When the Traditional Communications Office is No Longer Enough
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Sponsored by: A Service Of: When the Traditional Communications Office is No Longer Enough Michele Levy January 16, 2013
description
The channels nonprofit organizations can use to engage their various audiences continue to proliferate…which is both a blessing and a curse. This session will deliver practical, actionable advice on how to build a team and a program that can achieve your goals, while working within your organization’s resource realities.
Transcript of When the Traditional Communications Office is No Longer Enough
Sponsored by: A Service
Of:
When the Traditional Communications Office is No Longer Enough
Michele Levy
January 16, 2013
Sponsored by: A Service
Of:
Advising nonprofits in:
• Strategy
• Planning
• Organizational Development
www.synthesispartnership.com
(617) 969-1881
INTEGRATED PLANNING
Sponsored by: A Service
Of:
Affordable collaborative data
management in the cloud.
Sponsored by: A Service
Of:
Today’s Speaker
Michele Levy Chief Marketing Officer
Walnut Hill School for the Arts
Assisting with chat questions: Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars
Hosting:
Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership
When the Traditional Communications Office Is No Longer Enough Michele Levy Chief Marketing Officer Walnut Hill School for the Arts
January 2013
• What’s the new context?
• What’s the difference?
• What’s the required skill set?
First, some context
• How many people in your organization are full
time dedicated to marketing communications?
• Where does it live?
• And…how many people have a marketing role
in addition to their “regular” jobs?
Multichannel engagement…
a blessing and a curse
The marketer’s dilemma
How can I build a team
that will help achieve
my organization’s goals,
while working within my organization’s
resource realities?*
*without making myself insane?
An evolving role
Communications
Department
An evolving role
Integrated
Marketing
Communications
Team
What does that mean???
It’s not just about
PR and publications
any more…
Required: a broader skill set
• Great writer (still), but across a broader range of media
(writing for an annual report ≠ writing for the web ≠ writing for
online newsletters ≠ writing for social media)
• Prolific content generator/repurposer (written, video, photo,
audio)
• Marketing generalist (traditional + new channels)
• Proactive communicator and connector
• Strategic counsel, broad perspective
• Rockstar project manager
• Stickler for quality and brand consistency
• Metrics driven
• Up to date on best practices and emerging tools/channels
The ideal combination?
“Big picture thinking”
meets
“roll up your sleeves doing”
The special sauce
“Sprinkled among every walk of life…
are a handful of people with a
truly extraordinary knack of
making friends and acquaintances.
They are Connectors.”
- Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point
A good marketer makes it everyone’s job
Educate
Equip
Reward
Communicate
Repeat
Ultimately creating brand ambassadors
• Be visible
• Be open
• Be consistent
• Be persistent
Start (and stay) grounded
• Know your goals (strategic plan)
• Know your audience (research)
• Know your most effective channels (best
practices, trends and metrics)
Let’s face it…
• You can’t do everything
• You can’t reach everyone
• You can’t possibly make effective use of
every single channel available
Who are you talking to? Who are you talking to?
Case study: Alumni research
A little background
• Recruited 26 participants
• Three-day, online survey
• Moderated by an alum
• Three types of questions: – Experience as a student
– Experience as an alum
– Our methods of communication, messaging and branding
Which channels are most
effective?
What are their perceptions?
What messaging resonates?
Alumni
Families
Prospects
Donors
Tailored for the alumni audience
Engaging
alums, current
students and
their families
in an ongoing
dialogue.
Next
up…prospects
!
Guiding principles
• How else can I use this asset?
• How can I save money while maintaining
high quality standards?
• How will I track results?
• What will I do differently next time based
on results?
Dev
elo
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serv
ice
s
Edu
cati
on
Vo
lun
tee
r m
anag
em
en
t
Eve
nts
But most important…
“You can’t
manage
what you
don’t
measure.”
Demonstrate how you can cut costs,
increase quality, build impact
Viewbook
Viewbook + family guide + envelopes
Behind Stowe
38%
23%
54%
Data drives decisions
VS
Facebook delivers lower CPC (36¢ vs 29¢)
But Google wins on CTR (1.36% to zero)
Sponsored by: A Service
Of:
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