Ideas and Best Practices for APA Division

Communications

Divisions Council Meeting

April 2, 2016

Phoenix

Division Communications Audit

• Conducted Fall 2015

• Criteria:

– Communications Goals

– Frequency

– Engagement

• Methodology

– 2 most recent newsletters for 19 divisions

– Division websites on planning.org

– Division social media channels

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Division Communications Audit

• Recommendations: Newsletters

– Shorter articles

– More graphics

– Integrate calls to action

– Less emphasis on leader letters and bios

– More member profiles, successes

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Division Communications Audit

• Recommendations: Websites and Social Media

– Prioritize social media

– Make websites an “evergreen” resource

– Commit to social channels that you can maintain frequently

– Define your strategy for each channel

– Make members more of a focus

– Add spontaneous content

– Integrate video, graphics

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Effective Division Communications

• International (Newsletter, Website)

• Federal Planning (Newsletter)

• Planning and Law (Newsletter)

• Planning and Women (Newsletter)

• Small Town and Rural (Facebook, Twitter)

• Sustainable Communities (Twitter, LinkedIn)

• Transportation Planning (Facebook page)

• Economic Development (Twitter)

• Housing and Community Development (LinkedIn)

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Communication Channels

Websites

Eblasts

E-newsletters

Social Media

Podcasts

Videos

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When Should You Choose Eblasts?

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• Save the dates & other promotions for conferences, events, professional development/training/continuing education

• Election process

• Leadership announcements

• National policy updates & grassroots campaigns

• Call for award nominations & announcement of recipients

• Call for scholarships, grants, fellowship nominations & announcement of recipients

• Promotions for new products, resources

When Should You Choose E-newsletters?

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• Reporting on Division activities

• Executive summaries of public

policy

• Event previews and recaps

• Opinion section/guest bloggers

• Aggregated news

• Continuing education calendar

• Recognitions (leadership,

elections, awards,

scholarships/grants/fellowships)

Eblast and E-newsletter Tips & Ideas

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If text is concise, skimmable, and objective, then the cumulative effect is 124% improved usability–Nielsen Usability Study Results (useit.com)

Do

• Use informational headline and subheads

• Use bulleted lists, sidebars, summaries, and pull quotes

• Use short paragraphs and simple sentence structure

• Use active voice and correct spelling/punctuation/grammar

• List relevant dates, times, locations, costs

• Include obvious call to action

Don’t

• Overuse adjectives (present facts vs. opinions)

• Incorporate a number of different fonts, colors

E-newsletter Gold Standards

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ASCD Express(Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

• Concise copy

• Effective use of graphics

• Strong calls to action

• Descriptive, straight-forward, fact-based titles and subheads

E-newsletter Gold Standards

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Associations Now Daily News

(ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership)

• Short, informative, SEO-optimized headlines

• Mix of original and curated content (even links to relevant, featured jobs)

• Multiple versions targeted to specific audiences

• Offers a variety of media – Links to magazine articles

– Podcasts

– Videos

– Blogs

E-newsletter Gold Standards

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The Meeting Professional, MPIpulse

(Meeting Professionals International)

• Active voice

• Short paragraphs, simple sentence structure

• Obvious calls to action

• Links to a variety of media (podcasts, videos, articles, bloggers)

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E-newsletter Pitfalls

• Require significant time and manpower

• Complex content development and production

• Potential disconnect or duplication with website

Alternatives

E-news Digest. A compilation of news stories/analysis relevant to the Division curated from online outlets, with links to the full stories.

Blog. Articles ranging in length from 500-750 words. Various authors, topics.

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Sample E-news Digest

ADA Morning Huddle

(American Dental Association)

• Main feature = association news

• Remaining content by category

Services provided by Bulletin Intelligence

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Sample Blog Post

When Should You Choose Social Media?

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• Solicit opinions, receive instant

feedback from constituents

• Attract new

constituents/stakeholders

• Raise visibility, exposure for various

events, campaigns

• Share articles of interest, resources

to broader audience

• Monitor positive/negative feedback

• Incur little/no cost

Social Media Tips & Ideas

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• Only launch a social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest) if you can update it at least twice weekly (the more active you are, the more searchable you become)

• Consult image size cheat sheets online

• Use a tool like Hootsuite to schedule multiple social media posts

• Compare KPIs and metrics to what’s trending on Statista

• Want to monitor your activities?

