Non-profits And The Long Tail Theory

If you haven't read the The Long Tail, you should.

Here's the basic idea, according to Chris Anderson, the author:

Traditional retail economics dictate that stores only stock the likely hits, because shelf space is expensive. But online retailers (from Amazon to iTunes) can stock virtually everything, and the number of available niche products outnumber the hits by several orders of magnitude. Those millions of niches are the Long Tail, which had been largely neglected until recently in favor of the Short Head of hits.

When consumers are offered infinite choice, the true shape of demand is revealed. And it turns out to be less hit-centric than we thought. People gravitate towards niches because they satisfy narrow interests better, and in one aspect of our life or another we all have some narrow interest (whether we think of it that way or not).

The Long Tail theory is an economic one, but it has relevance for the non-profit sector as well. I've posted about this idea before, arguing that the new Distributed Funding model made possible by the internet is likely to undermine the major donor bias most organizations currently have.

The idea came up for me again today when I ran across this excellent post by Shabbir Safdar. In the excerpt below, Shabbir does a great job of reiterating why the theory of the Long Tail is so important in the non-profit sector:

What does this mean for public relations, public affairs and non-profits? The expectations of the public are changing. To develop an audience, you are expected to publish and talk about your work constantly... Organizations that don't publish are finding it very difficult to engage their audiences when their opponents and competitors talk to them all the time.

"Does this mean I need a blog?" a nonprofit executive recently asked me. No, it means you, or someone in your organization needs to write something almost every day about the work you do to further your mission. The "blog" is just the vehicle you use to post it. Perhaps tomorrow it's an e-mail list, and the day after it's a posted URL on Facebook. The day after it may be a postcard.

What's changed is the expectation. Today's public expects more out of the organizations they give their attention, loyalty, and money to nowadays, or they withhold it.

The question is, now that your long tail of supporters can easily find and connect with you, how do you keep that group of passionate, committed people engaged with your organization?

You talk to them.

Most of my non-profit clients publish a newsletter, and one or two fund raising letters throughout the year – not enough for a real "conversation" with constituents, and not a good way to reach people that aren't already part of the organization's base of supporters. In this new age of infinite access – via social networking, distributed funding, and non-traditional publicity – organizations are under pressure to keep information flowing at an unprecedented rate.

Organizations that are able to effectively create a platform for an ongoing conversation with anyone in the world who's interested in what they do – one that's able to reach deep into the long tail – are going to significantly better positioned that those who don't.

What is your organization doing to engage donors, volunteers, and supporters in conversation?

Using Experts To Get Publicity For Your Non-Profit

When planning your organization's media strategy, don't forget to take advantage of the passionate and informed people you have either on staff, on your board, or in your pool of active volunteers. Take the time now to identify potential experts, and approach them about formally serving as a spokesperson for the organization when appropriate.

[photo credit; Mai Le]

Journalists need to be able to quote experts when covering controversial topics so that they can objectively represent both sides of the controversy. Since the journalist must remain objective, they need to find others who can provide thoughtful opinions on their topic. A recent Guidestar post notes that:

Developing experts within an organization and creating platforms from which they can provide their opinions is vital to securing lasting media coverage. A nonprofit should always have a few experts on hand to discuss the organization's objectives, explain the cause or point of view on a particular subject in detail, and provide support to sponsors and donors.

Profiling key spokespeople on the organization's Web site or in widely available expert databases gives reporters easy accessibility to these experts. If your expert can respond to something that is currently in the news, consider sending out a media advisory alerting reporters to the availability of the spokesperson and his/her position on the topic.

If your organization has access to such experts, here are some suggestions for expanding their role in your publicity efforts:

1. Make sure your local press contacts know your experts exist, and can reach them easily on short notice. Help your experts contact reporters that have recently written articles in their area of expertise and either praise or criticize their work. Provide your experts contact information - highlighting their affiliation with your organization - for the reporter's future use.
   
2. Be sure to have media-ready bios (short statements outline the experts qualifications and background) and photos (a high resolution shot taken against a neutral background that shows the head and shoulers) of each expert ready to go - preferably as part of your online or printed press kit.
   
3. Consider helping your experts build up a set of written pieces available for journalists to use as reference material by asking your experts to write a guest column in your organization's newsletter, or an informative article that can be featured on your organization's website.

One note of caution: Be sure your experts are able to stay on message for your organization at all times. If your expert is likely to say something damaging during a live interview, consider limiting them to written interactions with press, or work with them in a series of "role playing" type exercises to get them comfortable in the role of spokesperson for your agency.