PR Secrets for Mission-Driven Orgs: Get Seen!

Is your mission-driven small business or non-profit struggling to get noticed? Knowing that PR & visibility is a resource for helping mission-driven small businesses and non-profits maximize their positive impact through authentic brand storytelling and strategic online visibility, marketing is the first step. The next is actually implementing a strategy that works. Will you continue to operate in obscurity, or will you take control of your narrative and amplify your voice?

Step 1: Uncovering Your Audience’s World with SparkToro’s Brand Story Canvas

One of the biggest mistakes I see non-profits and small businesses make is pitching their story to the wrong audience. You might have the most compelling mission, but if you’re shouting into the void, it won’t matter. That’s where SparkToro comes in. Specifically, we’ll use their Brand Story Canvas tool.

Sub-step 1: Accessing the Brand Story Canvas

First, log into your SparkToro account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for a free trial. Once you’re in, navigate to the “Tools” menu in the top navigation bar. Click on “Brand Story Canvas.” This will open a new workspace where you can start mapping out your audience’s influences.

Sub-step 2: Defining Your Target Audience

The Brand Story Canvas will prompt you to define your target audience. Be as specific as possible. Instead of just saying “environmentalists,” think about “young, urban environmentalists interested in sustainable living in the Atlanta metro area.” You can use SparkToro’s audience research tools to refine your understanding of your audience’s demographics, interests, and online behavior. This will help you identify the right keywords and phrases to use in the next step.

Sub-step 3: Identifying Influences

This is where the magic happens. In the “Influences” section of the Brand Story Canvas, start entering keywords and phrases related to your target audience’s interests. Think about the websites they visit, the social media accounts they follow, the podcasts they listen to, and the books they read. SparkToro will analyze these keywords and generate a list of potential influences. For example, if you enter “sustainable fashion Atlanta,” SparkToro might identify local blogs, Instagram accounts, and even podcasts focused on sustainable fashion in the Atlanta area.

Pro Tip: Don’t just focus on the obvious influences. Think about tangential interests that might also appeal to your target audience. For example, if your non-profit focuses on food security, you might also explore influences related to urban gardening, cooking, or local farmers markets.

Sub-step 4: Analyzing and Prioritizing

Once SparkToro has generated a list of influences, it’s time to analyze and prioritize. Look for the influences that have the highest reach and engagement with your target audience. Pay attention to the audience overlap – are there certain websites or social media accounts that are followed by a large percentage of your target audience? These are the influencers you should focus on first. The Brand Story Canvas allows you to rank and categorize these influences, making it easier to develop a targeted outreach strategy.

Common Mistake: Many people stop at simply identifying influencers. The real work is in understanding why these influencers resonate with your audience. What kind of content do they create? What values do they espouse? How do they engage with their followers? Use this information to tailor your PR pitches and messaging.

Expected Outcome: A clear list of the key publications, podcasts, social media accounts, and individuals that influence your target audience. This list will serve as your roadmap for your PR efforts, ensuring that you’re focusing your time and resources on the channels that will have the greatest impact.

Step 2: Monitoring Your Brand and Competitors with Mentionlytics

Now that you know where your audience is, you need to listen to what they’re saying. Mentionlytics is a powerful tool for monitoring your brand name, key competitors, and relevant industry terms across the web. This allows you to proactively respond to opportunities, address potential crises, and gather valuable insights about your audience’s perceptions.

Sub-step 1: Setting Up Alerts

After logging into Mentionlytics, click on “Create New Alert” in the main dashboard. You’ll be prompted to enter the keywords you want to monitor. Start with your brand name. For example, if your non-profit is called “Atlanta Food Collective,” enter that as your primary keyword. Then, add variations of your brand name, such as “Atlanta Food Co-op” or “AFC.” Next, add the names of your key competitors. Finally, add relevant industry terms, such as “food insecurity Atlanta,” “urban farming Georgia,” or “non-profit food distribution.”

Pro Tip: Use boolean operators to refine your alerts. For example, you can use “AND” to find mentions that include both your brand name and a specific keyword, or “NOT” to exclude mentions that are irrelevant to your interests. For example: “Atlanta Food Collective AND volunteer” NOT “jobs”.

