The ultimate guide to implementing an effective communications strategy for your association
Contrary to popular belief, communication is just as important in an association as it is in a business. Putting in place a communications strategy is essential, not only to publicise your association to the general public, but also to find funding.
And there's no shortage of ways of doing this: posters, e-mailing, trade fairs, press relations, flyers, social networks... today you have a wide choice of media and non-media channels for communicating about your charity project.
With this wide range of communication media, it's normal to feel overwhelmed. That's why Appvizer can help you set up and monitor your communications strategy in 10 simple steps.
1 - Take stock of your organisation
Before thinking about building your communications plan, it's essential to know who you are, what you do and where you're going. In a way, you need to write your association's "identity card", in other words, simply define its vision, mission, values and personality.
He who does not know where he comes from cannot know where he is going
Otto von Bismarck
👉 To do this, ask yourself the right questions:
- What are my association's objectives?
- What is its history?
- What are its strengths and weaknesses?
- How does my association differ from other organisations with similar activities?
- What is the profile of our current audience and how is our membership changing?
Now that the identity of your organisation has been established, it's time to take stock of your current communications:
- How do you communicate today?
- Have your previous communication initiatives been effective? If not, why not?
- What tools do you currently use? Are they sufficient and/or effective?
- Is your visual identity in line with your vision and objectives?
💡 The answers to these questions must be clearly defined and shared with all the people who contribute to the association's project.
2 - Set your communication objectives
You now need to define the strategic objectives of your communications strategy. This will enable you to know what vision to base your future communication actions on.
There are 3 types of strategic objective:
- Cognitive objective: "to make known": you are looking for greater awareness,
- Affective objective: "make people like you": you want to build a favourable image or improve it with your current audience,
- Conative objective: "make people act": you want to provoke an action (donation, membership, etc.).
The most common objectives of an association's communication campaign are :
- To recruit new members,
- Retaining volunteers,
- publicising a new activity
- Finding sponsors, etc.
💡Please note: focus on a maximum of 2 objectives to avoid getting lost and get the message across as clearly as possible.
3 - Identify the targets you want to reach
For your communication campaigns to be as effective as possible, they need to be tailored to the audience who are going to receive them. To do this, you need to refine and regularly update your knowledge of your marketing personas.
In communication, there are 3 types of target:
- Primary targets: these are all the individuals directly concerned by the message conveyed;
- The core target: this is a sub-segment of the main target. A more precise criterion is added (age group, location, etc.);
- Secondary targets: these are the "relay targets" that are essential to the proper circulation of your message (press, opinion leaders, partners, etc.).
👉 These 3 levels of targeting will enable you to prioritise your targets and therefore your communication actions. Some are more important than others for the success of your charity project.
4 - Determine the message you want to convey
You don't address everyone in the same way. Your way of expressing yourself and your words will not be the same if you're talking to your boss or your best friend!
That's why the message you convey is essential. It will depend on your strategic objectives and the target you want to reach. It must be clear and adopt an appropriate tone. It can be :
- institutional
- offbeat
- touching, etc.
👉 Example: after taking stock of my association, it turns out that we're short of volunteers and that our members don't have a very good image of the organisation. My objectives are therefore conative and affective. Here are the messages I want to convey:
- "Thanks to our association, you will benefit from [ideal targeted by the target, which the association can help to achieve]...".
- "Our association works for [ideal targeted by the association] and helps [mission of the association]...". This can be expressed in the form of a testimonial, for example.
5 - Choose the right communication media
As you will have realised, you need to adapt your communication channels to your target audience. The members of a book club for senior citizens will not be receptive to communication on TikTok or Instagram!
So it's crucial to find the right points of contact between your association and its target audience.
Physical communication media
- Trade shows, fairs and other events : nothing beats direct contact where you can present your association and its activities. This type of meeting enables you to reach your target audience very effectively in a suitable environment.
- Partnerships: this could be between your charity and a company, or a cultural or sporting event. For example, a handball charity could organise a sporting event in partnership with the regional handball club.
- Distributing flyers in public spaces: who hasn't been approached by someone in a shopping street to pick up a flyer or sign a petition? Admittedly, this is a controversial technique, but it can work well for an association wishing to promote an upcoming event.
Media communication tools
While a genuine advertising campaign using television, radio and billboards is rarely within the reach of associations, given the high financial costs involved, there are other more easily accessible levers, in particular:
- Local television channels: less expensive and more accessible, they allow you to focus on your action in the context of an advertising insert.
- Local or regional press: think of your local authority's magazine, for example, which is more accessible than national magazines.
- Posters : small ads in schools or bakeries are free. Put up flyers all over the area you're interested in.
