Are you communicating effectively?
In the increasing competition for grants, donor dollars, volunteer time, and support for many social causes your website, email communications and Media tools are extremely important in your visibility to your target audiences.
Please forward this email to others in your network. Click on the link on the bottom left and send it to one or more email addresses along with your comments.
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| Dear Denise,
At the beginning of the year this is an appropriate time to review and set your organization goals and objectives and to take stock of past performance. Effective communication is an important component in being able to meet your objectives.
Your website is important part of your marketing and communications plan
- Does it provide up to date information about your organization, your goals and objectives, mission and strategies, upcoming events and past successes?
- Does it meet the needs of your clients, partners and staff?
- Does it provide calls to action that encourage the type of participation and involvement that you need - more volunteers, more registrations for your courses and events, more donations, more sales or notifying that staff and board positions that are vacant?
- Does it solicit communications FROM your target audiences - comments, news items, and suggestions that will give you feedback and an understanding of what people need and value?
Review your current website to see how it is helping you to meet your communications objectives.
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| Featured Website |
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Comprehensive Community Health Centers (CCHC) is composed of three community health centers serving the immigrant and lower economic income population with full service health care for the entire family. The website provides location and service information for each of the clinics in an easy to use navigation system. The simple design and structure will enable the CCHC website to grow over time with more depth in the different sections. The website answers frequently asked questions and provides a contact form which is accessible from every point. It is very important to CCHC that their clients and referral partners can contact them easily.
The website was launched recently and collects statistics of number of visitors to the website, where they came from, and which pages of the website are most frequently visited. Other health clinics may find it useful to include some of the registration forms or an online appointment registration service.
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| Developing a Video |
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A video can be an important communication tool for your organization. To be effective it must be planned to meet your needs. First - identify your objectives, target audiences and where it will be shown. This will help you in identifying the approach and the concept. Then identify what materials you might have available that can be used.
For example do you have footage from some past events, photographs, logo, other graphic or sound elements that might be incorporated. Prepare the storyboard and script of the video giving the timing of each element. Create the schedule for shooting the necessary elements - interviews, location shots, activities. Decide if there is to be scripted music or other audio tracks to pull the video together and to create a particular mood or impact. After all the elements are assembled your video producer will produce a "Rough Cut" which is a pre-final preview to show the concept and flow. The final video is produced and recorded to the final media - DVD, Internet, VHS or other required formats and duplicated. It is useful during the production phase to be finalizing the arrangements for showing or distribution.
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| Email Communications |
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Use forms on your website that will create an effective communications channel directly from your visitors to your website. There are several advantages to using a FORM that people fill in versus having them just send an email. See an example of a contact form.
A form gives you information in a structured format. You can choose to have required information that the person fills in, and it is organized so that it collects the information that you need to answer a question, follow up with them appropriately. In many cases the person who fills out a form on a website is a qualified lead. They WANT to communicate with you for some reason.
Forms can be designed to send the information to one or more people in your organization. Also the forms can be programmed to store the information in a database so that it builds over time and gives you many options on how to use the contacts for future follow ups.
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| Organization Internet Strategy Session |
Take advantage of a special offer for nonprofits. Sign up for an Internet Strategy Consulting Session with Denise Davies. Appointments are available for nonprofits on Monday afternoons from 2 - 4 PM at the Volunteer Center Orange County. You may have one or more people from your organization and the session will discuss your specific status and needs and give suggestions on approaches you can take. Call 714-953-5757 x 124 . Click here for location information. Call 714-953-5757 x 124
Or sign up online
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