Photography 101

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Lara Brainer-Banker

How to Connect to Your Audience Through Photos

People love photos. Nonprofits have the opportunity to instantly connect with their audience by posting photos to their website and facebook. Photos give you the chance to engage an individual and create an emotional connection with that person within milliseconds. Once the individual connects with the photo, it will then entice them to read the message that goes with it. However, not all photos are created equal. There is a reason that we recommend hiring a professional photographer for the important things- it will enhance your ability to engage your audience. Regardless, we also realize that nonprofits cannot always hire a professional photographer, especially considering how many events, fundraisers and projects a given nonprofit hosts throughout the year. So when you are given the challenge of playing photographer at your next fundraiser, keep these 4 simple tips in mind:

1) Take a Close Up of a Face

One of the most fundamental rules of good advertising is that people are attracted to faces. More specifically, people are attracted to eyes. Studies have shown that consumers will look longer at an advertisement that has a face in it than one that does not. Think about your facebook posts and website content as mini-advertisements meant to bring attention to your organization. You already know that your nonprofit does incredible work that changes the lives of people everyday, but you need to convince your audience of that as well. Show them the face of the person that you helped today.

One example of a nonprofit that does a phenomenal job with featuring faces (even if they are not human faces) is the Humane Society of Indianapolis. Below is an example of one of their recent posts.

Another example of a nonprofit that does a great job at featuring faces is the Indiana Blood Center. Giving blood is never a fun experience, but if you can see the face of the person you are giving blood to, you are able to personally connect with that individual.

2) Take Action Shots

Nonprofits always have a plethora of events happening, whether it be a community fundraiser, building a structure, hosting a 5K or a five course dinner. A great way for people to visualize what you do is to show them through action shots. For example, if you are a community development organization, show the rebuilding of your most recent project by taking a new photo during each stage. A great way to keep your audience interested is by building a story through your photos over time. If you are a service-based organization, do a follow up story with a person that you had helped previously and include a photo of them playing with their kids or engaging in their favorite hobby.

The Broad Ripple Farmer’s Market is a good example of utilizing photos to its advantage. Not only do they take pictures of produce at the market, but they also include shots of people buying their favorite products. When you see tomatoes like that, who wouldn’t want to shop at the farmer’s market?

3) Take a Close Up of an Interesting Object

Although connecting with your audience on a personal level is the most important things to remember, you also want to think about providing a diverse set of photos. Just like we were all taught to vary our sentences when writing a paper, the same concept is true for photography. A good rule of thumb is to take a broad shot of something and then pick out two or three details that you can zoom in a capture closer up.

Green Bean Delivery will make you pumped to receive your next produce bin when you see the fresh color of home grown green beans. In this case, Green Bean Delivery often uses photos from recipes that it is reposting to its facebook page. If you do not have a lot of photos of your own, link to outside articles that feature a great photo.

4) Think About Color

People are attracted to color! You want your photos to stand out from the mass of information out there and one great way to do that is by choosing photos with rich beautiful colors.

People for Urban Progress does very well at featuring color. From their bright yellow stadium chairs, to their hip 317 t-shirts, there is no lack of visual interest in their promotional pieces. The image below shows a lovely progression of red to orange in the stadium chair colors and certainly catches your eye when you see it.

Always remember that the more you pay attention to the photos you are taking and the more you practice, the better you will become. Be intentional when you are taking pictures and try something new. The advantage today is that we digital cameras, which gives you the freedom to get a little trigger happy. A good rule of thumb is to keep an extra SIM card on hand so that you are sure not to run out of space on your data card.

Now go grab your camera and get shooting!

We Can’t Wait to See our Fundraising Friends at AFP Vancouver!

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Justin Brady

If you are heading up to Vancouver make sure to connect with us. Here’s where you can find the Achieve team:

AFP Marketplace
Stop by Booth 848 to say hi to Joanna Nixon and Justin Brady, learn all about Achieve and enter to win an Achieve Access subscription. We will be right next to the buffet, so you have no excuse not to! While you are there you can also learn about Campaign Builder for Facebook from the Achieve and Forte Interactive team. We will even help you set up your new timeline! Have you seen the AFP Vancouver Facebook app we created? Check it out!

#AFPMeet TweetUp
We are hosting the official #AFPMEET Tweetup with Forte Interactive on Sunday, April 1. Come mix and mingle with fellow nonprofit social media lovers from 5:30-7 p.m. at Moose’s Down Under, 830 Pender Street West – just a five-minute walk from the convention center. We will have appetizers and drinks!

