| How do I come up with ideas for website and social media content? | Tell the same story. Create a story pattern for your organization. Then follow it every time you create a post to make your voice consistent, memorable, and influential. |
What should my organization say?
This is a question that stumps so many organizations. You know you’re supposed to post on social media. You know you’re supposed to put articles on your website. And you know you can’t wait for a crisis to try to build an audience. But what the heck should you talk about?
Whether you’ve been on the job ten years or ten days, it can feel hard to come up with stories as often and as quickly as you’d like. The empty page stares at you. The cursor blinks. You try to think of some news to share or something to say about your mission. You hammer at it until a story takes shape, sometimes drawing on help from three or four others.
Every post is a new post, every story a new story: this is the hard way to approach nonprofit storytelling.
If you always start from scratch, you’ll inevitably run out of time and energy. You need to follow a pattern so you can focus on what really matters: the story itself and what you are trying to say.
Good news: your nonprofit only needs one good story! You don’t need to come up with new characters, locations, goals, and stakes every single time you open your mouth. Communications just got so much easier.
You can create one story and use it like a pattern. We do this all the time in other fields:
Patterns are able to make hard tasks easier. Figuring out how to make the sweater or create that perfect dish takes time, expertise, and a dash of inspiration. Once you’ve nailed the design, there’s no need to retrace your steps. All you need to do now is replicate your own pattern.
Every nonprofit story you tell should show your theory of change in action. When you use the same story pattern over and over, you show people the world as you see it. You communicate information and a view of the world that sticks.
Your unique story pattern helps your audience by doing these things:
The elements of a story are the same for everyone, but how you define them is unique to you. No organization has the same pattern.
This might be something you can do on your own, or you may need to workshop it with others in your organization. Decide now.
Grab the Story Elements worksheet from the Organizer #88. If you want a little more practice playing around with stories, grab the Story Spine template too.
You’re ready to define the types of characters, locations, goals, and stakes that are relevant to your organization. Brainstorm answers to these questions, then narrow your answers down to the most important ones.
It’s okay to keep a few options on the list, especially in the beginning, but highlight the one response you want to try first.
You may also find it helpful to keep a list of “wrong” answers, as reminders about what does not fit with your brand or your theory of change.
Once you’ve identified the types of elements that fit your organization’s mission and brand, you are ready to pop those types of characters, settings, goals, and stakes into the Story Elements worksheet.
Now it’s time for your nonprofit to build a story and test your pattern.
Decide what you will talk about (hint: most stories are inspired by a hero, a villain, or an opportunity to achieve your goal). Think of a written post or the visual elements that tell that story.
There’s no need to polish this, just talk through a few different options. Try mixing and matching your story pattern elements until you can easily come up with five good post ideas without a break.
Refine your pattern as many times as you need, until the formula works.
Facts are the foundation of a credible nonprofit story. You may need information from other members of your team to round out your stories. For example, you might need someone else to clarify your organization’s main goal, the purpose of a policy campaign, or describe what your volunteers do.
Armed with your story pattern, you can easily figure out what information is missing and ask for help. You also make it easier for folks who don’t specialize in communications to find ways to help.
At first, your story pattern should guide everything you do. Stick to it and keep tweaking it until it the formula feels second nature. Before long, you’ll be able to come up with story ideas fast and tell consistent, truthful, on-brand stories.
The story pattern makes your work easier, but it also makes your efforts much more powerful. The truth is, people don’t see everything you say. They don’t understand everything you say. And they don’t remember everything.
If you want your messages to stick, you have to tell the same story over and over again.
This is how you make a memorable connection.
The Organizer is a newsletter for people working to create equitable and sustainable communities. Whether you are part of a nonprofit, a charity, or a social enterprise, this newsletter is for you.
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