It’s a Jungle Out There!Making Your Service Unit Communications

Gorilla Worthy

October 2014 |Laurel Gerdine, Managing Director, Take3 Communications

(And fellow Girl Scout Volunteer….)

What We Want to Achieve Today

• Learn how to improve your service unit communications

• Walk out with a communications commitment

• What else?

What We’ll Do Today

• Warm up

• Elements of Success

• Know Yourself

• Know Your Audience

• BREAK

• Know Your Content • 7 Rules of Highly Effective Communications

• Picking Your Battles

• Wrap Up

Elements of Success

• Divide into groups

• Each person: What is the MOST successful SU communication you have ever seen?

• Group: What made it successful?

• Timing: 10 minutes

Part 1: Know Yourself

Know Yourself

"we don't ever want to use a voice that's not authentic" can I get that

made into throw pillow? #raganinternalcomms

Know Yourself: The “Why”

Know Yourself

Source: https://www.startwithwhy.com/ - Simon Sinek

Know Yourself

Apple:We believe in challenging the status quo and thinking differentlyWe do that through beautiful design and simplicity to useIn order to make computers…

Laurel:I am passionate about helping you grow as a leader and as a personWhich I do by excellence in problem-solving, experimenting, executing and communicatingIn order to run my Girl Scout service unit

Know Yourself

What’s your WHY?

Directions

• Write down your “why” statement

• Share with a partner and/or the group

• Timing: 5 minutes then share with group

Know Yourself

WHY: I am passionate about(what do you most value about being a Girl Scout)….

HOW: Which I do by (what UNIQUE skills and contributions do YOU make to Girl Scouting)…..

WHAT: In order to (make what happen in Girl Scouting)

What’s Your WHY?

Know Yourself

• Want more? Go to https://www.startwithwhy.com/learnyourwhy

Part 2: Know Your Audience

Basic Communications Framework

• Who: Target Audience

• What: Content and “Campaigns”

• When: Timing and frequency

• Where: Channels

• How: Tone!

• Why: Objective and Goal – Call to Action

Know Your Audience

Why know your audience?

It’s all about the results…..

Know Your Audience

The more you know about your target market, the smarter you will be in

developing communications strategies and tactics that work

Know Your Audience

Know Your AudiencePotential Girl Scout adult volunteer “target” groups:

By tenure/experience levelBy attitude/motivationBy demographicsBy role

It’s all about the results…..

Know Your Audience

Time to Put on Your Volunteer Hat!

Directions

• Break into groups

• Get assigned a target segment

• Think about and create her/his Girl Scout volunteer story: motivations, perceptions of GS, challenges, knowledge level, volunteer goals and how and where she prefers to communicate

• Now, draw some pictures that represent your volunteer

• Be your volunteer: Appoint one of your group to BE your volunteer and tell her story in her voice

• Timing: 10-15 minutes then share with group

Know Your Audience

National Profile of Adults in Girl Scouting, GSUSA, 1997

Know Your Audience

Same and different?

What did we learn?

What does this mean for our communications?

Part 3: Know Your Content #1

Rule #1: A little planning goes a LONG way

Rule #2: Pick your battles Rule #3: Spend time on the message

Rule #4: People have to see something (at least) 3 times

Rule #5: Good communication takes time and consistency. See #2.

Rule #6: Give your communication personality and people will read it

Rule #7: If it doesn’t work, try something different

Know Your Content

•Rule #1: A little planning….• “Campaign”• Purpose• Audience• Timing• Channel• Measurement

Know Your Content

• But…don’t forget Rule #2

pick your battles……What are your “battles”?

