by Allison Kooser | Aug 6, 2021 | +Good Newsletter, Gratitudes
This week, we are thankful for…a good rant. We are as optimistic as anyone (ok, we are probably more optimistic than most…), but every now and then we just need to vent. And when you’ve got a buddy who is willing to listen without judgment (and, even better, toss completely unrelated topics into the discussion), it can be so therapeutic to let it all out. To start in one place and end up at the other side of the conversational globe. If you’re like us, your rant won’t solve much of anything. But hopefully, you’ll be laughing.
by Allison Kooser | Aug 5, 2021 | +Good Newsletter, The Intro
Last fall, a few weeks after I had moved to Austin, I went to pick up a smoothie at shop down the road from my house. And while I waited for them to finish blending my drink, I looked over my shoulder and saw my friend Mica.
In any normal situation, with any other friend, I would have said hello and asked about her kids, her business, and her recent vacation.
But I didn’t.
Because here’s the deal: I don’t actually know her.
Mica is an Instagram influencer (and super successful business owner here in Austin)—and our friendship has been curated entirely from tiny squares and Stories.
In the moment, I felt so weird. I know so much about this woman! I have been following her for years, and I honestly feel like we have a relationship with each other.
But after my initial shock of seeing a “celebrity” in the wild, here was my second thought:
This is what a successful social media strategy looks like in action.
The goal of Instagram (or Facebook, or email, or any of your marketing communications, really) is to build relationships with people. To cultivate friendships through digital channels. To create allegiances and affinities that (hopefully) lead to gifts.
The best social media influencers and organizations—the people like Mica—have this down to a science.
My favorite Instagram follows aren’t the perfect, polished ones whose feeds are curated within an inch of their lives (though these accounts are certainly impressive!).
My favorites—and the ones who get the majority of my scroll time—are the ones who let me into their daily lives. The ones who make their storytelling extremely personal. The ones that show me the mundane, everyday activities that make me feel like I’m a part of something—that I’m an insider, a friend.
Your organization can steal a page right out of this playbook.
Show me your team members. Introduce me to the beneficiaries of your work. Go behind the scenes, talk directly into the camera, and don’t be afraid to be a little messy.
Let me into your life and I’ll love you (and support you) forever…and next time I see you at the smoothie shop, I’ll try not to be too starstruck to say hello.
by Allison Kooser | Jul 15, 2021 | +Good Newsletter, The Intro
Last week, I wrote to you about Carlos Whittaker’s (@loswhit) day-by-day coverage of Brooklyn to Alaska on Instagram — and the $255,000 he raised from his followers in support of this small organization.
Many of you were just as inspired by Carlos’s social media as I was, which got me thinking about the power of creative storytelling — and made me remember some of the other campaigns, essays, and videos that have stopped me in my tracks.
As a marketer and storyteller, I am constantly looking for inspiration and examples of content done right. And thankfully, there are so many creative people (including all of you!) who are doing good, beautiful, hard, incredible work — which means my collection of inspiring content is big and always growing.
At the top of this list: World Vision’s World Refugee Day video.
Whoa.
About a month ago, World Vision produced a short video for World Refugee Day that I stumbled upon on Instagram. The 3-minute video completely captivated me. So creative. So compelling. Honest, raw, and motivating. It was everything a video should be.
I immediately forwarded it to my marketing friends.
“Look at this,” I wrote. “This is how it’s done.”
As marketers, fundraisers, and creatives, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We get to borrow ideas and inspiration from everyone around us — whether that’s other nonprofits, big companies, performers, musicians, or the latest trending posts on Pinterest. As Pablo Picasso famously said, “Great artists steal.”
So here’s what we want to know from you: What is inspiring you these days? What campaigns, videos, and stories are capturing your attention? Who is doing impressive work that you love following?
We want to see it!
Comment below with a link to a video, story, or campaign that you loved — we can’t wait to be inspired by what is inspiring you!
by Allison Kooser | Jul 8, 2021 | +Good Newsletter, The Intro
On Monday night, I sat in bed, obsessively updating my Instagram feed.
