TIPS FOR OPTIMIZING YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DOLLARS CREATING

TIPS FOR OPTIMIZING YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DOLLARS & CREATING MESSAGING THAT WORKS National Disability Institute’s REI Tour Mayor’s Leadership Academy Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Sept. 27, 2011 4: 40 – 5: 40 p. m. 1

INTRODUCTIONS Andrew Houghton – Moderator Disability Inclusion Solutions, Inc. /President, NDI Board of Directors Paula Kelley Client and Business Management Executive, Northeast and Southeast Trust Divisions, U. S. Trust, Bank of America/NDI Board of Directors Michael Jensen Partner/Consultant, Mission Control Media/NDI Board of Directors Lisa Stockmann Karp Director of Communications, National Disability Institute 2

COMMUNICATIONS What is it? Why do we do it? 3

WHAT IS IT? COMMUNICATION Transmitting or imparting information (one-way) Sharing or exchanging information (two-way) COMMUNICATIONS The field of expressing ideas effectively The practice of imparting or sharing information 4

COMMUNICATION: WHY DO WE DO IT? Transmit information Seek information Share ideas Educate/Understand Develop relationships/rapport Influence/Persuade Inspire/Motivate 5

COMMUNICATIONS: THE PRACTICE KEY COMPONENTS Strategy Planning Implementation 6

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY STEP 1: STRATEGIC PLANNING - ORGANIZATION MISSION Who are we? What is our purpose? VISION What do we want to accomplish? What would success look like? Who are our stakeholders/customers? STRATEGY How are we going to do achieve our mission and vision? What specific action steps do we need to take? 7

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY STEP 2: COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY RULE #1 – YOU CANNOT DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY IF: You don’t know who you are You don’t know why you’re here You don’t know what success looks like for your organization You don’t know or understand your stakeholders/target audiences BOTTOM LINE: YOU NEED A SOLID STRATEGIC PLAN TO DEVELOP A SOLID COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY! COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY IS SIMPLY ONE OF THE MANY ACTION STEPS NEEDED TO EXECUTE YOUR OVERALL PLAN. 8

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY THE ‘BACKBONE’ Branding Positioning Messaging 9

BRANDING WHAT IS YOUR BRAND? YOUR PERSONALITY! 10

YOUR BRAND IS. . . What your organization or company stands for What you’re known for How stakeholders/ customers perceive you What stakeholders/customers say about you A PROMISE YOU MAKE TO THE WORLD! The key to your brand promise? YOUR PEOPLE Build brand ambassadors! 11

POSITIONING Owning a word or category in your stakeholder’s/customer’s mind What makes you different – your unique position? What makes you “unique” in the crowded field that is your category? 12

MESSAGING What you want to say about your brand How you want to say it (tone, angle, keywords, etc. ) A good message is: Memorable Frames problem Offers solution Call to action Verbal and visual 13

MAPPING YOUR MESSAGE Do Now Differentiator Do in the Future Think Now MESSAGE

TAILOR MESSAGE TO AUDIENCE MARKET ACCESS PRIMARY NEEDS SECONDAR Y NEEDS RESULTS Low-Income Written Online Income Navigating benefits Financial Stability Basic Financial Independence Middle-Income Online Written Navigating benefits Financial Planning Financial Independence 15

NEXT STEPS Branding, positioning, messaging finalized Create & implement a communications plan How reach target audience (vehicles) Specific objectives/deliverables for each vehicle type Timeline Measureable outcomes What does success look like? Metrics 16

IMPLEMENTATION: COMMUNICATIONS VEHICLES Collateral/Marketing Material Advertising Public Relations Media Relations Community Outreach/Education/Partnerships Email Marketing Online/Web Social Media Text Message/Mobile Marketing 17

COLLATERAL/MARKETING MATERIAL PRINT OR ELECTRONIC Brochures Newsletters Flyers Postcards Mailers, etc. 18

COLLATERAL/MARKETING MATERIAL WAYS TO SAVE Get writing, design and printing donated Offer established designer, firm and/or printer sponsorship/publicity in your initiative in exchange for pro bono services Give aspiring professionals an opportunity in exchange for pro bono services Local college or university Local chapter of professional organizations AIGA (graphic design) PRSA (public relations) IABC or WIC (communications/editorial) AMA (marketing) Volunteer or one of their contacts 19

COLLATERAL/MARKETING MATERIAL WAYS TO SAVE Tricks of the Trade 1 -C or 2 -C printing Digital Press (low quantity) Existing Photos (with permissions, of course!) Royalty-Free Stock Photography/Illustrations/Video 20

COLLATERAL/MARKETING MATERIAL WAYS TO SAVE Online Resources DESIGN 99 designs. com ROYALTY-FREE STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY/ILLUSTRATIONS/VIDEOS/AUDIO i. Stockphoto. com (very affordable!) PRINTING 48 Hour. Print. com Vista Print Fed. Ex Office Alpha. Graphics 21

ADVERTISING Print Broadcast Online (more later) 22

ADVERTISING – PRINT Newspaper Magazine Billboard Direct Mail 23

ADVERTISING - PRINT WAYS TO SAVE Ad Space Donation/PSA Know your print media, sizes Have ads & campaign ready to go, or ready to be tailored when ask Sponsored Ad Sponsor or local business pay to place Request discount Sponsor logo/ “brought to you by” Spotlight Ad With other partners or non-profits Go in to buy a page together, each getting portion of space Local college/university, professional organization/club/publication’s ad or creative dept. /volunteers and their contacts Donate creative services 24

