[Dalya’s Note: This blog post was originally published 5/14/13 by Nancy Schwartz, Strategist-Speaker-Consultant GettingAttention.org. Nancy Schwartz (nancy at nancyschwartz.com) helps nonprofits succeed through effective marketing. For more guidance like this, subscribe to her e-update.]

The 4 Cornerstones of Your Nonprofit Message Platform

Creating engaging messages requires a minor (if any) financial investment and a moderate investment of time, and offers tremendous returns. I hear from so many of you who believe in the power of messages, but just don’t know where to start. In response to your requests, here’s an updated guide to crafting the four cornerstones of your organization’s messages—your message platform.

4 Must-Dos Before You Shape Your Message Platform

Take these four steps to ensure relevancy, the essence of messages that connect.

1. Build your message team of colleagues, leadership, volunteers and supporters. You’ll want their insights to shape your messages, their relationships to test them and access to their networks by training them as fantastic messengers down the line.
2. Clarify your top one to three marketing goals—how will you use marketing to reach your organizational goals, and the actions you want folks to take to get you there.
3. Identify who is most likely to act and/or has the greatest influence (your target audiences; no more than three groups).
4. Get to know what’s important to your audiences (wants, values and preferences) so you can articulate what’s in it for them and ensure no barriers stand in your way to engaging them, and learn how best to reach them.

The 4 Cornerstones of a Relevant Nonprofit Message Platform

Now you’re ready to draft, or refine, your organization’s messages.  These four components are the cornerstones of your organization’s message platform.

Be aware that although these elements are presented in a linear manner here, the message development process is cyclical. For example, what you learn in building out your key messages and related support points may highlight an element that needs to be incorporated into your positioning statement. Design your timeline, and roles and responsibilities, for this process with that in mind.

1. Tagline

Value

Extends your organization’s name to convey its unique impact or value with personality, passion and commitment, while delivering a memorable and repeatable message to your network.

Definition

Running no more than eight words, the tagline is your organization’s single most used message.

An effective tagline provides enough insight to generate interest and motivate your reader/listener to ask a question, without providing too much information so that she thinks she knows everything she needs to and doesn’t want to read more or continue the conversation.

How to Use

Exactly as written in print, online and verbal communications, including business cards and email signatures.

Examples

• Organization: Community Food & Justice Coalition
• Tagline: Food for People, Not for Profit

• Organization: Maryland SPCA
• Tagline: Feel the Warmth of a Cold Nose

2. Positioning Statement

Value

Connects your organization with those you want to engage by 1) linking it with what’s important to them; and 2) differentiating it from others competing for their attention, time and dollars.

Definition

A one to three sentence statement that positions your organization most effectively in the environment in which you work. It conveys the intersection of what your organization does well, what it does better and differently than any other organization (uniqueness), and what your network cares about.

Key components of your positioning statement are:

• What you do.
• For whom (whom do you serve).
• What’s different about the way you do your work.
• Impact you make (something tangible, like a stat, is compelling here, see example below).
• Unique benefit derived from your programs, services and/or products.

Most, importantly, this is not your mission statement. Your mission statement is internally oriented and serves as your organizational road map. Your positioning statement connects your mission with what’s vital to your network, so must be externally oriented.

How to Use

Exactly as written in all print and online communications (with the exception of the occasional narrowly-focused flyer or mini-site).

Examples

• The Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) builds grassroots campaigns to combat the unjust consequences of toxic pollution, discriminatory land use, and unsustainable energy policies. Through leader development, organizing and advocacy, EHC improves the health of children, families, neighborhoods and the natural environment in the San Diego/Tijuana region.
• The Rural Women’s Health Project (RWHP) designs and delivers health education training and materials to help rural women and their families strengthen their understanding of critical health and family issues. By blending innovative techniques with a collaborative approach, RWHP has built a record of success in improving the health and well-being of the communities they serve.

(See Part 2 of this article: HERE)