You don’t have to be a professional communications officer to use various communication channels successfully. However, it does require a little preparation before you rock the world of communication. In order to make high-quality posts on a regular basis – even in stressful times –, it is advisable to plan messages at least one month in advance. Of course, this should not stop you from writing spontaneously about current topics.
Downloads
This communication content plan offers you…
… a systematic approach to devise your communication activities for one year. You can download the Excel-file and adapt it to your personal needs. Fill in important milestones of your project, so that you remember to communicate them.
… ideas for your first appealing messages. For the first three months of your project, we have prepared posts that you can use to inform your target group about your project. The content plan starts in January by default, but feel free to copy and paste the messages to whatever month you start your project.
… exemplary entries meant to inspire you for important dates, e.g. Valentine’s day, Christmas or similar events
When creating your social media presence, there are some tips you might find useful:
Do
→ Keep a light-hearted tone.
→ Apply storytelling techniques.
→ Post save-the-dates for events ahead of time, even multiple times if the content varies e.g. by describing your preparations, introducing speakers or giving a preview of some exemplary agenda items.
Don’t
→ Use your project’s platform to post content unrelated to the project.
→ Conduct important discussions only online; every now and then, it is good to discuss things in person.
→ Use too many hashtags # .
→ Post something you would not say in person, e.g. speak badly of someone/competitors; negative comments backfire.
→ Engage with “trolls” (trolls are people who write provocative statements on the internet to cause a reaction or spark an unproductive discussion among others). It is recommended to ignore their comments and instead, as already mentioned, have face-to-face conversations from time to time.
→ Retweet/share a post that you have not fact-checked or have not checked to see if it comes from a legitimate source.
To see how to use your social media channels to best reach your potential members, have a look at how to use Social Media.