Battle #1: Cookies Cookies Cookies

Campaign Cookies- Cookie training- Cookie kick off- Cookie booth sales coordination- Cookie sales support- Cookie order entry and support- Cookie distribution- Cookie awards

Audience New volunteers especially cookie parents, not enthusiasts

Purpose To inform and support volunteers during the cookie season. Decrease repeat questions and frustration level in volunteers, especially new ones

Timing Begin early November, end in March

Channel Push - Email (biweekly - all leaders and cookie divas)Pull – Website (biweekly updates, forms and instructions, plus booth sales sign ups)Email box for questionsService unit meetings

Measure Qual feedback, e-mail response, general level of confusion, how many people access website

EXAMPLEYou can do BETTER!

• Concord Carlisle’s “Cookie Connection”

• Promote GSEM content associated with all things cookie

• ONE place for ALL things cookie

• EASY for BUSY volunteers

Battle #1: Cookies Cookies Cookies

• =

• Plus a new feature –sign up for and view booth sales right here

• Make it even easier• Rules and process

all in one place• Results: Less time to

manage booth sales for service unit and more booth sales overall!

Battle #1: Cookies Cookies Cookies

Office workers spend an average of 2.6 hours per day reading and answering emails, according to a survey conducted by McKinsey Global Institute.

That adds up to about 27 days per year.

648 hours that

could be spent doing something else.

What would YOU do with 648 hours?

Battle #1a: Cookie Help!

• Excitement + Appreciation + Humor = COOKIE HELP

• Results: Recruited 8 member cookie team in 2 weeks!

• Make it personal• Acknowledge the

obstacles and the benefits

• Results: Monthly meetings attended

by 10-20% of the

volunteer base. • Steady attendance

and growing base of “Enthusiasts.”

Battle #2: Service Unit Meeting Attendance

Email #1

Email #2

Email #3

Results: Over 50% of troops completed

(upward trend!)

Battle #3: Troop Financial Reports

Know Your Content

Let’s Plan It!

Directions

• Get your “plan alittle” template

• Get your “battle”

• Break into groups of 3-4

• Complete the plan – document your best practices, gaps and questions

• Timing: 15 minutes

• Share with group

“Plan Alittle” Template Instructions

Campaign • Put your “battle” (or campaign) in here• Describe the elements or key messages of your battle

Audience • Who is the primary target audience for your campaign?

Purpose • What is the purpose of this campaign?• What behavior or result are you trying to drive?

Timing • When will this start and end?

Channel • What types of communications will you use?

Measure • How will you know this has been successful?

“Plan Alittle” Template

Campaign

Audience

Purpose

Timing

Channel

Measure

Know Your Content

Rule #3: Spend time on the message….

Remember the 4 C’s

• Creative

• Compelling

• Conversational

• Concise

Know Your Content

Some More Tips for E-mail

SCFE – the self contained forwardable Email

“If you send an e-mail to everyone, you send it to no one” – some wise person

Think about the “fold” - put call to action (what you need them to DO) at the top

Think about your subject line (be direct and action-oriented, include SU name)

Wrap Up #1

Make your communications commitment

What:

When:

Why:

How:

Share with group!

Your Communications CommitmentWhat(is your action to improve your Su communications)

When(will you start and complete)

Why(did you pick this and what is your objective)

How(will it get done)

Who (will be involved and/or help)

Sign here

Wrap Up #2

What parts most useful? Least?

Would you recommend this session to a friend?

Additional Slides

And…..what about social media?

88% of non profits still use e-mail and website as main ways to

communicate with their communities although 97% have a facebookpage

And when they use social networks, it is primarily to get their message out,

like a bull horn

Social networking can be used to get the word out but it is also to build

engagement with your audience. Now some ideas for using social networks “right”…

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/management/23837-how-nonprofits-use-social-media-to-engage-with-their-communities.html

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/management/23837-how-nonprofits-use-social-media-to-engage-with-their-communities.html

#1 Be conversational

#2 Get visual

#3 Have a (little) plan

#4 Think mobile

Know Your Content

Let’s get hands on….

Take a sample e-mail

Does it “pass” the 4 C’s? Why?

How could it be better?