I’ve been talking, writing, and teaching about nonprofit communications fundamentals for several years, and this year, I decided it’s time to bring in some new perspectives. Toronto writer and communicator Meg Shannon is the first person I reached out to with my idea for a Q&A interview series, and being the generous person she is, she graciously agreed to participate. So today, I’m kicking things off with Meg’s insights on why brand messaging is fundamental for nonprofit organizations.

Photo of Meg Shannon leaning against a bar with wine bottles in the background.

I came to know Meg back when I was publishing the Nonprofit MarCommunity blog; she was a willing contributor, supporting her peers with some of my favourite articles on topics including issues management and internal communications. Meg has worked with many nonprofits and social good organizations, including the Broadbent Institute, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the Ontario NDP. Currently a Communications Officer for the Ontario Nurses’ Association, Meg handles internal communications and contributes to branding, messaging, issues management, media relations, and campaigns.

Here’s the interview with Meg.

Q&A with Meg Shannon: why brand messaging matters

Why is brand messaging fundamental to your nonprofit communications work?

“Brand messaging is hugely important to communications. It’s simultaneously your organization’s personality and the map it can use to guide how, when, and where to chime in on any given topic or issue. Without knowing your brand and having key messaging outlined, you won’t know how to talk to your audiences in a way that will resonate with them and spur them to action – and they won’t either.”

How do you craft brand messages that resonate with your audience and align with your organization’s mission and goals?

“For me, brand messaging starts with the organization’s core values and main audience(s). I look at the mission and vision along with the current strategic plan, and then review who we talk to and why. From there, I’ll pin down how I want the audience to think and feel about the organization, and that’s when I start to identify what the specific brand messaging will be. What words and phrases will best explain where the organization is coming from and make an impact on the audience? That’s the sweet spot for any good brand. Once all that prep work is done, it’s usually just a matter of following the breadcrumbs and spelling out the connections between everything.

In terms of ensuring alignment, ideally, I (or the communications team more broadly) will be involved in the organization’s fundamental planning processes. The sooner communications staff are brought in, the sooner we can help make sure what an organization is planning will land with their audience in a meaningful way. In this way, we’re advocates for the organization to the audience and vice versa – a key conduit to organizational success. If we’re not brought in, then it’s a matter of framing the organization in a way that will get the audience interested and onside. That’s a tougher job, but one I and many of my fellow comms colleagues are used to.”

Can you think of a time when focusing on brand messaging had a measurable impact on your communications efforts?

“This one is tough. Like many efforts, the results of strong brand messaging aren’t often realized right away. The best scenario I can think of is seeing people using my messaging on their own and without prompting, which I’ve been lucky enough to see happen a couple of times on social media. But usually, it’s a vibe you feel when talking to people about your organization and its work – the way they react to you when you tell them where you work or what your organization is all about can tell you a lot about how the brand is perceived when you’re not in the room.”

How does brand messaging help you stay consistent across different communication channels and campaigns?

“Good brand messaging is like a cheat sheet. It lays out your core messaging (the key points you want people to know in any circumstance), your secondary messaging (other things you could say if the circumstances are right), who you’re saying it to (your key audiences), and how your messaging might shift depending on who you’re talking to. If you’ve mapped these out in a thorough and thoughtful way, your brand messaging should see you through almost any scenario – from social to email to issues management and everything in between.

I do want to note that thorough doesn’t mean long. Good brand messaging (or messaging of any kind) should only be as long as it takes to get your point across. When developing key messaging, I usually aim for 3-5 topline messages at maximum, and any secondary messaging should follow directly from those topline ones. You’ll probably end up feeling like you’re repeating things a lot – and you will be. Repetition is a brand’s best friend.”

What advice would you give other nonprofits struggling to clarify their brand messaging?

“If you feel like your brand messaging is out of alignment, take a look at your building blocks. What is your organization all about? Who are you trying to talk to, and why? Think about these two things deeply, find where they meet up, then adjust (or re-do!) your messaging to reflect these meeting points. You might find you need to do this regularly over time – that’s ok, especially if your organization is in a sector or industry that’s seen a lot of change. I’m thinking specifically of social or political organizations here – there has been a lot of change in how society views cultural and political issues over the past 5 or so years. It would make sense to shift your messaging to stay relevant, both to your organization’s ethos and your audience’s sensibilities.”

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about brand messaging, and how has it influenced or shaped your approach to nonprofit communications?

“In my experience, messaging exercises benefit from starting with the general and working toward the specific. The strongest message development I’ve been a part of started with free thinking about issues the audience was facing, and over time and refinement, led to strong messaging that saw clear wins within months. It’s ok to get comfortable with the amorphous and trust that you will eventually find the right words to say to the right people. But maybe that’s just my process. :)”

If you could offer one piece of advice to your peers about prioritizing brand messaging, what would it be?

“The minute you stop thinking about the brand is the minute it starts to drift. Part of the comms role, in among the social media posts and, the media requests, and the slide decks, and the briefing notes, is making sure that there is commonality between everything that goes out the door. A good comms pro should know their brand like they know their own breath – it’s not top of mind, but it’s infused in everything.”


Takeaways and next steps

I appreciate the ways in which Meg’s thoughts and examples shed light on just how fundamental brand messaging is to set you up for success as a nonprofit communicator. Some of my favourite points from Meg include:

  • Her explanation of branding messaging as a helpful cheat sheet
  • The importance of a streamlined, focused set of core messages
  • The need to review and adjust brand messaging over time

Thank you to Meg for kicking off this series!

Further reading — about Meg and about brand messaging

Would you like to learn more about Meg? Visit her website, megshannon.ca. To learn more about brand messaging for nonprofit organizations, check out these two primer articles from me:

And if you’d like to share your insights about brand messaging, website content or storytelling in a future Q&A post, contact me for more details.

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