Don Akchin

We haven’t written anything controversial so far this month, so why not. Marketing blogger Chuck English argues that independent schools are misguided when they push the advantages of a “21st Century Education” – that is, one that emphasizes skills and creative thinking over knowledge. Parents just want their kids to get into the right colleges and the right professions. This is not new. Back in the Stone Age, when I was pondering my college major, the choice was between “a liberal education”  and a trade – English or journalism. Unwisely, I chose journalism and was thereafter incapable of appreciating Deconstructionism. But it does suggest a familiar disconnect. Too often, what an organization’s program staff  is proudest of is not at all what attracts the customer – and the marketer’s task is to know the difference. Trying to educate the customer to what they “should” want is a recipe for disaster.

Network for Good’s Katya Andresen notes the importance of bringing your message to your target audience at that precise moment when their minds are open to receiving it. She cites a familiar example: the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s campaign to stencil storm drains with the words,”Do Not Dump – Chesapeake Bay Drainage.”

In a piece about how to tell the story of your brand, consultant Simon Mainwaring made an observation that really struck me:   Like most marketers today, many non-profits still tell their story in a way that positions themselves as the focus or destination. Instead, every brand must shift from being the celebrity of their community to being its chief celebrant. That means the brand and its story exist to celebrate the success of its donors, field workers or community at large, and in so doing, inspires further fundraising and volunteer efforts on the basis of shared values and a sense of community. (emphasis added)   This observation, it seems to me, captures the essence of why social marketing differs from past marketing approaches. The old approach – we talk, you listen – no longer works when people are unwilling to listen. Customers, constituents and clients have learned that they hold the Power of the

You have about 10 seconds to make a good impression on your website. Does your content satisfy the expectations of your readers? Nonprofit communications consultant and blogger Kivi Leroux Miller suggests the right content for three different audiences: strangers, friends and your most devoted fans.

To all my procrastinating friends and readers: You can stop kicking yourself about missing my wonderful workshop last week on “Making Your Messages Matter to Multiple Audiences.”  In response to icy conditions, the workshop is opening two weeks late. So yes! you have a second chance! The rescheduled workshop is now happening (weather permitting) Tuesday, February 15, 9 a.m. to noon, at the Baltimore office of Maryland Nonprofits, 190 West Ostend Street, Suite 201. Registration fee is $50 for Maryland Nonprofit members, $100 for non-members.  Do sign up on the Maryland Nonprofits website, or call them at 410-727-6367.

Research is a beautiful thing. Whenever frustrated marketers begin to wonder just who is really out there to talk to (or at), they can rest easy knowing that somewhere in America, a think tank is already at work on the answer. This month we have a bumper crop of useful (and free) studies: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project reveals the startling finding that internet users are more likely than others to be active a voluntary group or organization, and social media users are even more likely. The report also notes that certain key internet activities – including donating – are being accepted more uniformly across all age groups. There’s also data on what role the internet played in achieving organizational goals. A Harris Interactive poll on Americans’ charitable giving habits and plans found nearly half (48%) make a small contribution of time or money to organizations and causes

Image via Wikipedia Yes, it’s tempting, when the budget is tight (as it always is), to try to send out one communications piece to all your audiences. Something for everyone, eh? Just like a newspaper – and you see how well that idea is working! The problem is, when you send out a newsletter with some content for donors, some for volunteers, some for people you serve, each reader gets a newsletter in which two-thirds of the content is irrelevant. These days, fortunately, talk is cheap – especially online. There’s no excuse not to send each of your audiences a targeted message that is 100% relevant to them. What’s more, you can do it without speaking with forked tongue. I’ll be leading a workshop on “Making Your Messages Matter To Your Different Audiences” for Maryland Nonprofits on Tuesday, February 1, 9 a.m. to noon. Do sign up.

A study confirms what many of us knew and even more of us hoped: rumors of Twitter’s inevitability have been highly exaggerated. Edison Research and Arbitron found that while 87% of Americans are aware of Twitter, only 7% use it. (Facebook usage, by comparison, is 41%.) My friendTom Austin at NeighborWorks America offers this comment: Hi Don – Interesting items, but I have a different take about “The Truth About Twitter.” Though Twitter use is relatively low against entire U.S. population, my sense is that any nat’l nonprofit that doesn’t have a Twitter strategy is losing out on a lot of opportunities to push out content with the influencers who use the channel. And any nonprofit that isn’t watching tweets about their organization or related topics is really missing out. My two cents.

