The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story.
Michael Margolis
Note: Below, and throughout our site, underlined text indicates a live link.
Telling the story of age-friendly impact -
start with focused, consistent Messaging
start with focused, consistent Messaging
A successful message is easy to understand.
Clearly state what the livability initiative offers. The message should answer these questions:
Who will benefit from the activity, program or service the team is implementing?
How will people use the service or resource?
Why is the activity, program or service valuable to the community?
A successful message is attractive
It’s as important to pay attention to the visual appeal of a poster, flier or brochure as it is to develop appropriately messaged content. It isn’t necessary to hire a professional designer in order to create a great handout. Word processing programs can be used to make effective, eye-catching promotional materials. Just keep in mind that:
While bright colors attract attention, they can overwhelm the text
The font style, text size and text color needs to be simple enough, large enough and have enough contrast with the background color to be legible
The writing style and words used should be appropriate for the local community and the intended audience
A successful message is targeted
If social media is part of the communication plan, it’s important to know the target audience and decide which platform will be the most effective way to reach them. For example, Facebook may be a good way to tell the story of the livability initiative; but Twitter is a better choice for sharing short bursts of information such as, “City Council approves bike-only lanes on Mill Street.”
A successful message stays on point
No matter how the information is presented, any messaging from the team needs to be clear, well designed and consistent. That said, some promotional opportunities, such as press interviews, might not allow the team to review a message before it’s released. One way to make sure the messaging about the initiative is consistent is to put one person in charge of communication. That person can be both the press contact and public voice of the initiative.
Additional Resources-
Communication, Marketing, and Publicity
Communication, Marketing, and Publicity
Reach your target audience.
Strategic communication is critical to the success of lifelong communities. This module features community examples of communicating the best message, through the correct channels, to the right people, at the right time and using feedback from this process to stay focused on consistent messaging about age-friendly
Developing a relationship with media.
AARP Maine provides advice about using different venues, from newsletters to social media, to tell the age-friendly story. Then, we are joined by a panel of Maine reporters to hear the importance of developing a relationship with the media and learn how to decide if a story is newsworthy.
Make your message shine.
A graphic artist offers guidance to design clear, concise, and memorable posters. We also hear hints and tips from UMaine printing to make sure the design you worked so hard to achieve prints the way you want it to print.