Sure, I can get lost in the scroll as much as the next person. But on this particular evening, I was waiting for a very specific update.
All week long, I had watched Carlos Whittaker (@loswhit), a podcaster and best-in-the-biz storyteller, travel around rural Alaska with a tiny nonprofit called Brooklyn to Alaska. I met the young men training to be adventure guides. I watched them climb ice mountains. I saw the work, I saw the impact, and I saw the needs.
Put simply, I was invested.
Because of an Instagram story.
For days, I was brought along for the ride — never being asked for anything. I got to experience a very cool (very impressive) organization that I may have never come across on my own. I learned who they were, what they were about, and what they wanted to do next. And after days of moment-by-moment updates, I learned about their vision for a new bunkhouse — a property that would cost $180,000 to build.
By that point, I was not only willing to give, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to give.
When Carlos finally linked the donation form, I immediately grabbed my credit card.
This, my friends, is the power of effective storytelling.
I was an eager and enthusiastic donor because I had first heard, loved, and cared about the story. And I wasn’t the only one.
On Monday night, I sat there scrolling, waiting to see if we (yes, I was now part of a “we” — because stories build communities, too!) had given enough to build the bunkhouse. I had to know the last chapter of the story!
Finally, a notification.
In 24 hours, Carlos raised $255,000 for Brooklyn to Alaska. His followers paid for the bunkhouse and then some. Telling a powerful story changed the entire trajectory of this small organization. (You can check out the whole thing saved in Carlos’s highlights. The week-long story is nearly two hours of content!)
I couldn’t stop smiling — and I couldn’t stop thinking about just how transformative a well-told story can be. It’s why we do what we do here at Swell+Good: help small nonprofits, businesses, and organizations define, build, and share their own stories. Because we, like Carlos, know that a story can change everything.
Want to dive into your own story? Comment on this post! We’d love to help you think through it — and help you bring your incredible story to life!
by Allison Kooser | Jul 1, 2021 | The Intro
A few years ago, we began working on a big project with a new group of colleagues. Today, these rockstar marketers are our friends and collaborators, but they were strangers at the time. And we were in charge of making this ragtag group a team.
The big (and very obvious) question was simple: How?
How do you make the most of a new relationship? How do you set yourself up for success? How do you put your best (and most honest) self forward?
One of our strategies was to steal a page from columnist Adam Bryant and Stripe COO Claire Hughes Johnson’s playbooks and write “User Manuals”…about ourselves.
Some highlights:
- “Bonus points always go to people who are curious.”
- “I write fast. But just because it’s quick doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
- “I dance. I sing. I do these things when you least expect them, and I do them all the time.”
- “I love working with people who challenge the way things are and always look for ways to make things better.”
Carving out dedicated time to think about how we work, collaborate, give feedback, and lead was incredibly eye-opening—and super helpful as we dove into a new team. And we’ve carried these lessons and insights with us for years.
Now, as we begin to step out into the world again after 16 months of Zoom screens, our collaboration skills are a little rusty—so we’re returning to our manuals and asking ourselves a few key questions:
- What are you bringing to the table? What are you good at, what do you love, and what value can you add to your partners and teammates?
- What do you want to learn? Curiosity is a central tenet of Swell + Good, so we love always asking questions and learning from the expertise of others.
- What are your blind spots? It’s a good practice to be honest about your limitations. And identifying what you’re not good at can help you choose great teammates who are strong where you are weak.
- What do you appreciate? How can a teammate go above and beyond for you? And how can you go above and beyond for your teammate? Knowing how people work is your essential first step!
Today, in this same spirit of collaboration, we’d love to get to know YOU!
Let’s go with question #2: What is one thing you want to learn this summer?
It could be work-related—a new tech tool, an email strategy, or how to use the soon-to-be-launched Instagram fundraisers. Or it can be something totally random—Russian history, the latest TikTok dance, the science of black holes, or how to juggle.
📫 Let us know what’s on your summer curiosity list or if you want to read our User Manuals by dropping us a note. We can’t wait to hear from you.