Speaking Presentation: The Next Generation of Donors
Don’t miss Derrick Feldmann, Achieve CEO and AFP International Board Member speak about the Next Generation of Donors, Monday, April 2, 8-9:15 a.m. in room 205-207. The presentation will connect the 2011 Millennial Study research data with strategies for nonprofits to adapt to better reach this demographic. We will showcase best-practice examples from nonprofits excelling at reaching new donors and building a new approach to engaging the next generation.

Follow Us on Twitter
Of course make sure to follow @achieve_consult for our big takeaways from the speakers, workshops and events. If you haven’t found us yet this is the best way to track us down!

If you are planning to travel to Vancouver for AFP leave us a note and let us know what you are most looking forward to!

Time To Spring Forward Fundraising!

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Justin Brady

Most of us moved our clocks forward this weekend for daylight savings time. Now while we are enjoying an extra hour of light, lets get inspired to spring forward our fundraising. During the spring I enjoy working with nonprofits to use multi-channel campaigns to cultivate and grow their donor base, especially their email lists.

Email continues to grow as an important solicitation tool, especially for acquiring new donors online. The Blackbaud 2011 Multichannel Fundraising Report showed that all donor age groups from 25-64 were giving online first (view full infographic). Higher income donors were also more likely to give online. Even though direct mail giving may still be prominent in your organization, we have seen that an email series at the same time of a direct mail campaign increases direct mail donations by providing ongoing reminders and more opportunities to strengthen the case to donate.

By implementing a Spring Forward Campaign, by the end-of-year your organization will be in position to maximize individual donations. Think of it as planting the seeds for the rest of the year.

Spring Forward Campaign Ideas:

Create a give-away contest to acquire emails from social media followers. Finding a great prize helps provide incentive, but remember to create messaging with benefits for joining your email list. Check out this cool Facebook App we created for National 4-H using Campaign Builder.
Send a postcard to past and lapsed donors thanking them again for their support and letting them know about an upcoming event or new project you are launching. This is also a great opportunity to let donors know how you are putting their dollars to work. Ask for updated contact information and to join the email list.
Create opportunities for people to sign-up for your email list at events. Don’t just passively set out a list for sign-ups, actively ask people as they arrive and remind of the benefits of learning more. Remember your supporters often invite guests who might not know much about your organization – this is the perfect time to make a personal introduction and get them on your subscriber list.

Once you have built a great email list, make sure you create a welcome series of 3-4 messages that tells more about the organization and provides calls to action that get the subscribers more engaged.

Do you have any successful strategies for building your email list? Share in the comments.

You Get More With Facebook Than You Give – Is Your Organization Stepping Up to the Challenge?

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Derrick Feldmann

Earlier this month, the Pew Internet and American Life Project released their findings on the effect of Facebook “Power Users”. The researchers analyzed 269 Facebook users and their activity over the course of one month. In that month of analysis, it was discovered that 20-30% of the survey sample represented “Power Users” – users who sent friend requests, added content, and liked content of their friends at much higher rates than the rest of the sample. The heart of the research details one important finding: because of these power users, “there is a consistent pattern” that Facebook users receive more from these individuals than they give to others. This means that users will get more friend requests, be “liked” more than to “like”, and receive more messages than they send. In addition, it was even discovered that more users comment on a friends post/update than they update their own statuses.

What does this mean for nonprofit organizations? Here are three applications.

Work harder to use conversational engagement on Facebook
Organizations need to spend more time developing conversational content through Facebook rather than typical blast message approaches. If we know that users are more willing to comment than update their own status, we should be prepared to create conversational updates that focus more on pulling the user to comment rather than inform.

Draw in users with comments to create better feedback mechanisms
Organizations should be spending more time working to engage users within the content. Organizations should be searching for Facebook user content and comment/provide feedback on conversations relevant to the issue of the cause. This will help to encourage more commenting and Facebook interaction among the community.

Understand “Power Users” and their effect on your cause
The study also discovered that the more friends a user had, their activity within Facebook increased. These “Power Users” increased commenting, posting, liking, and other forms of engagement within their network. As an organization, you should determine the effect of the “Power User” on your cause. Although their actions within Facebook has increased, it does not necessarily mean their influence has climbed to new heights. This would mean that some “Power Users” may not be influencers. This is evident in the main finding that these “Power Users” are driving activity but users are not reciprocating at the same rate. Therefore, nonprofits must understand “Power Users” in their network and whether or not activity will generate action, awareness, and/or conversation on the organization’s behalf.

Ultimately, organizations have to remind themselves of the conversational power of Facebook. It is a medium of conversation and engagement. As an organization, is the reach or virility important, or the engagement of the community in your conversations?

To download the full report, visit pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Facebook-users.aspx

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