By Darren Gilbert

Fortunately, it’s never too late to implement a plan. However, that doesn’t mean that you can slack off and do it tomorrow instead of today. With that in mind, here are three quick tips to help your charity get the right amount of publicity.

Use press releases to inform the public

A press release is a great way to distribute news about your charity or cause to the general public. However, you need to write these releases in a specific way in order to get people interested. After all, there are hundreds of thousands (even millions) of press releases that get send out daily. Add to this the fact that you need people to read yours and you have to be careful about how you present it.

“A news release should be written in a journalistic, rather than a marketing, style. It should be objectively written as though a reporter were writing the story for you,” writes Daniel Selnick, former vice president for Public Policy Services at PR Newswire. “Most important, your release needs to ‘inform’ people, not just ‘sell’ them something,” adds Selnick.

In presenting people with the facts and informing them, you have a higher chance of getting them involved than if you attempt to sell yourself to them.

Turn to social media

If you are a charity or non-profit organisation and you are not using social media, you are losing out on a great opportunity to connect with people. However, the success of your efforts lies in how you use the platforms.

“The likes of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest can be hugely effective for communicating with your target audience,” writes Althea Taylor-Salmon, managing director at Fortune PR. “Once you start to interact and build up a following on social media, you can circulate news much more rapidly and effectively.”

However, just as is the case with press releases, you need to ensure that you don’t use the platforms to repeatedly ask for donations or sell yourself. Rather engage with people and immerse yourself in their lives so that when it comes to asking for donations, they are willing to donate to you without thinking twice.

Pick the right ambassador

An ambassador can go a long way to presenting your message to a wide audience. One simply has to look at a charity such as The SunFlower Fund which has DJ Fresh as one of the ambassadors. This is the perfect example of choosing an ambassador who appeals to the general public.

Catriona Pollard, director at CP Communications agrees with this. She writes, “By using a celebrity as an ambassador you can use their fame to generate awareness for the charity and gain more interest from the media. As celebrities have a large fan base you can also use them to communicate your message to their fans and reach a wider audience.”

Just be careful when you choose an ambassador. No matter how big they may be or popular – if they don’t embody what your charity does, don’t use them. In fact, you don’t even need to use a celebrity. As Pollard continues, “The best ambassadors are people who embody the values, mission and brand of the charity to reinforce your message.”

What are your thoughts? Do you have any other tips to the right amount of publicity for a charity? Tell us below.