[Going Up: Elevator Pitches]

Elevator pitches can be nerve-racking, but it’s an important part of entrepreneurism to master.

Tomorrow, we’re giving 60-90 second elevator pitches for our senior entrepreneurial projects. In case you’ve never heard of them, elevator pitches refer to brief descriptions of an idea or product that includes enough critical information so a client or investor could easily understand what you’re selling after listening for a short period of time. In other words, it’s all about choosing the right promotional material, showing the market and your value proposition, and getting the pitch out as quickly and efficiently as possible. A good elevator pitch should create a strong impression and leave potential buyers asking for more by the time you’ve finished introducing your product, or “ridden your elevator to the top floor,” so to speak. As you can probably imagine, elevator pitches aren’t the easiest speeches to develop, but they are one of the most necessary parts of marketing if you’re hoping to get people on board.

I’ll admit I’m a little nervous for tomorrow. Even though I’ve taken Speech & Debate classes before in high school and have quite a bit of experience with public speaking, I still find myself feeling edgy before giving a presentation, especially a presentation that’s supposed to summarize and promote the fundamentals of my entrepreneurial idea. Is it just me or does it feel like the more you dive into a project, the harder it gets to explain it to other people?

Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there for crafting the perfect elevator pitch, including this blog post from Slidebean that gives examples of elevator pitch from successful startups. The blog details several key features to developing a memorable elevator pitch including defining your product’s 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why), making a solid attention grabber, forming a question starter (if that makes sense for your product), avoiding technical jargon, determining your emotional benefit statement, and so much more. While there is no definitive elevator pitch template, there should be a definitive story, market, and audience you’re pitching to.

In terms of my own elevator pitch, I’m leaning towards something akin to how Elon Musk pitched Tesla. First, Musk identified a larger problem at work – “We have record high CO2 levels in the atmosphere” – and then identified Tesla’s electric cars as a solution to increasing CO2 levels: “…we’re trying to…accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport…This is really important for the future of the world.”

The entrepreneurial project I’m starting with another student is The Dot, a non-profit period tracker app that donates funds to charity organizations on the days our users are menstruating. The idea started from our shared concern that globally, 1.2 billion girls and women do not have access to feminine sanitation products or hygiene care. The rate of period poverty has devastating consequences on social and economic progress in third world countries. Some researchers have estimated that 1 in 10 girls from Sub-Saharan Africa skip or drop out of school during their menstrual period because they do not have pads; as a result, the cycle of poverty continues for women who cannot complete their secondary education. We wanted to do something to make a difference, to create a product that would make it easy for our users to ignite a change against period poverty.

Our idea has a lot of heart and – we believe – a good value proposition (other period tracker apps on the market do not have a non-profit focus). Of course, it’s challenging to describe our product without the complex, multifaceted issue of period poverty attached to it. That’s why I’ve decided to open my elevator pitch by giving a quick, broad stroke of the issue, then narrowing down how our product specially helps tackle period poverty. I’m also trying to come up with a catchy slogan for the end. Maybe something along the lines of “Be her difference. Be a Dot for her.”

I’ll keep working on it.

[When Social Media Goes to the Cats and Dogs]

Last week, my journalism class took a brief field trip to the Nebraska Humane Society, and – as I tweeted out – I have never been more convinced that I chose the right major. During our visit, we met Elizabeth Hilpipre, the Development and Communications Specialist for the NE Humane Society and a Creighton journalism alum, who divulged her experiences operating the shelter’s social media accounts and shared a few storytelling strategies for online fundraising and email marketing.

The NE Humane Society maintains their presence online through multiple social media platforms, including a Facebook page, Instagram account, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest (although this latter account operates solely for owning space rather than posting shareable content). Of course, the shelter also manages an official website to relate adoption information, volunteer opportunities, and events; ideally, the social media accounts help direct the Humane Society’s audience toward checking out this website. According to Hilpipre, the NE Humane Society’s objectives through social media marketing are to help raise awareness and spread the word about adoptable animals or fundraising events, to build an online community of supporters, and to encourage donations to the shelter.

One of the points Hilpipre stressed during her conversation with us was the distinction between social media accounts for organizations and social media accounts for individuals. If you are responsible for a business or non-profit’s social media, you cannot treat it as you would your personal account. Besides the fact that you are representing a brand and perhaps reaching a wider audience, your goals with an organization’s social media are different when compared to a personally-owned account. Hilpipre emphasized that the main objectives organizations should have for their social media are the following: (1) customer service, (2) storytelling, and (3) transparency.  You should strive to provide shareable content with real, unique stories, work to ensure customer satisfaction by engaging with your audience, and – especially if your brand is a non-profit – ask people for their help in promoting content (i.e. asking followers to share a picture of an old dog so that potential adoptees’ interest might be peaked).