The 2010 Fenton Forecast surveyed 1,000 donors and found them positive about nonprofits but less sanguine about giving to them this year. Two-thirds plan to give the same amount or less, with the Baby Boom generation distinctive as the gloomiest group of all. One bright spot: The only age cohort planning to donate more is the 18-to-34-year-olds. All the more reason to crank up the social media that reach them best.

My awesome friend and communications guru Denise Graveline turns an exciting Springsteen concert into a wise, witty meditation on lessons The Boss can teach you about engaging your audience. Photo: Jon Iraundegi

Craig Newmark, otherwise known as the Craig in Craigslist, coined the phrase “Trust is the new black.” In other words, it’s basic and essential, and if your supporters don’t trust you, you’re sunk. A commentator at The Agitator suggests one way to earn trust is to keep it simple. Photo: LKG Photography

A report last week from the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that larger percentages of bifocal-wearing Ancient Americans (a.k.a. Baby Boomers and their parents) are using the Internet than ever before. Although the Millennial Generation (ages 18 to 32) and their younger sibs dominate the world of online videos, blogs and social networking, the older generations are more likely to buy something online or use online banking. Email use is high across all generations. Read the full report.(Photo Credit: Marjan Hols)

While the rest of the party, lightly coated in sunscreen, were being sauteed on the beach, I went into town to find the bookstore. A pleasant 30 minutes later I emerged with two semi-literary picks, wrapped in a brown paper bag that, in just three words, captures my ideals for summer idylls: EAT.SLEEP.READ. The slogan is from IndieBound, an organization of independent booksellers that “rallies passionate readers around a celebration of independent bookstores and independent thinking.” Definitely my kind of people. And they definitely know their audience!

While the rest of the party, lightly coated in sunscreen, were being sauteed on the beach, I went into town to find the bookstore. A pleasant 30 minutes later I emerged with two semi-literary picks, wrapped in a brown paper bag that, in just three words, captures my ideals for summer idylls: EAT.SLEEP.READ. The slogan is from IndieBound, an organization of independent booksellers that “rallies passionate readers around a celebration of independent bookstores and independent thinking.” Definitely my kind of people. And they definitely know their audience!

While the rest of the party, lightly coated in sunscreen, were being sauteed on the beach, I went into town to find the bookstore. A pleasant 30 minutes later I emerged with two semi-literary picks, wrapped in a brown paper bag that, in just three words, captures my ideals for summer idylls: EAT.SLEEP.READ. The slogan is from IndieBound, an organization of independent booksellers that “rallies passionate readers around a celebration of independent bookstores and independent thinking.” Definitely my kind of people. And they definitely know their audience!

I am not a prime candidate for a symphony subscription. I much prefer rock to Rachmaninov. However, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (and my persistent wife) is working hard to change my mind. On the BSO site, in a section called “Musicians’ Corner,” several of the players conduct video interviews with guest soloists, in which I have learned that even people who dress up as starched penguins for a living can be interesting people. They even explain something about the music they will soon perform that gives me some perspective and helps me appreciate it more when I hear the performance. I also learn that one of the violinists is an avid biker and listens to Alison Krause, and the concertmaster is also a farmer. This sort of insight really changes my attitude when I sit back in the Upper Nosebleed Right and listen to the orchestra. I feel more connected

I am not a prime candidate for a symphony subscription. I much prefer rock to Rachmaninov. However, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (and my persistent wife) is working hard to change my mind. On the BSO site, in a section called “Musicians’ Corner,” several of the players conduct video interviews with guest soloists, in which I have learned that even people who dress up as starched penguins for a living can be interesting people. They even explain something about the music they will soon perform that gives me some perspective and helps me appreciate it more when I hear the performance. I also learn that one of the violinists is an avid biker and listens to Alison Krause, and the concertmaster is also a farmer. This sort of insight really changes my attitude when I sit back in the Upper Nosebleed Right and listen to the orchestra. I feel more connected

