guidestar webinar (04/03/13) - taming your communications calendar six months at a time

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Taming Your Communications

Calendar Six Months at a Time

#TamingComms @kivilm @guidestarusa

Speakers

Kivi Leroux Miller, President Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

Lindsay J.K. Nichols, Communications Director,

GuideStar USA, Inc. (moderator)

#TamingComms, @GuideStarUSA, @kivilm

Get the shorter

“My Communications Plan at a Glance” Handout

npmg.us/commplan

Nonprofits Have Always Had Many

Buckets to Fill with Content

Flickr: Tracy Hunter

There were the good old

“print” days (circa 1995).

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Then came website updates

and email newsletters.

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And now there’s social media and mobile.

You have so many ways to deliver your

message, your head’s about to explode.

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You Have Waaaay to Much to Do

Flickr: sashaW

And Never Enough Time to Do It!

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Think Like the Media Mogul You Are

Everyone is a publisher and broadcaster, and therefore a media mogul.

Your nonprofit included.

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Here’s how to get a grip.

Impose Some Limits

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How Many Slots in Six Months?

Monthly E-Newsletter with Three Articles:

6 editions x 3 articles per edition = 18 Slots

Weekly One-Off Email Alerts:

26 weeks x 1 topic = 26 slots

Facebook Updates

1 per day x 5 days week x 26 weeks = 130 slots

18 + 26 + 130 = 174 Slots to Fill

First, You Map Original Content into 1/3 of Your Slots

Next, You Repurpose that

Original Content into another 1/3

of Your Slots

Then You Merge What

Comes Up into the Remaining 1/3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indi/4063079245

Create – and Live By –

These Three Documents 1. Big Picture

Communications Timeline

2. Core Topics List

3. Editorial Calendar

1. The Big Picture

Communications

Timeline

January February March April May June July August September October November December

Eve

nts

or

Mile

sto

nes

O

ut

of

Ou

r C

on

tro

l Ev

ents

or

Mile

sto

nes

W

ith

in O

ur

Co

ntr

ol

Big Picture Communications Timeline S

tory

A

rcs

Co

re

Top

ics

Core Topics Evergreen: Perennial:

Annual Color:

Mai

n C

alls

to

Act

ion

MAP

What things happen every year?

What’s the seasonal to-do list?

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5/

There’s Kitten

Season . . .

And When

Congress is in

Session . . .

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MAP

What events, programs, or services

also need to be mapped (these are

largely within your control)? http

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What are your primary calls to

action throughout the year?

MAP

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What story arcs can

they participate

in with you? MAP

Are we

there yet?

Communications Arcs

• Think Must-See TV, Except Now It’s Your Content!

• Story Threads Over Weeks or Months

• Think Beginning, Middle, End

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Prim

ary

Ele

ction (

May)

Ele

ction D

ay (

Nov)

Today

Fili

ng D

eadlin

e (

Feb)

DN

C C

onvention in

CLT

(early S

ept)

The Story of a Political Change

The Story of Stopping Something Bad

anewwarrior.greenpeace.org

The Story of Getting Ready for the Future

2. Core Topics List

• Evergreens stay fresh from season to season.

Much of basic website content will be evergreen

content.

• Perennials come back year after year, but do

require regular maintenance especially when they

are growing and in bloom. Much of your newsletter

and blog content will be perennials.

• Annual color is short lived, but full of that extra

oomph! Much of what you do in social media will

be annual color.

Adding in Content on Core Topics

Core Topic Evergreen Perennial Annual Color

Core Topics List for Tabby Cat Rescuers

Core Topic Evergreen Perennial Annual Color

Where to adopt a tabby Directory - only updated as needed

Share Facebook updates from our key adoption partners

How to help tabbies

Top Ten Ways to Help Regular features in newsletter and blog

Stories about star volunteers, etc.

What tabbies are available for adoption right now

Weekly newsletter feature Featuring individual tabbies on Facebook and Twitter

The history of tabbies

Single web page – update only as new research becomes available

Trivia questions on tabby history

Now What Do I Do

with All of This

Information?

3. Editorial Calendar

Several Ways to Organize Calendar

• By Channel

• By Audience

• By Program

• By Format

(e.g. Standing

Heads)

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Got Spreadsheet Brain?

Got Spreadsheet Brain?

Got Calendar Brain?

What does your editorial calendar look like now?

Pick a Realistic Time Frame

• Quarterly

• Monthly

• Weekly

Flickr: tanakawho

How far out do you plan?

Don’t Fill It All the

Way Up!

Start with 33% original content,

33% repurposed, and

merge in other 33% later.

That’s What You

Can Plan.

Then the World

Comes Along.

Make Room.

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Make little bets; be fine with failure.

MERGE

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Let social media conversation

keep other content fresh.

MERGE

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Always make

room for

serendipity. Be open to surprises.

MERGE

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Prepare to

newsjack.

MERGE

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Know how

you’ll respond

to a crisis.

MERGE

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Deal with other people’s

high priorities. MERGE

• Daily, Weekly, or Every Other Week

• Program, Communications, and Fundraising Staff

• Nimble Decisionmaking and Prioritizing on the Fly

Where You Actually Decide: The Editorial Meeting

Any Sticky Situations?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katerha/5588607682

Kivi Leroux Miller

@kivilm

Facebook.com/

nonprofitmarketingguide

kivi@ecoscribe.com

Connect with GuideStar

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GuideStarUSA Twitter: @GuideStarUSA Tumblr: http://guidestarusa.tumblr.com Google + http://plus.google.com/+GuideStar GuideStar Blog: http://trust.guidestar.org/ SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/guidestar YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/guidestarusa LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/guidestar Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/guidestarusa/

#TamingComms

QUESTIONS?