How does charity: water do it?

Almost every NGO I talk to says they want their marketing to be more like charity: water.?

So, a few months ago, I took a stab at breaking down why they’ve become the gold standard for nonprofit marketing, posted my thoughts on LinkedIn, and people went a little nuts over it.?

One of the biggest questions I got was – ok, but how do they actually do this??

Curious to know the answer myself, I went straight to the source.

charity: water’s content lead, Cubby Graham, generously shares the nuts and bolts of their successful content team and how they use social to mobilize their movement.

Find a cozy spot and a cup of coffee. This is a longer one, but Cubby's answers are so insightful, I didn't want to trim anything down!

Ready? Let's dive in.

1. You do such a great job integrating storytelling and impact-driven content into your campaigns to resonate with your audience on an emotional level. How do you find content for these stories?

Cubby: Stories are a vehicle for change and have been used for generations to pass down wisdom, traditions, and have shaped the world we live in today. Stats and numbers can often be numbing, but stories have the ability to humanize a statistic and inspire action. For charity: water, we work through an incredible network of implementing local partners. About once or twice a year, our creative team will visit our local partners with a goal of capturing stories for a specific campaign or experience. We also intentionally capture stories and content that can be evergreen and packaged up in a variety of ways for different channels and audiences over time.

We also believe good stories are all around us. In addition to the creative trips, we source stories throughout the year from our programs team and also from the charity: water community itself, highlighting our incredible supporters and inspiring others along the way. Every brand and organization is going to be different and have unique ways of working and stories to tell. Whatever you’re building, look for ways to connect with people emotionally by highlighting and celebrating the stories of people both in and impacted your community. And remember, the best stories come from some of the most unlikely places.

2. Can you explain the workflow and process for content creation, approval, and scheduling within the social media team?

Cubby: It's a team effort! We are a relatively small organization which results in us having a pretty small and agile one-person social media team, but works cross functionally with a wider Marketing and Growth team. I manage the social comms calendar, strategy, content creation, approval, and posting for everything we share across all our social channels. I work closely and meet bi-weekly with our copy lead to collaborate on stories and finalize copy. And from time to time, we’ll pull in additional design or video support for specific moments and campaigns. We also have a larger comms calendar that our wider team collaborates on at a high level for mini-marketing moments and larger tent pole campaigns which include a lot more stakeholders and resourcing.

3. How do you approach fundraising on your organic social channels?

Cubby: Our approach to fundraising on organic social channels is deeply rooted in storytelling, building genuine connections and trust with our supporters, and delivering value to our audience. When it comes to making an ask on organic social channels, no matter what kind of brand, you have to be really thoughtful and intentional about understanding who, when, and what the ask is for. Why people follow us, what they care about, and what motivates them are all indicators that help us tailor our fundraising efforts to align with their interests and values. Asking your audience for too much, too often, or for the wrong things is a great way to create inaction. Instead, I would encourage people to find ways to add value to their audience on social and explore creating different ways for people to take action.

Experiment and focus on creating engaging content that builds your brand and drives traffic to your site. Getting to know your audience is always the first step and should inform the content you share and what types of calls to action you’re making. Test out smaller individual ways to take action, intentionally build out campaign moments that have a clear purpose, goal and urgency, then focus on creating engaging and brand-building content in between. You must build connection, trust, and loyalty for your brand in order for your fundraising efforts to be successful. Storytelling is at the heart of our approach. We use stories to make our fundraising goals and the resulting impact vivid and relatable. We share stories of individuals or communities positively affected by our work.

You must build connection, trust, and loyalty for your brand in order for your fundraising efforts to be successful.

4. If you were talking to a one-person social media team at a nonprofit, where would you say is the best place to focus their time and energy?

Cubby: Developing content based on what your audience cares about, glazed with gratitude and sprinkle it with inspiring stories! As a one-person social media team at a nonprofit, it's essential to build deep and meaningful connections with your community and show them how much you value their involvement. The goal isn't a quick individual donation, it's cultivating a community with a lifetime of support. Start by getting to know what matters to your audience, and then look for creative ways where your organization's mission overlaps with what they care about. Your content should naturally reflect your supporters' interests and values.

Dedicate time to actively engage with your audience, consistently showing appreciation, and nurturing connections. There's no shortcut here; it's crucial that everyone interacting with your organization online feels genuinely seen and valued as a member of your community. In a digital landscape, humanizing your interactions with authenticity, attentiveness, and gratitude goes a long way towards building trust, loyalty and a lifetime of support

5. What's one big shift you made in your social strategy in the last 1-2 years that has really paid off?

Cubby: The important thing is to be listening to your community and leaning into experimenting with new and creative ways to tell stories and connect with your audience. One of the most recent examples that comes to mind was the first-ever interactive travel experience on Instagram that we created in partnership with Huxly in support of our end-of-year giving campaign last year. Although it's no longer live on our main account, you can still experience it on this demo account we created for The Shorty Awards. Simply send "Let's go" as a DM to @oneonone_cw on Instagram. No passport or goofy neck pillow required.

Thank you, Cubby Graham !

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Keep learning,

Brynne