing in service of your mission? Or are you doing mental gymnastics to tell yourself that non-mission-aligned activities are in some way actually on track to reach your goals? Is everything you're doing living your values, or have you cut corners here and there. I get it—no one likes to admit when they're inconsistent with who they see themselves to be. But if your audience sees a discrepancy, then you do yourself no favors by ignoring it.

03/07/2023

You may think you know what your brand is, but if there is a gulf between who you think you are and who your target audience thinks you are, then it's time to pause, take a step back, and figure out where your brand is derailing. But like anything that's too close to home to see clearly, a brand audit is best done by an objective outside professional.

03/06/2023

Of course, it's not just nonprofits that need to be able to succinctly state what it is that they do that is valuable to their audience. But it is especially crucial for nonprofits, who depend upon donors to keep them going. The ability to communicate your value to a community persuasively enough that it moves people to pay money for a product or service that they themselves may not need—that's the key to sustaining the work of the nonprofit. Bringing in an outside perspective and specialist can help you craft brand messaging that will help your organization continue to realize its mission.

03/03/2023

When you're ready to create your organization's identity, this is not the time to half-ass. A logo is a start. But your audience needs to immediately recognize *your* content, even if they're not looking at your logo. Visually, remember to compile a thoughtful brand palette that will give you a signature look but also doesn't limit your ability to be innovative with your graphic content. And remember that you also need to establish a persona that will come through all of the content—voice, tone, personality all work together to let people know that there's a real, accessible person behind all your content. A person with vision, a mission, and values.

03/02/2023

The foundation of building your brand must always begin—and circle back to—who you are. And sometimes, articulating that clearly and compellingly is hard to do all by yourself. That's why working with a professional is so valuable at this stage. An experienced branding strategist begins by listening. Not just to you but also to the people who know your business or nonprofit the best: your most loyal customers, your donors, the people you serve.

03/01/2023

Nonprofit Branding Strategies https://conta.cc/3RWwWZK

Get your community excited about your nonprofit by using these top nonprofit branding strategies and techniques.