Communicating in a Crisis: Thoughts from ESC

By Marjorie Bauer, Debra Yanofsky, Gabriele Loebbert, and Janice Dolnick Introduction We hope you are all healthy, safe and sound during this unprecedented time of social distancing and virtual service delivery. While marketing is about the last thing you want to think about during a crisis like COVID-19, the need to communicate to all your […]

Read More…


Is Twitter right for your organization?

Nonprofits have a variety of social media platforms at their disposal to aid them in advancing their mission and connecting with the community in which they serve. It is important, however, for nonprofits to pick and choose which platforms will work best for them and invest time and energy to develop strategies that will allow […]

Read More…


Combating Survey Fatigue

Surveys have been, historically, a great way to get information from a large group of people. However, as data driven decision making has grown in popularity, the number of surveys sent out to collect that data has skyrocketed, resulting in what has been termed “Survey Fatigue”. Survey Fatigue can result in lower response rates or […]

Read More…


Using Stories

Last month we found ways to collect narratives that tell your organization’s story and today we discuss the best ways to use them. Client stories, quotes, and testimonials are extremely important pieces of information that should be shared with anyone who supports your mission.  How, when, and where you use client stories can be just […]

Read More…


Collecting Stories

“The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story. This truth applies both to individuals and institutions.” – Michael Margolis Personal stories can be powerful tools for advocacy. They help encourage understanding, build bridges, and advance a cause.  Curated correctly, stories can be […]

Read More…


Solutions to the Top Three Nonprofit Marketing Challenges

Challenge: Services, not products. Without a physical object to hold or visualize, target audiences may not understand your organization’s purpose, no matter how strong the mission is. Solution: Tell your story. Storytelling connects your mission to your audience’s values. Your organization’s origin story, the story of someone your organization has helped or the story of a volunteer […]

Read More…


Nonprofit Marketing Tips: Selecting a Messaging Category

In marketing for nonprofits, the Messaging process consists of four key areas: Defining Your Target Audience, Selecting a Category, Creating Differentiation, and Constructing Reasons to Believe. The second phase, Selecting a Category, may seem like a simple task, but, according to ESC consultants Marjorie Bauer and Debra Yanofsky, there is a great deal of deliberation […]

Read More…


Nonprofit Marketing Tips: Define Your Target Audience

  In nonprofit marketing, it is essential for leaders to define the target audience they hope to reach and make aware of their organization. In their Messaging workshop, ESC Consultants Marjorie Bauer and Debra Yanofsky teach that targeting is the first step in a market positioning process, which consists of: 1.) Defining the target audience […]

Read More…


Top 10 Online Practices for Nonprofit Marketing

  If you are a nonprofit management professional, you know that social media and online presence is vital to the success of your organization’s marketing efforts today. Mike Byrnes, an ESC Consultant and active independent social media speaker and consultant, names ten key points for managing online content, websites and social media for nonprofits. 1.) […]

Read More…