Through her work with school districts and nonprofits, Forthright senior advisor Lauren knows how to reach a variety of audiences. Today, Lauren is sharing how organizations and districts like yours can better include grandparent caregivers in your tactics and build more inclusive communications.
Read MoreAs a PR firm founder, it’s my job to watch for macro-trends and patterns across our work. I’m keeping an eye on the big picture and constantly taking a pulse on the audiences (parents, school district administrators, child care providers, etc.) we frequently target through our work.
And honestly? I’m concerned.
Read MoreHonest question: How full is your inbox right now? Has it reached hundreds of unread emails yet? In the days leading up to the first day of school, it is totally normal to have an overwhelming amount of information thrown at you.
Buried in many inboxes are great story “nuggets” that deserve to be told. Maybe it is the student who learned to love science during the fun summer camp she took. Maybe it is a teacher who is bursting with fun, new blended learning ideas to engage his social studies class after the professional development session he attended in July.
Read MoreI was in DC this spring, and I spotted someone wearing a tee shirt reading “words mean things”.
My husband, a software engineer, didn't understand why I instantly fangirled over this shirt.
But as leaders and communicators, you get it — words DO mean things. We have a responsibility to choose them wisely and understand how they land and how different people interpret them.
Read MoreI grew up the middle child – not the first born, not the baby of the family. Yet I can confidently say that (as a future communicator) I was still the best at convincing our parents to do what I wanted.
My secret? Thinking about what was personally important to them…and then matching what I wanted with what they valued.
And that secret, my friend, is the entire secret to good communications.
Read MoreIt’s overwhelming out there, these days, eh? A flood of news. Constant notifications. According to recent health data from OnePoll, we’re all feeling overworked and exhausted.
So as changemakers, how do we break through the tired and overwhelmed in order to move our work forward?
The answer is simple:
One.
Read MoreEarlier this year, we asked you to share the skills you're most focused on building in 2022.
Many of you said that you'd like to do more around audience analysis for communications planning. You want to gain a better understanding of your audiences' values, motivations and their pain points – ultimately setting the stage for an effective campaign.
So, we put together an easy three question checklist to get you started on smart audience analysis.
Read MoreI’ve scrolled past endless LinkedIn posts, tweets and Facebook comments these past few weeks -- all with the same sentiment. What we’re living through now isn’t acceptable, and we want it to be different.
Here’s the communication problem with the “something must change” posts: they unintentionally perpetuate the idea that the problems we face are too big.
Read MoreWe’ve all heard the phrase a picture is worth a thousand words. And that’s true – but in marketing and advocacy, the images aren’t just about the pictures themselves and the words they represent. They are also about the feelings they evoke and the narratives they help shape.
Read MoreWe know your work – all of our work – is directly impacted by recent tragedies and crises. Dallas, Buffalo, Laguna Woods, Uvalde. The formula crisis, attacks on necessary equity efforts in our schools and child care shortages. These all signal the need for a major revolution.
So what do we want? Long-term, sustainable policy change to help our children and families thrive. When do we want it? NOW. (I mean, years ago, really.)
So that’s what we’re focused on today. We reviewed more than 10 peer-reviewed journal articles, book excerpts and research studies (in addition to years of experience working with policymakers!) to ensure that you have what you need to succeed in your advocacy.
Read MoreWhen talking about big issues that aren’t disappearing anytime soon, relying on sentimental language, grim details, or an instinctually emotional reaction from audiences can actually do more harm than good. Here are three things to think about when communicating about tough topics.
Read MoreWhen it comes to storytelling, you’re already sold. You know stories about your work help demonstrate your organization’s impact in a personal, relatable way.
Now, it’s on to actually telling the stories. That starts with interviews. And this – this is the step when even seasoned communications professionals can get a little nervous. From how to ensure you’re getting consent to asking questions in a respectful way, it can be a little tricky!
Here’s Forthright’s true-blue formula for asking for initial consent and asking questions.
Read MoreForthright Senior Advisor Ashley Peterson-DeLuca dug into the research about how our inbox-reading behavior changed during and after the pandemic. Check out her email marketing tips to make sure you’re following up-to-date practices.
Read MoreThe way we process information in a crisis – like, you know, an ongoing pandemic and wartime – is different. Right now, our attention spans are shorter, and we’re more forgetful, too.
This means that to best serve our audiences, we need to focus on delivering information as clearly as possible.
The key to this clarity? Breaking it up!
Read MoreForthright founder Katie recently sat down with Elana Leoni, founder of Leoni Consulting Group, to chat about this exact topic: the power of storytelling.
We’re sharing a few key takeaways from the conversation here. (Or, listen to their podcast convo here!)
Read MoreDifferent year, same annual report. Do you find yourself having similar thoughts as you launch your 2022 annual report process? If you do, you’re not alone–we’ve heard this sentiment from communicators across the country.
Read MoreI get it. Whenever I think about Giving Tuesday and the end of year giving season for our clients, I am hit with a mix of anticipation and excitement, topped with a thin layer of dread. As anyone who has ever worked at a nonprofit knows, while everyone else in the world is settling down with mistletoe and turkey, you’re sprinting full speed into one of the busiest times of year. Never fear— we’ve got your back.
Here are a few tips to make your end of year campaign the best one yet.
Read MoreIn many communications initiatives, you just KNOW your target audience is going to find fault with your campaign. They are going to have questions, concerns or downright oppose your work.
Once you explain your vision, they’ll say “what I’m worried about is...” and launch into why they don’t support you. What comes after the “what I’m worried about...” is the concern—in other words, the challenge you need to overcome to gain your opposition’s support.
Read MoreSince it’s always our goal at Forthright to help make our nonprofit clients’ and partners’ lives easier, we decided to create an actionable guide to nonprofit communication planning. In this three-part series, we’re sharing all of our secrets. We promise you'll walk away eager to plan and ready for success!
Read MoreAs communicators, our job is to get really great at both push and pull communications, because our audiences need and deserve both.
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