The voice of your nonprofit serves as a crucial element of its identity. Your voice encompasses not only the content you’re communicating, but also the manner in which this content is being expressed. Your voice’s ability to be distinct and to be heard will play a vital role in building a relationship with your supporters. Think of it as a surrogate for in-person interactions, carrying the responsibility for communicating the values and ethos of your organization.
Here are some tips on how to get started with developing your nonprofit's voice.
Define your tone
To start with, try to articulate and define your nonprofit's persona. Which qualities are you aiming to portray? Do you want to seem mostly knowledgeable? Or friendly? Or helpful? You’ll likely get more specific, but this is the kind of process you’ll need to go through to define a tone for your nonprofit’s voice. Your tone will adapt and evolve as your organization evolves, but with a familiar tone, you’ll be able to communicate clearly on any issue while remaining a trusted voice for your supporters.
Prioritize consistency
Part of building that trust is maintaining consistency for your voice across all platforms, such as your website, your social media and your email newsletters. This consistency will unify your communication, strengthen your brand, and bolster your message.
Be authentic
To be authentic is to appear to be offering something, not selling something. Build trust in your supporters by offering them opportunities for engagement while using your cultivated voice. Leave out any jargony sales-sounding language or generic cliches that betray your brand-building intentions. Instead, speak to your supporters as if they’re your friends who need to hear about a pressing concern of yours. Be human in your approach, acknowledge your mistakes gracefully and respond swiftly and consistently to supporters’ messages and questions.
Consider your audience
Think about who your audience is and who you want to reach. Your brand’s voice should be able to connect with your audience in a genuine and meaningful way. If you have donor personas or other audience personas, start to develop a voice that is going to resonate with these individuals. Ask yourself why they would need to turn to you to achieve their goals or address their concerns. What do they hope to get from their involvement with your organization? What other sources do they turn to for information, or perhaps even inspiration? Use what you know about your specific audience and why they would choose to support you - and strengthen that connection by maintaining a consistent voice.
Stay up to date on trending content
Bookmark and regularly check the most popular pages or blog posts, both in your industry and across your own various marketing platforms, to understand what's captivating the current audience. Examine their styles and standout descriptors. While this may not exclusively shape your future voice—particularly if your audience is evolving—it’s a very useful resource, and it serves as a valuable reference point to evaluate successful and unsuccessful content from the past.
Make a list of desirable adjectives
Adjectives are helpful when defining your voice and your brand’s persona. Work on the ideal list for yours. How do you want your supporters and collaborators to describe you? This list will help you reveal your fundamental essence to the world, as well as help you and your supporters understand your values.
I hope these tips are helpful for you - and if they are, please share your insights and experiences with us! We’d love to hear from you.