ADVERTISING - BROADCAST Television Radio 25

ADVERTISING – BROADCAST WAYS TO SAVE Produced Spots Ad Space Donation/PSA Know your broadcast media lengths - : 15, : 30, 1: 00 Have ads & campaign ready to go, or ready to be tailored when ask Sponsored Ad Sponsor or local business pay to place Request discount Sponsor logo or mention/ ”brought to you by” Live Read - On- Air Mention by Personality (radio) Local college/university, professional organization/local on-air personality/station’s ad or creative dept. /volunteers and their contacts Donate creative services 26

PUBLIC RELATIONS Promoting and developing goodwill between your organization and the public, your target audiences/stakeholders, the community. Practice of managing communicating between you and the public/stakeholders. MAIN TYPES: Media Relations Community Outreach/Education Partnerships/Networking/Rapport Building 27

PUBLIC RELATIONS – MEDIA RELATIONS WAYS TO SAVE FREE – But deliberate, strategic, trend analysis MEDIA RELATIONS Placing stories Pitching news to local media (print, broadcast, online, social) Trend spotting and analysis News Cycle – “ The Tuesday Principal” Creating and placing your own online content Articles, blogs – Online content is King (more on this later) Being an “expert” resource for media on your topic/brand category 28

PUBLIC RELATIONS – MEDIA RELATIONS WAYS TO SAVE FREE – But deliberate, strategic, trend analysis MEDIA RELATIONS Get to know your local media/relevant journalists Develop rapport Local college/university, professional organization, PR agency, volunteers and their contacts Donate media relations and PR services Generate media list Local media contacts relevant to your cause/brand/category Database and platforms available (Cision, etc. ) 29

PUBLIC RELATIONS – COMMUNITY OUTREACH, EDUCATION, PARTNERSHIPS WAYS TO SAVE Marketing message to influencers, target market/stakeholders Also FREE – But deliberate, time consuming and strategic TYPES: Public Speaking/Presentations Community Engagement/Customer Service Community Partnerships/Coalitions – Raise Issue Visibility Education Programs Customer Service – Brand Ambassadors Word of Mouth Social Media (more later) 30

EMAIL MARKETING FREE – But need to be mindful of privacy, permission-based and spamming laws Only send marketing emails: People who have requested to receive them Relevant content Engaging, collaborative tone but brief Build and create email contact list Must avoid being flagged as “spam” 31

EMAIL MARKETING TIPS FOR STRATEGY & SUCCESS BUILD A TARGETED MAIL LIST Tips: Build your list with the aid of your best advocates & friends BRING VALUE: Tips: Provide a well crafted content piece, tell a story DEVELOP A STRATEGY Tips: Goals for new members, existing GOALS: Tips: Know what you want! TEST & MONITOR RESPONSE

EMAIL MARKETING SERVICES OVERVIEW Constant Contact Manage email database, provides design templates, monitoring, metrics Set monthly fee based on size of list Constantcontact. com Vertical Response Manage email database, more design freedom, monitoring, metrics Pay-as-you-go fee or pay monthly Non-profit program – up to 10, 000 emails free per month for 501 c 3 orgs Verticalresponse. com List of Online Services Available: http: //email-marketing-service-review. toptenreviews. com

WEBSITE MARKETING Website Development: Make your website an information destination Building or adapting your website content for consistent updates & Social Media Integration Monitoring/Metrics Tips & Resources Consider Use of Word. Press format for Website build Offer established web designer, firm and/developer sponsorship/publicity in your initiative in exchange for pro bono services Give aspiring professionals an opportunity in exchange for pro bono services Local college or university, Local chapter of professional organizations Finding Talent to build your site: Freelance talent – elance. com Design: 99 designs. com Programming: codemyconcept. com

ONLINE MARKETING ADVERTISING OVERVIEW Advertising Basics Pay Per Impression ( CPM or PPM): Banner Ads/Pop Up Ads Pay Per Click (PPC) : Google Ad. Words, etc. , pay when ad is clicked Pay Per Action (PPA): Pay per sale, affiliate programs

ONLINE- MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES Outreach Programs : Examples AOL Impact: http: //impact. aol. com/ Cause Cast http: //nonprofit. causecast. org Regional Outreach Opportunities* Patch. com - Local! Digital sites in serving your communities *Pew Research Jan 2011: Of 79% of Americans online. Internet was the second most Relied on source, adults under 40, after local newspaper (many of which have digital sites)

SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook Twitter You. Tube Others 37

COMMUNICATIONS VS. SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS SOCIAL MEDIA Brand-driven User/Audience driven Educates Influences, Participatory Message delivery – One –way Conversation – Two-way Message repetition Message evolution Brand creates content Audience and Brand create content together 38

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY OVERVIEW Design Strategy Craft Messaging/Voice Build Content Roadmap Identify Goals Create Content – Drive Engagement Build Online Community Moderate Participation Support Listen & Respond Provide Value

SOCIAL MEDIA - BENEFITS OPPORTUNITY Engaging your Audience Improve Loyalty with your Audience Analyze Insights and feedback to Improve Creating Brand Advocacy The “Share” Factor – Friends tell Friends - Power of referrals

TEXT MESSAGE/MOBILE MARKETING NOT FREE – But like email marketing, need to be mindful of privacy, permission -based and spamming laws Only send texts to: People who have requested to receive them –costs them to receive, you to send Relevant content Engaging, Short, Collaborative tone Build and create texting contact list Must avoid being flagged as “spam”

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 42

TIPS FOR OPTIMIZING YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DOLLARS & CREATING MESSAGING THAT WORKS National Disability Institute’s REI Tour Mayor’s Leadership Academy Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Sept. 27, 2011 4: 40 – 5: 40 p. m. 43