Importance of Effective Non profit branding and 4 of the Top Brand Strategies
“A brand is a voice and a product is a souvenir.”
- Lisa Gansky
“Who are you?”
“What is it that you do?”
“ What is your mission?”
These are the questions that your community would want to know when you start an organization, be it nonprofit or for-profit. And this is when branding for your non profit comes to the rescue.
You’ve probably seen the logo of Feeding America, right? The logo says it all, quite literally. According to their website, their mission is to “advance change in America by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for all in partnership with food banks, policymakers, supporters, and the communities we serve” and their official logo reads “Feeding America”. Now, that’s branding at its finest.
Branding is kind of like dating: to find the right relationship, you need to put yourself out there. You need to tell your potential partner or client who you are, what you do, and why you do what you do.
In this article, let’s dive into the importance of nonprofit branding, how to increase brand awareness, and some of the top strategies to do just that.
What is branding for a nonprofit?
For a nonprofit organization, success depends (not entirely but for the most part of it) on donations and contributions. And to get donors and supporters, a nonprofit needs to tell its story through branding.
You need to be able to communicate with people by creating the right visuals. For instance, your logo should be able to tell people your story and it should be recognizable enough to leave an impression on those who see it. It has to be appealing and informative.
If we take a look at the Red Cross logo, it directly tells us that it has to do first aid or something along the lines of medical help.
You need to create a brand identity by choosing the right name, creating the right logo, and using the right colors.
Why is non profit branding important?
In every good relationship, communication is most important, be it directly or indirectly. And for a nonprofit, in order to attract the audience, have a wider reach, and maintain relationships with donors, it is important to convey a message clearly by telling a story through branding.
A strong brand helps you instill trust and loyalty into the minds of your target audience, which will further help in the success of your organization. It will help bring in more donors, financial support, volunteers, trustful board members, and build useful partnerships.
For those who’ve got managerial skills, an aptitude for planning, a passion for public speaking, if you believe in building relationships, leading people, managing time, crunching nos. – you can top all of these qualities with a Master’s Degree in Community Management and get hired.
How do nonprofits increase brand awareness?
Nonprofits increase brand awareness by strategizing. You have to adopt the right strategy and have a concrete plan of action.
Here are 4 effective non profit branding strategies you could use to attract more people and maintain strong relationships with them:
Design your visual identity
While creating a logo, you need to keep in mind that it is your meticulous attention to the detail you give that will tell your audience your story. You have to consider every little detail, from font size to font color, the background color to the tone of voice.
For example, The Water Trust’s logo uses various shades of blue – the color of water, and has a creative droplet shape made by the letters A and U. The message logo represents couldn’t be more clear-cut and comprehensible.
Choosing the right logo will help in telling the audience who you are and what you do.
Stand out from the crowd
As there are many nonprofit organizations, donors and foundations have tons of options when it comes to who they would like to help. To be among the nonprofits they select to aid, you need to think outside of the box and do something that others won’t typically do. You could emphasize how the approaches you follow, have helped you in making the community a better place. You might want to show how your goals differ from others who have the same cause as you do.
Have social media presence
The power of social media has helped many organizations reach more audiences. Ever seen those viral heart-touching videos of animals being rescued by nonprofit organizations who help animals? What better way is there to tell people about what you do and steal their hearts at the same time.
Social media platforms, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter are where you need to make your online presence known. They are the perfect platforms where you can share almost everything and anything about your organization. Just ensure that you have a diligent social media team that knows exactly how the world of online platforms works. Share pictures and videos of what you do by showing various events, activities, and awareness campaigns you organize.
Come up with a strong brand messaging
In this global village, ideas and goals have become oversaturated. So, you need to be able to tell people who you are and what you do as fast and as briefly as possible. You need to come up with a short and catchy yet informative tagline and elevator pitch. You can add this brand messaging across your marketing materials, be it pamphlets or promotional emails.
There you have it, folks.
We hope this article helps your organization in attracting more audiences and in the overall success of your mission.
“If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.”
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- David Brier
