Promoting Your Group

Branding is essential in today's world. It helps the public recognize and support your group and benefits your structure and services. Clear branding gives your group a mission and helps recruit volunteers, staff, and supporters.
Branding includes images, colours, logos, words, slogans, language, tone, and behaviour. It helps create a good impression, form strong partnerships, and raise awareness of your cause.

Legal Structures

Ensure you use the correct terms for your group (e.g., "charity" vs. "charitable").
Explain your internal structure, including trustees, staff, and volunteers. Supporters and donors may have differing opinions and viewpoints on how organisations are structured and being transparent saves a lot of hassle and misunderstandings in the long run.
Share information about your partners to show your network and ethical alignment - an increasingly important move in a society growing more polarised.

Your Role in the Community

Reflect on what your group actually does and achieves.
Be honest about your role, whether it's prevention, dealing with issues, or campaigning - all are valid, don't claim you do everything.
Clearly articulate your services, but more importantly, their impact.
Consider who you work with/support and how you talk about them - are you talking about their situation and the negatives or are you talking about how you give them growth and hope (or a bit of both).

Language and Communication

Vocabulary

Use clear, understandable words.
Avoid technical jargon, made up/unique words and acronyms unless explained.

If you are a hyperlocal group that works with a specific group or in a specific area, you can use local slang and terms. This creates a real sense of belonging have local significance can really speak to a sense of place. Words like:
nesh
mard
chuddy
kecks
I'll show me a**e on Bridgefoot Island..

Ensure your language is suitable for your audience - think about reading age, English as a first language, how people speak.
Try to not waffle, especially on leaflets or websites, people don't read that deeply most of the time. Ideally make it skimmable.

Identity

Your communication style reflects your identity.
Use a consistent tone that can help people feel your 'vibe'. Doesn't matter what it is, just stick to one. (formal, casual, energetic, calming, conversational, humorous, serious).
A communication strategy helps maintain consistency, especially in large teams. Consider how you might encourage and ensure the whole team use it consistently.

Individuality

Embrace unique terms and phrases that make your group stand out. Make up your own terms if you can't find something that explains what you mean.
Explain unique terms when necessary. A section on your website or a social media post every so often reinforces the message.

Accessibility

Provide information in a clear, easy-to-understand way.
Use a minimum font size of 12 (ideally 14).
Avoid italics, underlining, and large blocks of capital letters.
Avoid information presented only on images, it can't be read by screen readers or translating apps.
Use sans serif fonts.
Ensure good colour contrast and clear structure. You may have to darken branded colours for text to be legible.
Break up long sections of text with sub-sections.
Use page numbers for multi-page documents.
Support information with symbols, pictures, diagrams, or multimedia.

Reputation

Address myths, stereotypes, stigma, assumptions, and confusions about your group or your users.
Be clear about your structure and connections.
Avoid negative comments about other groups.
Maintain a positive reputation through clear, honest communication.

Audience

Adapt your communication to suit your audience.
Identify your target demographic and tailor your message accordingly.
Consider the capacity, understanding, and cultural references of your audience.
Use simple language for mass appeal (reading age of 9-11 years old).
Target information to specific groups by adjusting language and style.

Aesthetic

Visual elements are crucial in communication. Here are some tips for creating your group's visual appearance:

Symbols and Icons

Choose a logo that will last for some time (meaning it's not attached to anything trendy or fashionable) and isn't easily confused with other logos, especially locally.
Do market research to ensure uniqueness, it can be easy for people to donate thinking it is going to something they recognise.

Meaningful Colours

Use colours wisely, considering their social and emotional impact. There are various resources talking about how colours make people feel. Consider your end goal and work towards that.
Experiment with different colours to find the best fit. Sometimes there are colour schemes that fit places (yellow and blue in Warrington) but there are so many things which have those colours locally that it can get confusing.

Reproduction

Ensure your logo looks good in black and white or greyscale.
Check if it prints and photocopies well.

Attractive & Clear Images

Vectors - Convert your logo to a vector (image without a background) for flexibility and easy use.

Spacing - Ensure clear space around your content for better visibility and accessibility.

Collateral - When using photos and images, consider the following:

Aim for Quality - Use high-resolution images and pay attention to backgrounds.
Take Your Own Photos - Avoid stock images; they can seem fake. Personal photos are more authentic.
Use Local People - Represent your community accurately with your images.
Create Connections - Use emotive images to connect with your audience.
Be Consistent - Stick to a consistent style across all platforms.
Don’t Overuse - Rotate images to keep the audience interested. Ensure you have permission to reuse older images.

Articles / Posts

For print media, follow these tips from Gareth Dunning of the Warrington Guardian:

Plan - Give the paper enough notice and offer event options.

No More Than 250 Words - Keep it short and engaging.

Important Information High - Put key information at the start.

Good Quality Image - Use clear, relevant images that stand out.

Contact Details - Provide clear contact details for follow-up.

Media Platforms

Choosing the right platform can be tricky. Consider these factors:

Audience - Know your target audience and what platforms they use.

Ease of Use - Choose a platform that fits your schedule and skills.

Portability - Use your phone for on-the-go updates.

Content Type - Match the platform to your content (e.g., Facebook for longer posts, Twitter for short updates).

Security - Ensure your information is protected and consider safeguarding in images.

Collaboration - Decide if you'll manage the account alone or with a team. Ensure consistency in communication.

Posting - When to share information is crucial for effective publicity. Here are some tips:

Timing

Active Times: Post when people are most active online. Observe when your audience checks their phones, reads news, and engages with content.
Content Length: Keep posts concise. Avoid long texts that people might skip.
Relevance: Only post when you have something important and on-brand to say. Avoid posting just for the sake of it.

Personal vs. Professional - Community Groups should stay non-partisan and avoid promoting politics or faith unless it's your cause. Keep personal rants off professional accounts.

Events and TV – Hashtags and references can be Used where relevant during events or TV shows related to your work to join the conversation.

Once It’s Out There

After posting, there are still things to manage:

Comments - Keep an eye on comments and engage if necessary.

Contact - Ensure someone is handling messages and enquiries effectively.

Capacity - Start small and build up. Don't overextend yourself.

Problem-Solving - Have a plan for dealing with negative feedback or public complaints.

Security Tips

Direct Visits: Type social media addresses directly into your browser.
Check Connections: Verify accounts before connecting.
Click Cautiously: Be wary of phishing attempts and suspicious links.