For me, the most interesting piece of information I took away from Hilpipre’s talk was that storytelling and tone varies across social media platforms. For example, on Facebook, the NE Humane Society generally uses a professional tone and promotes adoption success stories or calls to action. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be as much room for storytelling on Twitter because of the 140 character limit, so Hilpipre tends to tweet funny photos about their animals or makes references to pop culture to engage their Twitter followers.

Remarkably, the NE Humane Society found incredible success through Snapchat, particularly with their younger audiences. Admittedly, this revelation surprised me because I don’t tend to follow brands on Snapchat (although visiting the shelter, I quickly subscribed to their daily Snapchat stories). Hilpipre shared that after sending a call out on Snapchat for counselor applications, the NE Humane Society received an overwhelming number of applications from teenagers to participate in the shelter’s summer programming. In addition, while businesses cannot necessarily track their metrics with Snapchat, Hilpipre revealed that NE Humane Society measures its success by the number of screenshots their snaps get and how often people intentionally or accidentally share photos with their account. I suppose having cats and dogs as your main sell makes it a little easier to market on Snapchat.

Needless to say, my own Snapchat was infinitely more interesting at the NE Humane Society.

I found a kindred introverted spirit.

[And the 2017 Instagrammy Winners Are…]

This week, we’re analyzing how businesses and non-profit organizations utilize Instagram   to visually sell their brand’s message and engage consumer interest. And since this week also happens to be in the middle of the awards season, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to distribute frivolous, inconsequential social media awards to my favorite Instagram brand accounts (as well as pass up on that delightfully perfect title pun).

So, without further ado, here are the 2017 Winners for the first ever (and last) Instagrammy Online Awards Ceremony!

Best Visual Storytelling (Business) – No Your City

No Your City is a documentary series which showcases breathing-taking images of cityscapes (typically New York) and human interest stories from those places. This Instagram account captures stunning photographs of both quiet and hectic scenes within the city, portraying historical and authentic moments through an intimate lens. With a strong level of human interest and mastery of foreground/background, No Your City’s Instagram account well deserves the honor for business visual storytelling.

Best Visual Storytelling (Non-Profit) – World Bicycle Relief 

World Bicycle Relief is a non-profit organization that mobilizes people in developing countries with bicycles so that they may have access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. Their Instagram account effectively communicates their cause through brightly-lit images of smiling individuals riding bicycles over dirt roads, progress photographs of children participating in school, and inspiring quotes from world influencers superimposed on some images. As a result, the apparent success of the organization and the hope it provides for developing communities are sufficiently grasped by its audience.

Best Use of Color for a Brand – Coca Cola 

Red is Coca Cola‘s color and their Instagram account wants you to know it. In nearly every photo Coca Cola posts, you can spot their signature, eye-catching red as a background accessory to the Coke bottle subject. The red helps the product pop in each photograph, and the consistency allows for consumers to easily identify the brand behind the red.

Best Youthful Impact for a Brand – To Write Love On Her Arms 

To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) is a non-profit movement geared toward youths who have experienced or are currently struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, or suicide. What makes their Instagram account stand out for millennials is the level of youthful participation and affirming messages portrayed in their pictures. Whether it’s an adolescent model promising hope through a bright smile or dance, or a landscape visual paired with an inspiring quote (“I am every good thing,” “This storm will pass,” “I am worthy of a life well lived,” and so on). TWLOHA’s Instagram shows that they know how to reach their target audience on an emotional and empowering level.

Best Social Commentary – Louise Delage (Addict Aide) 

Louise Delage‘s Instagram gained quite a bit of traction last year after people realized that the 25-year-old Parisian woman featured in the account was not a real person. Instead, Delage’s Instagram was a fake account put out by the non-profit organization Addict Aide to raise awareness for alcoholism (in every picture, alcoholic beverages or paraphernalia are clearly visible). While it may seem a little shady to create a fake social media account for brand promotion, Addict Aide’s campaign became massively successful once others caught on, showing that sometimes alcoholism hides within plain sight.

Best Photography Overall – National Geographic 

How could I not put National Geographic in the category for best photography? For over a century, National Geographic’s print magazines dazzled us with its heart-wrenching and beautiful photos of global communities and nature portraits. Unsurprising, their incredible photographs on Instagram are widely popular and effective. Combined with story captions to accentuate the photos’ humanity, as well as links to the contributing photographers’ accounts, National Geographic’s Instagram is definitely one you won’t want to miss.