How to make your volunteer communications rock through basic communications best practices including thinking about your target audience, planning your outreach and making your content stand out from the crowd. Some basic e-mail best practices and a bit about non-profits and social media

1. 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….)

3. What We Want to Achieve Today
• Learn how to improve your service unit communications
• Walk out with a communications commitment
• What else?

4. 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

5. 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

6. Part 1: Know Yourself

7. Know Yourself
"we don't ever want to use a voice
that's not authentic" can I get that
made into throw pillow?
#raganinternalcomms

8. Know Yourself: The “Why”

9. Know Yourself
Source: https://www.startwithwhy.com/ - Simon Sinek

10. Know Yourself
Apple:
We believe in challenging the status quo and thinking differently
We do that through beautiful design and simplicity to use
In order to make computers…
Laurel:
I am passionate about helping you grow as a leader and as a person
Which I do by excellence in problem-solving, experimenting, executing and
communicating
In order to run my Girl Scout service unit

11. 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

12. Know Yourself
What’s Your WHY?
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)

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

14. Part 2: Know Your Audience

15. 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

16. Know Your Audience
Why know your audience?
It’s all about the results…..

17. Know Your Audience
The more you know about your target
market, the smarter you will be in
developing communications strategies
and tactics that work

18. Know Your Audience

19. Know Your Audience
Potential Girl Scout adult volunteer “target”
groups:
By tenure/experience level
By attitude/motivation
By demographics
By role
It’s all about the results…..

20. 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

21. Know Your Audience
National Profile of Adults in
Girl Scouting, GSUSA, 1997

22. Know Your Audience
Same and different?
What did we learn?
What does this mean for our communications?

23. Part 3: Know Your Content #1

24. 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

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

26. Know Your Content
• But…don’t forget Rule #2
pick your battles……
What are your “battles”?

27. 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
EXAMPLE
You can do BETTER!
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 questions
Service unit meetings
Measure Qual feedback, e-mail response, general level of confusion, how many people access website

28. Battle #1: Cookies Cookies Cookies
• Concord Carlisle’s
“Cookie
Connection”
• Promote GSEM
content associated
with all things
cookie
• ONE place for ALL
things cookie
• EASY for BUSY
volunteers
• =

29. 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!

30. Office workers spend an average of 2.6hours per day reading and
answering emails, according to a survey conducted by McKinsey Global
Institute.
That adds up to about 27days per year.
648 hours that
could be spent doing something else.
What would YOU do with 648hours?

31. Battle #1a: Cookie Help!
• Excitement + Appreciation +
Humor = COOKIE HELP
• Results: Recruited 8 member
cookie team in 2 weeks!

32. Battle #2: Service Unit Meeting Attendance
• 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.”

33. Battle #3: Troop Financial Reports
Email #1
Email #2
Email #3
Results: Over 50% of
troops completed
(upward trend!)

34. 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

35. “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?

36. “Plan Alittle” Template
Campaign
Audience
Purpose
Timing
Channel
Measure

37. Know Your Content
Rule #3: Spend time on the message….
Remember the 4 C’s
• Creative
• Compelling
• Conversational
• Concise

38. Know Your Content

39. 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)

40. Wrap Up #1
Make your communications
commitment
What:
When:
Why:
How:
Share with group!

41. Your Communications Commitment
What
(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

42. Wrap Up #2
What parts most useful? Least?
Would you recommend this session to a friend?

43. Additional Slides

44. And…..what about social media?

45. 88%of non profits still use e-mail and website as main ways to
communicate with their communities although 97%have a facebook
page
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

46. 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

47. 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?