communication, Marketing, and Publicity master class intro
Introduction
Messaging is critical to the success of age-friendly communities—from personal invitations to working with the press to designing an engaging poster. Join us for examples from the field of developing an effective multi-pronged approach.
Strategic Communication, with special guest Shara Dee, Communication Officer, South Portland, who described the broad communication strategy she is implementing to increase awareness of Age-Friendly South Portland. One win she shared is that the publicity that used to promote the Snow Shoveling Program allowed them to triple the number of volunteers available this year! As part of her presentation, Shara shared a promo video about the program that they are looking forward to sharing on public access television when the 2024 shoveling season begins. Shara shared a few resources with us:
Canva. A few of you mentioned that you tried Canva but found it confusing. The online tutorials can be helpful but the best way to learn it is to explore and play with it. We also had this reminder from Judy Ashby. Canva Pro is free for non-profits!
There was a discussion of MailChimp and Constant Contact to distribute a newsletter. Mailchimp is free to use until your distribution list goes over 1000. Elizabeth Singer said she has a slight preference for Mailchimp because it is cheaper to use, even when you are no longer eligible for a free account.
Lisa Joyce, Volunteer Snow Shoveling Program
Community Panel
Elizabeth Singer - Community Relations Coordinator, Cary Medical Center & Chair, Age-Friendly Caribou, described the approach she uses to get word out about the many programs Age-Friendly Caribou is implementing (including the suggestion that she may try being a modern town-crier). These are a few resources she shared:
** Elizabeth Singer, On Social Media (the best tutorial we have ever seen on using social media)
Elizabeth Singer, Secret Santa Program
Every Door Direct for direct mailing at a reasonable price
Recommended all-in-one social media organizing tools
Donna Palmer - Editor-in-Chief, Lifelong Maine News
Click here to visit the Lifelong Maine Publicity Tool Box (samples of communication for you to copy and customize for your community)
And more! Master Class participants shared these hints, tips, and resources:
Marianne Pinkham (Lincoln County) shared this resource from the national Resource Council of state-wide newspapers with links to submit letters to the editor.
Chloe Gray (Age-Friendly Portland) mentioned that she has had great success with lawn signs and suggested that age-friendly groups reach out to ask the resident service coordinator of congregate housing units for older people if it is possible to make a presentation or share a flyer for an upcoming event.
Nancy Crowell (Age-Friendly South Portland) told us that Scarborough allows groups to have a table at the polling locations, which is a great way to share information about your work (or even to get survey responses!)
Sharon Kelly (Berwick for a Lifetime) wrote in the chat that, "Sandwich boards were the bane of my existence here at the library. You need people to keep track of them, create the message every week, pick up the sign boards when the weather is snowy (plows love to run them over), and then put them back out around town. Oh, and kids love to rearrange the letters to say naughty things. If you have the volunteers, you might be ok. They really were hard to manage here in Berwick!"
Elizabeth Singer chimed in to say that they ask the Caribou recreation department to put information on their electronic sign.
Duane Scott (Augusta Age-Friendly) and a few others told us that they have active Web pages. If you are interested in looking at other community web pages, they are listed in their Community Profile.
Linda Weare (Age-Friendly Portland) shared two things:
Multi-lingual resource guides so that people can access the guides in the language easiest for them
Video about Portland's Age-Friendly Business Program
Additional Resources...
Community Toolbox - Media and Advocacy
FRAME Photo Library - Free use photos of older Mainers
Lifelong Maine Publicity Toolbox - Examples from Maine's Lifelong Communities--from Letters to the Editor to refrigerator magnet designs
We are deeply grateful to AARP Maine for their thought leadership and for funding the Master Class.