Once Upon A Time: Storytelling in Online Media

This post was authored by Andrew, and originally appeared on the TechSoup Canada Blog. TechSoup Canada is part of the TechSoup Global Network.

This week, TechSoup Canada was a proud participant in My Charity Connects, a conference about teaching charities about using online technology to improve their fundraising and marketing. Donnie Claudino (pictured), TechSoup Canada's Marketing Manager, brought a lesson about how to use storytelling in online media.

He began by sharing his own story: as an American, he found himself wanting to immigrate to Canada and used storytelling to land a job. He delivered his message in the form of a Web site and a video.

His strategy was simple: "I put myself out into the world," he said. The lesson: you can achieve goals by "showcasing the intimate stories of your organization."

Knowing your audience

Before starting, it's important to know who your audience is: are they visitors, volunteers, or prospective members? Similarly, you must determine what action you want these people to take: it can range from giving money or time to simply becoming engaged in a cause.

How can you learn about your audience? Simply ask them. This can be done through program evaluations, annual fundraising efforts, feedback surveys, or email and phone calls.

Donnie shared a more specific tip: "Nonprofits love the quantitative but do those really connect with people?" His suggestion: ask more qualitative questions.

Someone from the audience shared how they created an initiative dubbed "Thank You Thursday." Once a week, they find one person who has donated and calls them to thank them. In the process, a conversation is sparked and as a result, the organization learns things about their audience that couldn't be picked up simply through questionnaires.

Questions to ask yourself about your story

1. Is the story transformative? Does your story have "heart-fire?" Does it have emotional pull? Is it believable and honest?

2. Does it make you want to do something? Is the story inspirational and move you? More importantly, is there a clear course of action?

3. Can the story be repurposed? Where else can you tell this story?

Sharing some stories

As part of the talk, Donnie facilitated a discussion where audience members shared storytelling experiences within their organizations.

• Child abuse is something that a lot of people have difficulty talking about directly. To get around this problem, one group created a bracelet made up of different coloured beads; each one symbolizes a different part of child abuse and it collectively tells the story of recovery process.

• A young woman was in the process of being diagnosed for a dehabilitating condition and was talking with someone in a support organization about it. She asked them what their diagnosis experience was and the volunteer was able to share her story. As a result, the young person was able to know what to expect in terms of the future of her career, health, and relationship. "In a way, she was excited about the diagnosis because she knew there was someone
  to help."

• A young woman was interested in mechanics but was discouraged by her parents from taking up this career. She was able to connect with an education organization which set up an
  internship for her — she found empowerment, retrained in mechanics and now dedicates her time to going around schools sharing her story and empowering other women.

Sharing your story with the world

"A story has to live somewhere," and this is where online technologies come in, Donnie explained.

He shared a few examples of non-profits who've put this into practice. For instance, Oxfam ran a campaign about climate change. They used YouTube and Facebook to spread their message but there was always a pointer back to their home page.

A lot of people fear that linking out to other places will bleed visitors. This may be true if your objective is simply for visitors to press a button. But if you want to spread a message, you should aim to be everywhere your audience might be — this means that they might be on YouTube but not your Web site. "People are already talking about you in multiple places," said someone from the audience.

The best strategy is to have a connected and consistent message in as many places as possible but which ultimately drives visitors back to a site to take a specific action.

Some resources

• Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media
• YouTube Nonprofits
• Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact
• Every Baby Has a Story campaign

Photo: hyfen