I am not a prime candidate for a symphony subscription. I much prefer rock to Rachmaninov. However, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (and my persistent wife) is working hard to change my mind. On the BSO site, in a section called “Musicians’ Corner,” several of the players conduct video interviews with guest soloists, in which I have learned that even people who dress up as starched penguins for a living can be interesting people. They even explain something about the music they will soon perform that gives me some perspective and helps me appreciate it more when I hear the performance. I also learn that one of the violinists is an avid biker and listens to Alison Krause, and the concertmaster is also a farmer. This sort of insight really changes my attitude when I sit back in the Upper Nosebleed Right and listen to the orchestra. I feel more connected

X University gave you a wonderful education and countless opportunities – now it is your opportunity to give back. It’s certainly direct to the point of being in my face, but that’s not my problem. My problem is, IT’S NOT TRUE! X University hasn’t done anything for me. I am not an alumnus. Perhaps X University is thinking of the breakfast seminar I attended on their campus several months ago, for which I paid $35.00. Perhaps in the world of university advancement, this event comprises “a wonderful education and countless opportunities.” Personally I think that sets the bar a bit low. My reason for citing this example of junk mail is to show how mailing list decisions can have unintended and potentially embarrassing consequences. This instance is not a big slipup; I’m a little annoyed, but it won’t poison my non-relationship with X University, or even prevent one from starting

X University gave you a wonderful education and countless opportunities – now it is your opportunity to give back. It’s certainly direct to the point of being in my face, but that’s not my problem. My problem is, IT’S NOT TRUE! X University hasn’t done anything for me. I am not an alumnus. Perhaps X University is thinking of the breakfast seminar I attended on their campus several months ago, for which I paid $35.00. Perhaps in the world of university advancement, this event comprises “a wonderful education and countless opportunities.” Personally I think that sets the bar a bit low. My reason for citing this example of junk mail is to show how mailing list decisions can have unintended and potentially embarrassing consequences. This instance is not a big slipup; I’m a little annoyed, but it won’t poison my non-relationship with X University, or even prevent one from starting

X University gave you a wonderful education and countless opportunities – now it is your opportunity to give back. It’s certainly direct to the point of being in my face, but that’s not my problem. My problem is, IT’S NOT TRUE! X University hasn’t done anything for me. I am not an alumnus. Perhaps X University is thinking of the breakfast seminar I attended on their campus several months ago, for which I paid $35.00. Perhaps in the world of university advancement, this event comprises “a wonderful education and countless opportunities.” Personally I think that sets the bar a bit low. My reason for citing this example of junk mail is to show how mailing list decisions can have unintended and potentially embarrassing consequences. This instance is not a big slipup; I’m a little annoyed, but it won’t poison my non-relationship with X University, or even prevent one from starting

X University gave you a wonderful education and countless opportunities – now it is your opportunity to give back. It’s certainly direct to the point of being in my face, but that’s not my problem. My problem is, IT’S NOT TRUE! X University hasn’t done anything for me. I am not an alumnus. Perhaps X University is thinking of the breakfast seminar I attended on their campus several months ago, for which I paid $35.00. Perhaps in the world of university advancement, this event comprises “a wonderful education and countless opportunities.” Personally I think that sets the bar a bit low. My reason for citing this example of junk mail is to show how mailing list decisions can have unintended and potentially embarrassing consequences. This instance is not a big slipup; I’m a little annoyed, but it won’t poison my non-relationship with X University, or even prevent one from starting

X University gave you a wonderful education and countless opportunities – now it is your opportunity to give back. It’s certainly direct to the point of being in my face, but that’s not my problem. My problem is, IT’S NOT TRUE! X University hasn’t done anything for me. I am not an alumnus. Perhaps X University is thinking of the breakfast seminar I attended on their campus several months ago, for which I paid $35.00. Perhaps in the world of university advancement, this event comprises “a wonderful education and countless opportunities.” Personally I think that sets the bar a bit low. My reason for citing this example of junk mail is to show how mailing list decisions can have unintended and potentially embarrassing consequences. This instance is not a big slipup; I’m a little annoyed, but it won’t poison my non-relationship with X University, or even prevent one from starting

A new report from The Digital Future Project of the Annenberg School at USC has provocative findings about the media habits and behaviors of our target audiences. Just one example: participation in online communities leads to social action.

A new report from The Digital Future Project of the Annenberg School at USC has provocative findings about the media habits and behaviors of our target audiences. Just one example: participation in online communities leads to social action.