Best Practices for Implementing a District

Communication Strategy

Zones 24 – 32 Institute October 16 2014

This Session

• High level overview of the system

• Best practices on how to build a strong and cohesive communication strategy with your District team. – Build multiple streams of communication based on club leadership,

district leadership, or all Rotarians.

– Discover the capability of the online directories and how to customize and adapt to your own needs.

• Showcase how other districts have setup their online strategy to involve multiple teams and committees to accomplish the District’s goals

• Invite participants to share what has worked for them.

Slide 2

Agenda

• Membership Database

• District Communication Strategy

• Your website presence

• What’s New in ClubRunner

• Q&A

Slide 3

Set your goals

• Assess any weak points or gaps in service E.g. Ask immediate past presidents – Club surveys (anonymous) – Unbiased critique of existing resources

• Determine end result and deliverables E.g. Proactively inform key club executives of District strategy in each area – Guide all AGs in promoting DG goals within clubs – Inform every Rotarian of news and available opportunities

within District – Promote Rotary to general public within geographical area

of District

Slide 4

Plan your strategy

• Starting with each goal, set a strategy within that area:

– Club Support (Presidents, Secretaries and other Execs/Directors such as Foundation chairs)

– AG Support

– All Rotarians

– General public relations

Slide 5

The Membership Database and Directory

Slide 6

Key elements of a good database

• ClubRunner’s features rely on certain aspects of a good membership database

Slide 7

RI Integration

• Very important that clubs opt-in to have their membership integrated with RI

• The club does not need to have ClubRunner in order to opt-in for integration

• The District cannot opt-in all their clubs (Rotary needs it on a per-club basis)

• Note: RI Integration flows up to RI, but not the other way back down

Slide 8

RI Integration

• Integration icon in the club list:

Slide 9

• Integration status box:

Compare & Synch

Slide 10

Dashboard

Slide 11

District Directories

Slide 12

Download Member Data

Slide 13

Anti-Spam Legislation

• Canada’s CASL law went into effect July 1 2014 and affects all communication from clubs and districts to non-members

• You need express consent (unlike the implied consent in the United States)

• 3 year grace period to get consent

Slide 14

Communication Approaches

Slide 15

Set your goals

Slide 16

Communication Approaches

• Many ways to do this, some better than others

• Here are some examples of what various Districts have done in the past.

Slide 17

The Bird’s Nest

Slide 18

The Funnel

Slide 19

The Ambassador

Slide 20

The Bull’s Eye

Slide 21

Which is best?

Slide 22

Email / ClubRunner / Bulletin?

Slide 23

Regular Email

ClubRunner Email Service

ClubRunner Bulletin

Why It’s Great Quick Great if dialogue is expected and all recipients need to receive the replies

Lots of recipients Centralized lists

Efficient way to send a lot of information without overwhelming people Good for repeated info and reminders

Watch out for… Address book is perpetually out of date

Easy to have too many recipients Can be risky to allow access

Perceived as less urgent

Why have a bulletin?

• Traditionally a club feature

• Districts can have more than 1 channel:

– District Officers (once a month)

– All Presidents (once a month)

– All Rotarians (once per quarter)

• A very under-utilized concept and is great for sharing information

• Esp. for repeated content (upcoming events)

Slide 24

Communication / PR Committee

• In the past, there was a “Webmaster” role in the District

• Over the years, this has changed to a “Communications Chair” or committee

– Handles website (PR)

– Handles emails and newsletters (Comm.)

Slide 25

Ex. District 7820 Policy

Slide 26

Your Website

Slide 27

Leaders Support

• Dedicate a page to each leader with full resources

• Commit to a monthly or quarterly newsletter sharing ideas (e.g. Membership News)

Slide 28

Information

Slide 29

District Org Chart

Slide 30

Slide 31

Slide 32

Slide 33

Slide 34

Post Good, Current Content

• Keep content current • Post events and content, even if it has been emailed

or sent in a bulletin • Keep prospective members in mind and invite people

to experience Rotary with membership guidelines – many people think you can’t get into Rotary!

• Include news from your local clubs, district, and internationally to increase visitor’s perception of Rotary’s scope

• Add the Rotary International RSS Feed widget • Don’t assume your visitor knows about Rotary!

Slide 35

What’s New

• Volunteers Module

– Released September 2014

• Attendance Module (Beta)

– Currently in Beta

– Can be added on request

– General release approx. Nov/Dec 2014

• Grants Module

– Released last year for Districts

Slide 36

Open Discussion and Q&A

• Do you have a great strategy that worked?

• How do you motivate clubs to keep their membership and officer information up to date?

Slide 37

Discussion Groups

• To discuss CR features with other users, join a LinkedIn group!

Slide 38

ClubRunner Users Group • Started by a Rotarian, and not

official • We participate but don’t

moderate • Great for best practice topics

and sharing knowledge

ClubRunner Beta and Early Access Participants • Owned by us • For discussions related to new

features in beta before general release

Thank You

Slide 39

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