Effective Marketing & Communications

Christina MurphyApril 4, 2018

What is Marketing?

The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

–American Marketing Association

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What is Communications?• Any information distributed to the public

about the organization itself or services and products.

–Study.com

• Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning.

–BusinessDictionary.com

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Why Do It?• Shape & define your recovery house/agency’s

image for outside world:

–Be Deliberate

–Be Strategic

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Why Do It?• The more people know about your recovery

house/agency, the more opportunities for• Realizing mission• Promoting recovery• Growth• Change• Impact

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Your Role• Represent your house/agency• Promote mission, vision, values• Share info re. programs & services available• Educate, raise awareness• Encourage people to get involved

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Be Confident in Your Style

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10 Steps1. Team2. Goals3. Target Audiences4. Tone5. Key Messages6. Calls to Action7. Channels8. Content9. Dissemination10. Adjustments

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1. Team

• Who can help?• Gather a team

• Internally• Externally

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2. Goals• What do you want to achieve?• Align with & support recovery

home/agency goals• Share info about services available• Gain support from key stakeholders, neighbors• Dispel myths about your home• Increase community understanding of recovery

housing• Recruit staff, volunteers, board members• Increase donations (money, supplies)

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3. Target Audience• Who do you want to reach?• People to participate in your services,

programs• Community members, neighbors, public• Community leaders, decision-makers• Funders, donors• New staff, volunteers

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Know Your Audiences

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4. Tone• What attitudes do you want to express?

• Positive• Hopeful• Objective• Serious• Trustworthy

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5. Key Messages• What do you want to share?• Outcomes• We make a difference for… by…

• Quality• We provide high quality services by…

• Unique• We are unique because…• We have learned that…

• Recovery is possible…there are many pathways…recovery housing is a choice…• How to get involved…

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6. Call to Action• What do you want to have happen?• SPECIFIC response to your message• Sign up for a program, participate in a service• Tour a recovery home, agency• Learn about pathways to recovery• Visit webpage, social media for more info• Approve grant application, make donation• Sign up: board member, volunteer• Apply for a job

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Tailor, Tailor, Tailor!

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7. Channels• What are best ways to reach your audiences?• Go to people where they already are

• Direct contact (meeting, phone call, email, mail)• Websites

• Yours• Others

• Social Media (which platforms?)• Neighborhood meetings & events• Community coalition & network meetings• News Media

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Sample ChannelsAudiences Channels

Neighbors Neighborhood Association Meeting

Neighborhood Block Party

Town Facebook Group

Town Newspaper (website)

Town Newspaper (Facebook page)

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8. Content• What do you need to share your messages?• Logo, tagline• Elevator speech• Talking points • Testimonials• Brochure, postcard, flyer• Newsletter (email, paper)• Digital content (website, social media)• Narrative, images & graphics, audio & video

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Branded Content• Brand• Name, term, design, and/or symbol to distinct your

recovery home/agency from others• How people recognize, experience & remember

your organization

• Be true to your brand• Logo• Tagline• Colors• Fonts• Images

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Content Tactics• When Communicating• Organize content around audiences• Most important info first• What, when, where & how

• When Writing Use• Key words• Short titles, headings, paragraphs, sentences• Active voice & strong verbs• Bulleted & numbered lists• Hyperlinks to your website for more info• Acronyms & technical terms sparingly!

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Apply the KISS Principle

Keep It Short & Simple

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Language Matters!

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Images Matter!

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Power of StoriesStorytelling Guide & Videos

samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/recovery-support-tools/share-your-story

“Recovery at Work” podcast seriesthinkt3.com/podcast

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9. Dissemination• How do you get your messages out?• Coordinate audiences, channels, content & timing

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Dissemination PlanAudience Channel Timing/

FrequencyContent Strategy

Neighbors Neighborhood Association Meeting

Monthly meeting (insert meeting date)

Postcard describing what your recovery home does

Staff member participates in meeting & distributes postcard

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10. Adjustments• How do you know if it is working?• Are you reaching your goals?• Get feedback from your audiences• Check your analytics• Data to evaluate how you are doing

•Make adjustments to maximize effectiveness

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Key AnalyticsChannel DataWebsites, webpages Page views, unique page

views, average time on page, bounce rate, next page path

Email newsletters Successful deliveries, open rate, total clicks, unsubscribes

Videos Views, view times, likes, shares

Twitter Re-tweets, likes, comments, impressions

Facebook Shares, likes, comments, impressions

Documents: printed, electronic

Number given out, downloads

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ResourcesFrameWorks Instituteframeworksinstitute.org

Non-Profit Resources: Communications & Marketingmassnonprofitnet.org/nonprofit-resources/communications-marketing/

Communication 101luminafoundation.org/files/resources/communication-101.pdf

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Questions?

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Center for Social Innovation617-467-6014center4si.comFind us on

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Thank you!

Want to begin developing communications strategies for your recovery house/agency?

Join me for Breakout D-13-4:15 PMScioto A