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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!
Flickr: laffy4k
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
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajaxofsalamis/6794460197
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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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)
Flickr: ifindkarma
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
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?
