What would McDonald’s be without the golden arches or the rock band KISS without the face paint? Every brand that has an impactful presence does so through a unified visual and content tone.
While operating an Australian Not-for-Profit certainly differs from playing drums in one of the greatest rock bands of all time, some similarities can empower your organisation.
Here are some basic steps to taking your current brand identity and leveling it up so you resonate more with the target donors, investors, volunteers, and clients you wish to attract.
What is NFP Branding?
We need to do a refresher course. NFP branding is how you communicate what you are and how you work with the people you wish to engage with. It is positioning your nonprofit, so the mission and goals are clearly understood compared to others in your niche or market.
A great example of branding is Apple. Love them or hate them, there is no denying you know what company is being discussed when you see the schoolhouse apple with a bite taken out of its logo. There is an immediate emotional and intellectual reaction to that branding. That is why you see droves of tech enthusiasts still lining up to get the latest and greatest new iPhone or iPad whenever they’re announced.
In much simpler terms, your NFP brand includes a “template” you’ll use to convey your messaging. That may be items like:
- Brand Name
- Logo
- Tagline or Slogan
- Brand Colours
- Typography
- Brand Voice & Tone
- Mission Statement
- Core Values
- Brand Story
- Target Audience
- Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- Brand Personality & Messaging
The goal is to maintain the look and feel of your company, so it inspires the same response from your target audience regardless of social media account, website, and interaction.
3 Powerful NFP Branding Strategies
Alright, you’ve got the basics back down. Now, we need to consider how you will convey your message. You should already have an idea of your brand identity and the platforms you’ll be leveraging to reach the people you want. Once that is decided, refine your strategies using the following.
#1 – Explore your NFP’s target audiences
You cannot know where you’re going without a destination in mind. The same is true for your brand. It’s challenging to know how to reach your audience if you don’t know who your audience is in the first place.
You need to narrow down the audience you wish to work with and segment them into different categories. A marketing campaign for an upcoming fundraising gala should target an audience of potential donors, not the previous clients looking for follow-up support.
Focus on demographics like age, background, geographic area, and needs. Answer questions about how you serve based on your NFP’s mission and then generate 3-4 audience types who would benefit the most from:
- Receiving your services
- Volunteering with your team
- Donating to your cause
- Partnering with your efforts.
#2 – Create a living doc of your NFP brand guidelines
The next strategy is all about maintaining a unified brand presence. Whenever you have more than a single person communicating with the “outside world,” the same tone, personality, and visual representations need to be in place.
The best way to ensure your brand always has the same look and feel is by crafting a document that includes the basics of your identity (logo, colour, typography, etc.), as well as:
- The story of where you came from and the value you bring to the community
- Impact statements of how you are making a difference
- Mission statement that clearly conveys your purpose
- Colours, fonts, logos (for different platforms), and common graphics
Once created, share this document with everyone in your organisation so there is no mistake about what is “on-brand” and what is not.
#3 – Build an NFP media kit
Common advice would be to build a brand kit that tells team members how to use your company across different communication channels. We’re going to go a bit differently and focus on a media kit.
At some point, your NFP will engage with the media. They will want to know the fundamental essentials of your organisation so when they’re reporting or passing through information, it is all accurate.
You can build a media kit by including items like:
- Your NFP’s overview
- Mission and vision statements
- Key programs and initiatives
- Impact statements and success stories
- Leadership roles and bios
- Fact sheets
- High-resolution logos and branding
- Contact information
When you have a news outlet share information from your NFP, the branding becomes less delicate. It is almost as if your brand identity is more solid because it has been “approved” by a third party with a much larger audience.
How to Promote Your NFP Branding Strategies
Alright, we’ve built some new statistics. Now, where the heck do you start promoting your branding?
Cultivating positive brand awareness takes time, effort, and a lot of trial and error. The bad news is you must have a lot of patience. The good news is more brand awareness improves pretty much every other marketing or engagement effort you have running in your NFP.
Some of the easiest ways to start sharing your brand include:
- Use clean SEO tactics to build your SERP (search engine results page). This could be keyword integration, more backlinks, or creating a blog you consistently post on at least once per week.
- Adjust your brand awareness approach based on the feedback you gain from supporters, stakeholders, and volunteers. Find out what works and what doesn’t through analytics and running PPC (pay-per-click) advertising.
- Engage in two-way conversations where you socialise with supporters outside marketing campaigns or donor requests. The best way to do this is through social media platforms so you can respond and have fun with authentic conversations.
- Make sure you have plenty of donor touchpoints to boost your brand’s memory recall more than through promotional emails. You want donors to develop a close relationship with your brand – and one that feels rewarding instead of like you’re bugging them too often.
Remember to maintain your identity and personality, no matter what strategy you leverage to build brand awareness. People have a knack for telling when something feels too rehearsed or robotic. We are social creatures, and authenticity goes a long way in solidifying your NFP’s branding.
Final Thoughts
Understanding the details of NFP branding is challenging and will take engaging with your team, stakeholders, donors, and volunteers. Get some feedback on your goals and how you want to achieve them. You may be pleasantly surprised at how powerful your brand already is and may only need a few tweaks here and there to really impact your community.
Whatever brand identity you have, our professional team at Web 105 can help. We ensure your branding is visible online by designing and developing mobile responsive, easily navigable websites perfect for receiving donations, engaging clients, and telling your unique story.
Contact us today, and let’s set up a consultation so we can take your Australian NFP, government agency, healthcare clinic, or any other organisation to reach your perfect audience.
FAQs
How do nonprofit organisations do their branding?
Most will develop a “brand kit” that includes the colours, signage, logos, mission/vision statements, impacts, and any other information that needs to remain unified across all customer touchpoints and platforms.
What nonprofit companies have the best branding?
There are many examples out there, such as Goodwill and the Australian Red Cross. You should look at CARE Australia and ChildFund Australia for some good insights.
What are the 4 levels of brand awareness?
There are many theories and philosophies of brand awareness. The four levels are known as recognition, recall, top of mind, and preference. They help you build an effective marketing strategy to resonate with your target audience.