Online communication media
- Your association's website: a well-constructed, visually appealing website is a real guarantee of credibility with your target audience. You can add photos of your volunteers and members (with their agreement, of course) and/or of the various events in which you have taken part to illustrate your commitment. Encourage potential members to provide their contact details via newsletter sign-up forms or download landing pages.
- Emailing: once you've obtained the email addresses of your potential members, use emailing to encourage them to join your cause and build up their loyalty. Let them know about your daily activities, the events you are taking part in, new members, etc.
- Social networks: social networks are one of the most effective and least expensive communication tools on this list. In addition to the fact that you can target the audience you want thanks to their great diversity (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.), they allow you to create a real bond with your members.
- Advertising on search engines SEO/SEA: natural referencing and paid referencing are excellent ways of getting your website visible in Google search results.
💡 And above all, remember: ONE medium delivers ONE message to ONE target.
6 - Build your visual identity
Visual identity is the graphic representation of your association. To begin with, define your organisation's graphic charter. This consists of :
- your association's flagship colours
- the shapes that will enable it to be identified quickly.
👉 Your logo, the design of your website and all your communications media, whether physical or digital, will be based on this graphic charter. This may include :
- your business cards
- your newsletters
- brochures and flyers, etc.
💡 A graphic charter must be consistent with your communication media and in line with your association's values and principles.
7 - Plan your communication calendar
Setting up a communications calendar is essential. Depending on the media you are going to use, drawing up a retro-planning schedule can be very useful. Build it around :
- your internal deadlines
- external events related to your business
- the key dates in your community's social life,
- the human resources at your disposal (employees, volunteers, members, etc.).
💡 Indeed, deadlines and planning are often underestimated. Define a roadmap so you don't get lost and so you can guide the members of your association effectively.
You can also draw up specifications to :
- better organise the creation and monitoring of your communications materials: layout, format, purchase of images, etc,
- work on your distribution plan: number of copies, referencing of places where you'll be passing by, etc.
8 - Define your budget and resources
And yes, now we come to the least fun stage of your strategy, but an extremely important one: defining your communications budget. You need to plan for all the costs involved, from creating your content to distributing it.
This also includes the budget allocated to the various service providers:
- graphic designers
- developers
- webmasters
- community managers, etc.
💡 If your budget is too tight, you can rely on the least expensive communication media (social networks, emailing and newsletters) and create your own content using free specialist tools (see a little further down in the article).
9 - Identify your association's spokespeople
Also known as "resource people", the spokespeople for your communication are influential people who share your communication around them to guarantee you greater visibility.
They can help you get your message across by :
- distributing your communication materials, for example,
- or relaying your messages on social networks.
10 - Evaluate and adjust your communication actions
It's important to give yourself enough time and resources to analyse your communications activities. To do this, the use of statistical tools and marketing KPIs is essential.
👉 These will enable you to :
- measure the performance of your email campaigns,
- assess the impact of your actions on the number of members and/or volunteers,
- measure the performance of your external events,
- track the progress of your donations, etc.
💡 Analysing these results will enable you to readjust your actions if necessary, better manage your activity and make informed decisions based on figures.
[Bonus] 2 key tips for optimising your charity's communications
Know your environment
As well as knowing your organisation's vision, mission, objectives and values, it's even more important to know your environment. To do this, ask yourself the following questions:
- Who are my counterparts?
- Who are my competitors and what are their competitive advantages?
- What is your market like?
- What are its threats and opportunities?
💡 You can carry out strategic and competitive intelligence to keep abreast of your competitors' activities and changes in the environment.
Equip yourself with the right software
There is free, easy-to-use association management software to help you manage your organisation. Equipping yourself with software for associations means you can avoid getting lost in the maze of administrative procedures and concentrate fully on your communication strategy.
These tools offer a number of advantages:
- Reliable accounting entries and documents,
- Easy updating of membership files,
- Automatic updating of the membership database for each membership form validated,
- Management of subscription payments: subscription reminders, direct online payment, etc.
- Monitoring reservations or places still available for events, sporting or cultural events, etc.
HelloAsso, for example, is an association management solution made in France that is 100% free (with no commission or bank charges) and ultra-easy to use, helping you to manage your association efficiently and centrally. The software makes it easy to manage your association and helps you set up your association communications strategy:
- create your website directly from the platform
- organise events and create customised forms using customisable templates,
- managing memberships and collecting donations,
- launching and monitoring crowdfunding campaigns, and much more!
HelloAsso
Association communication in a nutshell
As you will have realised, communication in a non-profit organisation is just as important as it is in a business. Implementing an optimal communication strategy will enable you to collect more donations, increase your membership and improve your public image.
The most important thing to remember is that each of your targets should have a single message and a single objective so that you don't get lost. It's better to keep your communications simple, targeted and effective than to try to go too fast and miss your target audience.
Article translated from French