Table Talk PR Plan

Posted by Stephen Rhodes 
 
Attended the Rotary Regional Success seminar in Toronto on the weekend and broke into groups to develop a PR plan for clubs. Here is what our tale discussed. Lots of ideas. Many we already employ.
 
Table Talk – Public Image Plan
 
Goal – to raise public awareness and Rotary profile in our community, to generate new members
 
Target – people who want to make an impact in our community and beyond
 
Messaging – Our club (s) impact (s) our community by:
detail what your local club does (ie supports seniors and how, youth, children, specific projects etc)
  • We impact the world by:
  • If you are looking to give back, Rotary is the place for you.
 
How to reach our target –
 
How to reach our target –
 
  1. establish website as home base with content that speaks to our impact in our community and where appropriate abroad.  Include a prominent – you can make a difference button that takes them to a page that provides either Join Rotary opportunity or Join us for a meeting invitation, with clickable email for further contact.
  2. Support messaging through use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc) Post about activities that support our community/world impact and take followers back to our website for more information.
  3. Meet your local media (Newspaper, radio, TV) to talk about our club, what it does, and ask if will either provide coverage on occasion or use material we submit. Ideally, recruit a media member to our club.
  4. Use our own events to promote all club activities. Have a tent or booth onsite at one of our events to provide more information on your club. Offer prizes for business cards with email addresses and add to you newsletter list
  5. Invite organizations we support to display at a meet and greet or open house and invite potential members, key community officials to participate. Offer prizes for business cards with email addresses and add to you newsletter list.
  6. Join Chamber of Commerce to access their networking opportunities and assign club members (evangelists) to attend to share the messages of Rotary. Host an After Hours event. Offer prizes for business cards with email addresses and add to you newsletter list.
  7. Provide an application form to all speakers who are looking to Rotary for help and capture their email so you can share your newsletter with them.
  8. Consider programs that provide more flexibility , like Associate Membership, Corporate membership or spousal membership that allows some flexibility for membership.
 
Measure results –
  1. Track all inquiries and assign someone to follow up.
  2. Track website traffic, social media traffic in response to specific campaigns/contests
  3. Ask all prospective members and new members how they heard about Rotary and record that information
  4. Review tracking regularly and focus on activities that generate best opportunities.