How do you diversify your philanthropy communication and storytelling?

1 Know your audience

The first step to diversify your communication and storytelling is to understand who you are talking to and what they care about. Different audiences have different needs, interests, expectations, and preferences. For example, your donors may want to see how their money is used, your beneficiaries may want to hear how you are addressing their challenges, and your partners may want to know how you are collaborating and innovating. To tailor your message to your audience, you need to do some research, segmentation, and feedback. Find out who they are, what they want, how they consume information, and how they respond to your communication.

2 Choose your channels

The second step to diversify your communication and storytelling is to select the best channels to reach your audience. Depending on your goals, resources, and audience preferences, you may use different platforms and formats to communicate your philanthropy. For example, you may use your website, blog, newsletter, social media, podcast, video, report, or event to share your stories. Each channel has its own strengths, limitations, and best practices. For example, your website may be a good place to showcase your mission, vision, and impact, while your social media may be a good place to engage with your followers and share updates. To choose your channels, you need to consider your objectives, budget, capacity, and metrics.

3 Craft your stories

The third step to diversify your communication and storytelling is to craft your stories that convey your philanthropy. Stories are powerful tools to connect with your audience, inspire action, and demonstrate impact. But not all stories are created equal. To craft effective stories, you need to follow some principles and techniques. For example, you need to have a clear purpose, a compelling hook, a relatable protagonist, a meaningful conflict, a satisfying resolution, and a call to action. You also need to use emotion, humor, suspense, surprise, and authenticity to capture attention and elicit empathy.

4 Adapt your tone

The fourth step to diversify your communication and storytelling is to adapt your tone to suit your audience, channel, and context. Tone is the way you express your attitude and personality through your words and voice. It can affect how your audience perceives and responds to your message. For example, you may use a formal tone for a report, a casual tone for a blog post, a friendly tone for a newsletter, or a humorous tone for a social media post. To adapt your tone, you need to consider your audience's expectations, your channel's conventions, and your context's appropriateness.

5 Test and refine

The fifth step to diversify your communication and storytelling is to test and refine your communication and storytelling based on feedback and data. Testing and refining can help you improve your communication and storytelling effectiveness, efficiency, and relevance. For example, you may use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or polls to gather feedback from your audience. You may also use analytics, metrics, or indicators to measure your communication and storytelling performance. To test and refine, you need to set your goals, collect your data, analyze your results, and implement your changes.

6 Learn and grow

The sixth and final step to diversify your communication and storytelling is to learn and grow from your experience and best practices. Learning and growing can help you keep up with the changing trends, needs, and opportunities in philanthropy communication and storytelling. For example, you may read books, articles, blogs, or podcasts to learn from experts and peers. You may also attend workshops, webinars, courses, or events to develop your skills and network. To learn and grow, you need to be curious, open-minded, and willing to experiment and innovate.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?