Driving Participation Podcast: What Is Working in Marketing & Fundraising | Nonprofits | Schools | Associations

What does content mean today? Jackie Lalley, co-founder of Yodelpop, joins this session to talk all things digital communications and content marketing. She and Beth explore the differences between keywords and core topics, and how they relate to the concepts of pillar pages and topic clusters. She explains how using blogs and tracking searches can help you better understand what language works and what doesn't. They talk about how to choose the right words for a topic cluster, why it's not all about traffic, and much more.

Janni Snider can always find something humorous in a situation. It's this sense of humor she brings to her role as Director of Creative Strategy for the United Methodist Communications that has led the organization to such campaigns as its HulaPalooza, which incorporated hula hooping to promote its global health initiative—and it's as fun as it sounds. She joins this session to explore the role of humor in engagement and how it can be successful for communications when used effectively, and much more.

There's been a lot of focus on millennials—whether it's about avocado toast or how best to attract them to the work your nonprofit does. But there's another generation Aria Finger wants you to keep in mind: Generation Z. Aria, CEO of DoSomething.org, joins this session to highlight Gen Z and the work her organization does to serve this increasingly engaged demographic. She and Beth explore how to encourage participation and action from this group of 13- to 25-year-olds in ways that appeal to their interests, whether it's politics or social justice; why it's dangerous to think of all young people as the same; and more.

Re-branding is a term that comes up a lot—but what does it really mean? Amanda Willard joins this session to share her experience with re-branding at Lincoln Park Zoo and why it's actually about what she calls change management. A re-brand done right resonates not just externally, but internally as well. She and Beth explore the difference between participation and engagement, how to know when a re-brand is completed successfully, and much more.

The face of fishing and other outdoor water sports has long been typically associated with that of a man. Rachel Piacenza and Kendra Lee from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation join this session to talk about Take Me Fishing, which is run by the Foundation, and its new marketing campaign that strives to put the focus on women in fishing. They share the research tactics they used to discover the typical audience for fishing isn't what it may seem, how they focused their campaign on a new demographic, and much more.

Amelia Kohm, founder of Data Viz for Nonprofits, joins this session to dig into data and visualization. How does data visualization make a difference? Is an infographic the same as data visualization? She explains how a simple chart or graph can tell a story and why some forms of visualization translate better than others. She and Beth explore how to know what type of data visualization to use to communicate the idea you're trying to share, how data can be better used to improve an organization, and more.

Trying new things can be scary—but often, the payoff is worth it. Jesse Lane of Pure Charity joins this session to explore ways nonprofits can be more innovative and how to create an environment that fosters creativity. He shares how at an organization he was a part of, they would set aside four hours every week just to brainstorm new ideas or work on implementing ones already in the pipeline. It created an environment for innovative ideas to be brought to the table in a new way and people were excited to share their suggestions. He and Beth explore why failure isn't always bad, how to get your donors involved in organizational changes, and much more.

Do you know the difference between marketing strategy and marketing tactics? Erin Dunkel of RPM Communications joins this week's session to share her view and how nonprofits can better organize their goals—and what they need to do to meet them. She shares the first three strategic steps people should take when it comes to their current marketing tactics, the data points marketers can follow when it comes to developing strategies and tasks, and much more.

If your employees aren't ambassadors for your organization, how do you expect others to be? Mia Freis Quinn, vice president of communication Plastic Industry Association, joins this session to explore how to empower employees to be the champions of your cause. She and Beth discuss the organization's new microsite, how to use analytics to find out the answers your constituents are really searching for, how shareable graphics can make a huge difference for both employees and the public, and much more.

When you're in charge of doing just about everything related to communications and marketing for your organization, it may be easy to feel overwhelmed—but not if you can figure out a way to make it work for you and the organization. Stephen Barker wears a lot of hats in his roles as director of marketing communications at Marillac St. Vincent Family Services and communications co-chair of YNPN Chicago. He joins in to share his advice on how to stay organized when your to-do list feels like it's overflowing as well as what a nonprofit marketer needs today to be able to do an effective job, and much more.