25 ways to increase your organizations communication capacity
DESCRIPTION
You're making the world a better place and you you're driven to do it in ever bigger ways. But budgets are tight and staff are already wearing a lot of hats! With so many people to reach, you can't afford to waste time. If you want to have a greater impact with current staff, there is a lot you can do to increase your communication capacity. By ensuring people are working smarter, not reinventing the wheel, and sharing knowledge, they will be more efficient and effective in their jobs. We will tackle a list of 25 practical ways to increase communications capacity, from technology to training and templates. This workshop is meant to give executives, communications directors, and marketing staff concrete ideas you can use now to improve your relationships with stakeholders through quality, consistent communications. It will include a variety of methods, including free or in house and low cost or part of larger technology improvements.TRANSCRIPT
25 Ways to Increase Your Organization's Communication Capacity
Without Hiring New Staff
Tirza HollenhorstifPeople@[email protected]
Mark SuttonArtez Interactive@[email protected]
Join the conversation: #10NTC.25W
Why Does it MatterTight budgets = No new staff
> need to communicate across > channels
Stakeholder expectations of interactivity are Up
More noise to cut through
Agenda1. Communications Strategy
2. Process – Scale it
3. Who’s Involved?
Strategy( a really, really good one)
1. Define Your Goals
Where are you going?
How will you measure if you are heading in the right direction?
Keep track of goals withquantitative data…
Comments
New names added to email
file
Increased donations
Voting participants
Influential Friends
Content of keywordsIncreased webpage hits
Influential blogs linked to
you
Define Your GoalsIncrease
Engagement
Acquire New Supporters
Build Relationships
Increase Donations
Personas are… Descriptions of
individuals that represent your target
They’re not real people
Just archetypes that represent real people.
2. Define Your Audience
3. Go Where Your Audience Is Speak their language
Address their aspirations
Meet their needs
Go to their communities
TestTest
TestTest
TestTest
Our staff knows fashion. We sell things you can’t
find anywhere else.
We want to target young women.
http://dcgoodwillfashions.blogspot.com/
http://www.fashionofgoodwill.org/
4. Clarify your Key Messages
Starts with the mission
Defines your ‘elevator’ pitch
The context for all communications
Differentiators
Directed to stakeholders
5. Research Your Keywords
Your site has two audiences….People & Robots
6. Listen
Broadcast Platform Conversation Medium
7. Build Your Social Database
“Relentlessly Build Your Email Database” –Ted Hart
Process Automation
8. Stop Entering Data
Stop Entering DataPlone > Saleforce
Staff never touches data
Custom reporting
Automatic response
9. Use an RSS Reader
Consume more Data More Efficiently
10. Cross Post
Most social media tools have a widgets or features that allow you to bring content in or push it out!
11. Schedule Tweets
What to Schedule?
Schedule calendar events
Non-time sensitive ideas
Links to partners or affiliates
Schedule Re-Tweets
12. Communications Calendar
Key for new forms of communication
Decide what you can do, don’t over commit
Establish the structure & responsibility
Get in a Rhythm
Make Communications Part of Everyone’s Job
13. Create and Use Templates
Easier to Begin
Most communications have replicable formatInformal
Consistency
Saves Time
14. Create a Central Info Bank
Central repository of: Success stories About us paragraphs Quotes Photos Recent statistics
15. Teach Writing for the Web
Conversational
Direct
Informal
Skimmable
Essay style college writing does not work on the web. So, what works?
16. Be Deliberate About what tools you use
17. Get More People Participating
Delegate Ownership
Incorporate routine communications into your process
Train, document, train
18. Use ChecklistsPress releases Press releases
should not go out should not go out without your URL – without your URL – ever!ever!
Clarify standards
Document process
Enforce quality
Get new staff up to speed
Example Checklist
Email Announcements:
Does your subject line entice readers to open?
Are you making the most of the preview pane?
Is your email easy on the eyes?
Does the message come through, even if the images don’t?
Does this email have a personal touch?
Are you being CAN-SPAM compliant?
19. Identify Guest Bloggers
Spread the Work & Expand
Perspectives
Program Staff
Board members
Practitioners Volunteers
Experts (doctors, etc)
Partners
20. ‘Digital Natives’ on Staff
Social media, digital comms is not ‘new’
Not about the tools, it’s about the connections
Natural ‘conversation’ and relationships more likely than broadcasting
possibly ‘edgy’
21. Interns, Interns, Interns
Take the grunt work off your plate.
Offer an opportunity to learn (and learn from them!)
Not fixed overhead (seasonal/project based)
Management & recruitment time a consideration
22. Expand beyond Text“A Picture is worth
1000 Words…”
Easy & Powerful
Fast & Inexpensive
Not every piece of content has to be a viral juggernaut
Repurpose content Events, Galas, Etc
23. Supporters as Fundraisers
Supporters as fundraisers
Supporters as content generators Videos Blog posts Tweets
24. Test, measure and adjust.
Try new things, not all will work
Define success and measure
Cut the things the aren’t working
Test, measure and adjust.Test, measure and adjust.
Figure out the right formula for your organization
Thank you!
Mark SuttonPresident, Artez US
Twitter: @marksutton
www.artez.com
Tirza HollenhorstIfPeople
Twitter: @tirzalyn
www.ifpeople.net
Evaluation Code: 244
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