We'll skip the basics since you likely already know the components of a solid communications program (a good website that holds people's attention, email marketing, social media, traditional media, promotional collateral like newsletters and annual reports, etc.).
To ramp up your communications, here are five steps you should take in 2014:
Make Communications a Priority
Do you have regular meetings to discuss finances, fundraising, and programs? In 2014, put an equal emphasis on communications by setting up at least one monthly meeting to discuss progress, impact, and next steps for your communications plan. (You can learn more about creating a plan here.)
Make Communications Everyone's Responsibility
You can't have an effective communications program that produces results if you isolate the communications function. Make sure your staff is actively involved in your communications effort and invested in its success.
You can do this by having members from various departments attend the monthly communications meeting and make them all contribute to the program's success. How? Make everyone responsible for providing stories and content for newsletters, social media, press, the website, and more.
Target Your Communications
Not all your stakeholders are interested in the same content. Funders, your social media community, government folks, reporters and your board may all be generally interested in what you do, but they are likely to be engaged through different information and stories about your work.
Spend time up front tailoring your content for each stakeholder group and you will see better results.
Share Content Across Multiple Platforms
We see this all too often:
- An organization gets a nice press story but doesn't get it in front of funders, supporters, and sometimes even their staff!
- An annual report is mailed out, but not shared via social media and is immediately buried on a website.
- An executive director speaks at an important conference or hearing. The occasion inadvertently becomes the organization's best kept secret.
In 2014, take 10 minutes at your monthly meeting to discuss how you'll get every communications-related success, event, or accomplishment in front of all potentially-interested audiences.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
So is video.
This year, try to tell stories - about the organization and people you serve - through pictures, video, info graphics, and very little text.