June 23, 2008Comments are closed.attitude, shelter procedure
It’s a weird world. Most shelters have a sign that say ‘please don’t take photos of our pets’, strict policies about who can take photos and put them on the web and when Michael Mountain came to Australia filming his experience, he wasn’t allowed to take cameras in.
What is everyone so afraid of?
For many I think it’s getting phone calls about pets that are already adopted. The problem in this case is not that people are phoning – it’s that you’re wasting their time when they do. Fix that.
I think the other reason is a fear of losing control. Here’s the really scary thing – you already have. People are talking about you already, so you better be empowering your fans to step up and talk about you too.
Share the good stuff
You want people to support your group, but friendship is a two way street. You wouldn’t care terribly for a friend that only called you twice a year and asked for money, so you’re going to need to offer more than that to your ‘friends’.
News, pictures and updates of your progress are a great way to your supporters “feel the love’ and that they’re a part of and involved in your group.
But! I hear you say; you don’t have the resources to constantly put information together letting people know about what you’re up to and you don’t have enough people in your organisation to spread the word. So what you gonna do?
Stop hiding
You can’t control what people say about you, but you can make it easy for them to share the good stuff. Now’s the time to call on your Fan Club.
I would be asking anyone who’s willing to come down to film and photograph the activities at the shelter. I might even just start giving visitors cameras at the door. Invite people to be ‘official’ photographers for events and staff functions. Get them excited about sharing your story.
I’d then set up a Flickr group and encourage people to post their photos there. For video, set up a You Tube account and ask people to send through videos they’ve taken.
People love contributing, but if you have to give people a reason to want to. Give them some resources and then take a step back. It’s scary to give away control and you might find they do things differently to how you would, but if you want people to genuinely care about you, then you have to start being authentic.
Of course a plan like this sets the bar high, but you can’t expect amazing support, amazing results and amazing success, if you aren’t amazing.
