How to Get Your Cause in the News: 13 Candid Tips from Seasoned CT Journalists

by Carol Buckheit on January 17, 2012

Media panel: Ask the press corps

(L to R): Carol Buckheit (Nonprofit MediaWorks), Daniela Altimari (Hartford Courant), Lucy Nalpathanchil (WNPR Connecticut Public Radio), Keith Phaneuf (Connecticut Mirror)

Fear not. If you missed last week’s media panel at CT Advocacy Day on how to get your cause in the news, here are 12 golden tips from the lips of Daniela Altimari of the Hartford Courant, Lucy Nalpathanchil from WNPR CT Public Radio, and Keith Phaneuf from the Connecticut Mirror:

  • Daniela and Lucy prefer a brief email (followed by one telephone call) from organizations wishing to pitch a story. A direct message through Twitter also works for Daniela. Keith prefers a phone call. Never pitch a story through Facebook.
  • Telling reporters about personal, human interest stories is the single most effective way to get your cause in the news. “Talking heads” (read: Executive Directors) are unlikely to be the best storytellers. People want to hear about real people affected by an issue. Those are the  stories that get in the news.
  • Lucy and conference attendeeDon’t just pitch stores during the legislative session. Think about how the issue ties in with the news during the year, and regularly pitch stories to reporters.
  • When pitching a story, the earlier the better. Pitch early in the morning (by 8:30am)  rather than later, when reporters are looking through their email and considering what to write about that day.
  • Personal relationships with reporters still matter very much. All things being equal, reporters will go with a story from a known source rather than an organization/individual new to them. Take the time to pick up the phone and introduce yourself and your organization.
  • When should you time your press events at the Capitol? Avoid conflicts with bigger stories (e.g. Don’t schedule a press conference at the Capitol on the day the Governor unveils a new budget). Other than that, earlier in the day tends to be better.
  • When being interviewed, avoid acronyms and jargon. Don’t sound like you are reading from a script. And don’t assume everyone knows what you are talking about. Use language and terminology the general public would understand.
  • A well-written, engaging, frequently updated blog can be a terrific way for journalists to view you as an expert on an issue. But–importantly–if you don’t have time to maintain your blog, take it offline.
  • Most journalists are using Twitter to share news as it happens. You can do the same with a Twitter account for your org. Keys: Make your tweets interesting! Promote others, build community, and don’t automate your tweets with Facebook. If it’s boring, they won’t come. And if you can’t frequently update your Twitter feed, don’t use Twitter.
  • Follow reporters on Twitter! Find Daniela Altimari at @CapitolWatch, Lucy at @LucyVn, and don’t even bother trying to find Keith on Twitter. He calls himself “the social media anti-Christ.” (Shameless self-promotion: Follow Carol at @NonprofitMediaW).
  • Don’t send a press release with contact information for your Executive Director, when he/she has just left for a long vacation. (sheesh)
  • Check out CT Capitol Report by Tom Dudchik. He’s got a daily dose of the scuttlebutt at the Capitol. Read it.
  • In this day and age, the news cycle is 24/7. In Daniela’s words: The public “has a voracious appetite for news…and nonprofits can use this as an opportunity.” Provide lots of news tips and pitches, and your cause is more likely to find its way onto a blog, newspaper story, tweet, video story or newscast.

You can still get involved in the CT Speaks Up campaign. Sign up at the CT Association of Nonprofits website.

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Want to Win Supporters in 2012? 7 Steps to Draw Up a Social Media Game Plan

by Carol Buckheit on January 10, 2012

Giants huddleWhile watching my beloved NY Giants huddle up during their big playoff game last week, I was reminded of how few organizations take the time to set goals, strategies and tactics for their social media efforts.  The result is often a scatter-shot, see-what-sticks-to-the-wall approach to communicating. And, guess what? It’s a waste of time.

You’ve turned the page on a new year, so start by creating a social media plan that will give you a clear road map to your goals. Ideally, you want your social media activities to be planned, intentional, and targeted. I’m amazed at how few nonprofits take the time to create a plan.

Answer these questions to get started:

1. Is your website current? Do you have an email system? If not, go no further with social media. Instead, clean up your website: remove out-of-date content, update your home page to reflect your current priorities, clean up the design so it’s easy on the eye, adjust the fonts so they are consistent, and cut way, way down on text and instead add a few photos. Your website is still your hub; there’s no point in using social media to drive lots of traffic to a website that’s awful.

And don’t even think that you don’t need a broadcast email system. Email remains the single best way for you to communicate with supporters. Outlook or Hotmail won’t cut it. If you have precious little time and resources, spend it on a decent website and a nonprofit-friendly broadcast email tool such as MailChimp, iContact, or Vertical Response. Then, use it to email your list at least twice a month.

2. How much time does your staff have to allocate to social media per week? Data from Idealware shows that nonprofits who spend less than 2 hours per week per social media tool don’t tend to see results.

3. Who is your target audience? Can your target audience be reached using social media? Youth organizations, for example, should not waste their time using Twitter to engage youth.  Pew Internet reports that only 8% of online American teens ages 12-17 uses Twitter. Choose a different social media tool.

4. What action do you want  your social media audience to take? Yep, ask yourself: When someone is blown away by my blog post on ending homelessness, what do I want them to get up and do? Write a check? Attend a rally? Volunteer? E-mail a legislator? If you can answer that, you have the makings of your goals. Now make a list. Do it now.

5. How will your measure your goals? Shape your goal so you can measure it–make it SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely). Unless you can measure it, you will  never know it’s working. Beth Kanter has some super posts on her blog about measuring goals.

6. What social media tactics will you use to reach your goals? This is the tricky part, since you need to know what tools will best help you accomplish your goal. Do you want to position yourself as an opinion leader on a policy issue? Then blogging may be for you. Need to increase attendance at your annual conference? Facebook may be your starting point. Share stories? Video sharing is compelling.

7.  How will you distribute your content, and when? Here’s where you will draw up your (short-term) social media campaigns for the year. A Google Calendar will come in handy, and you’ll need to work backward from your launch date to map out your posts, emails, and website actions leading up to your target event/activity.

8. Have you had professional training on social media tools? Get some training. Alas, your wonderful teenager can’t teach you this stuff, I’m afraid.

Idealware’s Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide walks you through a few simple exercises to create a strategic social media plan. Download the guide here and use the worksheets in the back to get rolling. The guide will also introduce you to research-based social media best practices for nonprofits.

Here’s to a new year of winning campaigns for my nonprofit friends.

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Photo by Heath Brandon,  9/13/09, Flikr Creative Commons License- Attribution Share Alike 2.0 Generic

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