The Nonprofit Marketing Ripple Effect: How to Maximize Stories of Impact to Broaden Your Reach, Reinforce Your Message and Save a Bundle of Time and Effort!

It's a beautiful feeling: you hear a story about how your organization has impacted and changed the life of one of your clients.

Maybe it's a woman who has landed a job that will sustain her because of your good efforts. Or a child who was lagging behind in school but is now keeping up with peers because of a program you host. Perhaps it's a senior getting to his lifesaving medical appointments due to your volunteers.

What's even more tremendous is that this client would love to share his or her story with you to help you get the word out about your program and is happy to have you take a picture too.

This is the most powerful and important way to communicate the impact of your organization and should be the foundation of ALL your marketing efforts.  

And here’s why:

• It personalizes your message and your mission
• It shows impact
• It inspires interest
• It tells the story of your organization

But it shouldn’t be just a one-time feel good client story that you share with a few who might read the email you send out or annual report you distribute at the end of the year. It needs to be shared far and wide and on a regular basis, used as the stone that creates the marketing ripple effect.   

This storytelling strategy can strategically align your marketing efforts making all that you do and say consistent, identifiable and easier to manage.

The easier to manage piece comes by way of leverage – using this effective strategy to create a marketing ripple effect from your efforts.

Let’s map it out step-by-step so you can get this marketing ripple effect in motion for your organization and save yourself a bundle of valuable time and effort.

How to Put ‘The Nonprofit Marketing Ripple Effect’ to Work for Your Nonprofit:  

STEP ONE: Gather at least one client impact story (and picture) a month

• Either you or someone on your staff will need to have a conversation with the client, getting the story of their life. What circumstances caused them to need your services? What were you able to do for them? How did your organization help?
• Take extensive notes (you’ll need these later)
• Either take or obtain a picture of your client.
  • Your client might have a picture they already like and are willing to share.
  • If not, you can take a picture on your smartphone. Most phones will give you a resolution high enough that it will work in print or the virtual realm. It can be just a headshot of them, but to be even more effective, you should try to show how your nonprofit is helping, such as meeting with one of your volunteers or attending one of your programs.
  • Remember to get a photo release if necessary.

STEP TWO: Strategically craft the story of impact

• Start large – think of the most extended, most comprehensive version of the story that you are willing to write – it could be a letter to supporters, your e-communication or a media release. It should have the most details from your research.
  • You should also include something noting how this one story is part of a bigger impact you are having (“Melody is one of 322 women who has been helped by [name of organization] since it began in 2014.”)
  • Include a quote from the founder or head of the organization (which might be you) explaining why you started the nonprofit in the first place or noting how this story is an example of your mission.
  • Remember to include the picture of your client. 😊

STEP THREE: Create Marketing Ripples

• Now take that story and break it down into what you would need for different outreach channels and link it to your most important messages of the moment with a defined outreach plan (what and when).
  • Media Release for an upcoming event – note brief details from your story of impact with an invitation to attend the event to help people just like the client you’ve featured.
  • Donor letter – frame the donation request message with details about how it will help people just like the client you’ve featured noting how they have been served and the impact it’s made on their life.
  • E-communications – share the story of your client with their photo noting the impact on their lives with a full story link to your blog and a direct call to action (donate, volunteer, share with a friend)
  • Use the story to develop a list of questions you would ask your client on a Facebook live video or as part of a radio interview.
  • Take snippets or quote from your story and turn them into testimonials for your website.
  • Write a social media post for every channel you use (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) giving the highlight of the story and linking it to your blog. If you are worried about creating right-sized posts for all those channels, tools like Canva will automatically resize them for you.
  • Consider including this story in any advertising, rack card or brochure you are creating about your nonprofit’s programs.
  • Making a presentation to your board or at a large meeting? Remember to share your client's story as a way of demonstrating the real-life impact your nonprofit is having.

When you share the story of one person whose life is being positively affected by your organization on multiple channels, it ripples out further and reaches so many more people. It reinforces your nonprofits value to those who already are aware of your efforts; it introduces you to potential new donors and, perhaps more importantly, to other people who may need your services, but didn’t realize you exist.

All this can be done with one client impact story each month making the marketing process easier to develop and manage, all while making your marketing more consistent, appealing and effective and saving you time and effort. It’s a win-win for everyone!