Try:

– Social Mention

– TweetDeck

– HowSociable

– Klout

– Mention

– SproutSocial

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Social Media Pitfalls

• Frequency is important

• Multimedia is key to each post: image, video, audio, other

• Distinct strategy needed for each social channel

– E.g., LinkedIn for professional development, Facebook for

recognition, Twitter for news

Alternatives

Not recommended. Rather than avoiding social media,

choose one channel for focused strategy.

When Should You Choose Podcasts?

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• Deeper, more personal dive into specific content

• Invite guest speakers and recognized experts to share research, recommendations

• Conduct Q&A with speakers, presenters, authors

• Many podcast fans listen to their favorite shows while commuting, working, eating, cleaning. Reach them in hours that they wouldn’t normally be available.

• Increase your Division’s authority and provide your expertise in a new way

Podcast Tips & Ideas

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• Order a Blue Yeti mic from Musiciansfriend.com

• Download (for free) Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net)

• Watch this helpful Audacity tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPMR4ZPGIGU

• Write your script NPR-style, no longer than 4 minutes

• Use legal, royalty free music (royaltyfreemusic.com)

For a thorough introduction and more options, read this article featuring APA Social Media Manager Mike Johnson:

http://connectivity.cqrollcall.com/guide-podcast-how-to-advocacy-professionals/

Podcast Gold Standards

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• The American Nurse Radio, The American Nurses Association http://theamericannurse.org/ANARadio/2.2/

• Healthcare Tech Talk, Advancing Safety in Healthcare Technology http://www.aami.org/newsviews/Podcasts.aspx?navItemNumber=791

Both award-winning podcasts:– Feature clear, compelling interviews with subject

matter experts

– Are widely accessible through associations’ website and major podcast distributors (iTunes, Stitcher)

– Offer innovative sponsorship opportunities within the podcasts themselves and on the host sites

Podcast Pitfalls

• Requires certain skill set, comfort level with technology

• Equipment is required

• Cross-promotion in other communication vehicles is

important

Alternatives

Simple video interviews may be more affordable and

easier to produce, disseminate.

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When Should You Choose Video?

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“Facts tell, but stories sell. There is no better medium than video for storytelling.” – MarketingProfs, 2015.

• Entertain

• Inspire

• Establish credibility

• Educate; simplify a complex subject

• Drive action

• Easily measure impact

“65% of viewers watch more than 3/4 of a given video. Any content marketer would be thrilled with that kind of readership for a piece of text.” Source: Invodo

Video Tips & Ideas

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• Short-format videos are in. By offering bite-sized bits of

engagement, they become more conducive to sharing.

• Create brand-building by posting on open discovery

platforms:– YouTube

– Facebook

– Vine

– Instagram (59% of the world’s top brands are now active on Instagram alone,

according to Simply Measured)

• Video testimonials are more powerful that written

testimonials; they are perceived as more authentic.

Video Gold Standards

planning.org

American Forests

https://www.youtube.com/w

atch?v=7sdZ-Dw7iDI

Award-winning video

because of its:

• Strong imagery

• Compelling and

emotional interview

“sound bytes”

• Calls to action

“Restoring the Lost Pines”

Video Gold Standards

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“Urology Care Foundation

Awareness”, American

Urological Association

https://www.youtube.com/c

hannel/UCHCZ1sbVTYhp

M1qmKFiOJJQ/about

Award-winning video

because of its clear

messaging and calls to

action

Video Pitfalls

• Quality is an important success factor

• Multiple technical guidelines to consider if social media is a main distribution channel (length, graphics, etc.)

• Professional production for videos that include narration, graphics is costly

Alternatives

Animated presentations

Free PowToon tool available at www.powtoon.com

PowToon Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFv8L0z-72c

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Possible Next Steps for Division Leaders

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• Review audit results and examples of highly rated

division communications

• Plan your goals and content

– What types of information do you want to share?

• Determine the frequency of your communications

• Select the communications channels best suited to create

and distribute your content

• Evaluate resources: time, manpower, budget

• Create an editorial/content calendar

– Consult HubSpot & Content Marketing Institute for templates

Possible Next Steps for APA Staff

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• Distribute examples of highly rated division

communications as needed

• Website feedback session for future division/chapter site

developments

• Development of editorial guidebooks for Chapters,

Divisions

• Provide guidance, assistance as needed

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Partnership Opportunities?

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