How strong is your signal?

Every week, we offer up Three Things:
concise ideas, insights, and best practices to help your organization move more people to action.

Mon August 24, 2009

http://www.connectioncafe.com/posts/2009/august/update-nonprofits-power.html

Over at Connection Cafe, there is a great post about all of the non-profit messages the writer encoutered between Thursday at 5 PM and Sunday at 5 PM, so essentially the weekend. We often talk about how much advertising we see in any given day, but I had never thought about how much of it was for non-profit causes.

I’ll have to redo his test in my community, but I would bet that his findings are spot on. There is a ton of noise out there about non-profits. Organizations are competing for attention just as intensely as automakers, soda companies and any other product sold. With all of that competition, it is more important than ever that your have a strong signal that allows your message to break through.

There are a few ways to improve the strength of your signal:

1) Be loud: If you’re louder than everyone, people will hear you more. Although they might not be happy with how loud you’re being, which doesn’t help you in the long term. (Think spam, loud TV commercials and overly extravagent displays).

2) Find places to speak where there is less noise. Less noise means that your signal is easier to hear and understand. As long as these targets are people that are real prospects for your message (whether it’s donors, volunteers, activists or anything else), then this is an excellent way to limit competing messages.

2a) One great way to find a place with less noise is to really get permission to speak to your targets. If people really have asked you to keep them informed and you do so in a timely, relevant way, your signal will get through. While you may not eliminate all the noise, those who have given you permission have tuned to your frequency.

3) Increase your resonance. Does your message evoke a response? Your signal can cut through if it the message behind it is more powerful. Connect with your audience on an emotional level with a story that is meaningful. Those whose attention you capture early will help spread the message. So not only will your signal be amplified, but it will be multiplied by people sharing your story with their own audience.

There are certainly more ways, but these cover the basics. Either be loud (and potentially obnixious), find a more quiet space (and thus relatively louder), or pack more punch with every word. Regardless, realize that you are not the only one sending a signal, but you can work to ensure that your signal breaks through others’ noise.

How strong i

Over at Connection Cafe, there is a great post about all of the non-profit messages the writer encountered between Thursday at 5 PM and Sunday at 5 PM, so essentially the weekend. He was exposed to 250 messages fro 189 organizations in 72 hours. We often talk about how much advertising we see in any given day, but I had never thought about how much of it was for non-profit causes.

I’ll have to redo his test in my community, but I would bet that his findings are spot on. There is a ton of noise out there about non-profits. Organizations are competing for attention just as intensely as automakers, soda companies and any other product sold. With all of that competition, it is more important than ever that your have a strong signal that allows your message to break through.

There are a few ways to improve the strength of your signal:

1) Be loud: If you’re louder than everyone, people will hear you more. Although they might not be happy with how loud you’re being, which doesn’t help you in the long term. (Think spam, loud TV commercials and overly extravagant displays).

2) Find places to speak where there is less noise. Less noise means that your signal is easier to hear and understand. As long as these targets are people that are real prospects for your message (whether it’s donors, volunteers, activists or anything else), then this is an excellent way to limit competing messages.

2a) One great way to find a place with less noise is to honestly get permission to speak to your targets. If people really have asked you to keep them informed and you do so in a timely, relevant way, your signal will get through. While you may not eliminate all the noise, those who have given you permission have tuned to your frequency.

3) Increase your resonance. Does your message evoke a response? Your signal can cut through if it the message behind it is more powerful. Connect with your audience on an emotional level with a story that is meaningful. Those whose attention you capture early will help spread the message. So not only will your signal be amplified, but it will be multiplied by people sharing your story with their own audience.

There are certainly more ways, but these cover the basics. Either be loud (and potentially obnoxious), find a more quiet space (and thus relatively louder), or pack more punch with every word. Regardless, realize that you are not the only one sending a signal, but you can work to ensure that your signal breaks through others’ noise.