Sub-step 2: Customizing Your Alert Settings

Mentionlytics allows you to customize your alert settings to filter out irrelevant mentions. You can specify the languages you want to monitor, the sources you want to include (e.g., news sites, blogs, social media), and the sentiment analysis you want to apply. I recommend setting up separate alerts for different types of mentions. For example, you might have one alert for general brand mentions, another alert for mentions related to specific campaigns, and a third alert for mentions of your competitors.

Sub-step 3: Analyzing Your Mentions

Once your alerts are set up, Mentionlytics will start collecting mentions from across the web. You can view these mentions in your dashboard, filter them by date, source, sentiment, and other criteria. Take the time to read through your mentions carefully and identify any patterns or trends. Are people talking positively or negatively about your brand? What are the main topics of conversation? Are there any emerging issues or concerns that you need to address?

Common Mistake: Ignoring negative mentions. It’s tempting to focus only on the positive feedback, but negative mentions can be a valuable source of information. They can help you identify areas where you need to improve your products, services, or communications. Don’t be afraid to engage with negative feedback and address the concerns of your audience.

Expected Outcome: A real-time stream of mentions related to your brand, competitors, and industry. This will allow you to stay informed about what people are saying about you online, identify opportunities to engage with your audience, and proactively address any potential crises.

Step 3: Spying on Your Competition with Semrush’s Competitive Analysis Tool

Understanding what your competitors are doing is essential for developing a successful PR strategy. Semrush offers a suite of tools for competitive analysis, including features for analyzing your competitors’ website traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and social media activity. By using these tools, you can uncover your competitors’ PR strategies, identify their most successful campaigns, and adapt those insights to strengthen your own visibility efforts.

Sub-step 1: Identifying Your Competitors

Start by identifying your key competitors. These are the organizations that are targeting the same audience as you and offering similar products or services. If you’re unsure who your competitors are, you can use Semrush’s “Organic Research” tool to identify websites that are ranking for the same keywords as you. Simply enter your website’s URL and click on the “Competitors” tab. Semrush will generate a list of websites that are competing with you for organic traffic.

Sub-step 2: Analyzing Their Website Traffic

Once you’ve identified your competitors, use Semrush’s “Traffic Analytics” tool to analyze their website traffic. This tool provides insights into your competitors’ traffic sources, top pages, and audience demographics. Pay attention to the channels that are driving the most traffic to your competitors’ websites. Are they relying heavily on organic search? Are they investing in paid advertising? Are they active on social media? This information can help you identify the most effective channels for reaching your target audience.

Pro Tip: Look for patterns in your competitors’ content. What types of articles, blog posts, or videos are generating the most engagement? What topics are they covering? What keywords are they targeting? This can give you ideas for creating your own content that will resonate with your audience.

Sub-step 3: Uncovering Their Backlink Profile

Backlinks are an important ranking factor for search engines. Use Semrush’s “Backlink Analytics” tool to analyze your competitors’ backlink profile. This tool will show you the websites that are linking to your competitors’ websites. Look for high-authority websites that are relevant to your industry. These are the websites that you should target for your own backlink building efforts. For example, if you see that a competitor has secured a backlink from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s website, you might consider pitching a story to the AJC yourself. (They’re located downtown near the Fulton County Courthouse, by the way.)

Common Mistake: Simply copying your competitors’ strategies. While it’s important to learn from your competitors, you shouldn’t simply copy their strategies. Instead, use their strategies as a starting point and adapt them to your own unique circumstances. What works for one organization might not work for another. I had a client last year who tried to replicate a competitor’s social media campaign, only to find that it completely backfired because it didn’t align with their brand values.

Expected Outcome: A comprehensive understanding of your competitors’ PR strategies, including their website traffic sources, keyword rankings, backlink profile, and social media activity. This will allow you to identify opportunities to improve your own visibility and develop a more effective PR strategy.

Authentic brand storytelling and strategic online visibility is within reach for mission-driven small businesses and non-profits. By using tools like SparkToro, Mentionlytics, and Semrush, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience, monitor your brand reputation, and analyze your competitors. These insights will empower you to craft a PR strategy that resonates with your target audience and amplifies your positive impact. Don’t just hope people notice you; make them notice you. If you’re in Atlanta, avoid these Atlanta press outreach mistakes to maximize your impact.

To truly get media visibility, you need a solid plan. And remember, marketing authority is key to long-term success.

Don’t let your mission fade into the background. Implement these strategies, take control of your narrative, and amplify your positive impact. Start today by setting up your first SparkToro Brand Story Canvas – your mission deserves to be heard.