Growing a Lush Communications Strategy

The Green Communications Toolkit will help municipalities craft clear key messaging to improve general green communications and spark greater engagement from the target audience. Key messaging should be specifically tailored to address pressing community needs and concerns in clear, digestible language.

After identifying the target audience, sustainability aims, and communications goals, key messaging can take form. Some initial considerations when developing key messaging include: determining streams of communication (e.g. print, social media, interpersonal, etc.), language, and media design best practice.

KEY MESSAGING

Key messages are the most important points of information the municipality wants the target audience to receive, understand, and most importantly, remember. Key messaging lays at the heart of the municipality's green communications and marketing strategy. Thus, key messaging ought to be incorporated into all communications media.

Developing strong key messaging will aid the municipality in targeting sustainability areas of importance to promote action (related to community interests and municipal goals), maintain consistency, and center the communications campaign.

Key messaging should describe:

Sustainability program goals

• Why the goals are important to the audience

• Why the municipality is vested in reaching this goal

What value the sustainability program brings to the community

When developing key messaging it is critical to display information in a clear, comprehensive, and concise manner. In this stage, it is important to avoid using complicated, technical jargon surrounding topics in sustainability. Instead, seek out language that is accessible to diverse, lay audiences.

Powerful and clear key messaging should be:

Targeted and Relevant

• Highlight a small range of key messages (often three to five sustainability topics)

• Tailor key messages to community interest and municipal aims

Effective and Strategic

• Provide definitions, outline goals, and convey benefits to the community

Stimulating and Memorable

• Use action-oriented language to command the attention of the target audience

Clear and Accessible

• Avoid using technical, overwhelming jargon and acronyms when describing the sustainability topic

• Use easily understandable language to effectively communicate the topic to diverse, lay audiences.

• Adapt language and scope of information based on target audience

The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center offers a comprehensive guide for "Developing Key Messaging for Effective Communication".

STEP 1: CENTERING SUSTAINABILITY GOALS WITH THE TARGET AUDIENCE

When developing key messaging, a good starting point is choosing a handful of sustainability topics that the community is most interested in. Think about municipal sustainability goals and community sustainability interests,

Where do intersections exist? With the new green communications strategy, how can municipalities direct flows of community interest towards sustainability programming?

STEP 2: CREATE A HANDFUL OF SUSTAINABILITY KEY MESSAGING

Before crafting key messaging, it is important to address municipal sustainability visioning and its connection to the key messages. Municipal sustainability campaigns should have both a vision and mission statement to guide future progress and action. The key messaging should tap into these umbrella statements and further the municipality's vision for future community sustainability.

Vision Statement

Vision statements briefly describes what the municipality hopes to achieve and depicts a vision of what the community may look like in the future if this course of direction is adhered to. Vision statements are often two to three sentences.

Example:

"Meridian Township's vision is to lead Michigan on the path towards greater sustainability. Meridian Township seeks to achieve innovation and excellence in green infrastructure development. The community and the environment are the Township's greatest resources. Fostering greater community environmental stewardship and investing in green infrastructure is of paramount importance to create a healthier, resilient, and green Meridian."

Mission Statement

Mission statements are brief statements that summarize the aims and values of the municipality. Mission statements are often one sentence long.

Example:

"Meridian Township is committed to improving the environmental well being of the community and creating a sustainable future."

After ensuring the overarching sustainability visions and mission of the municipality are connected to the green communications goal, key messaging can be produced.

Anatomy of Powerful Key Messaging

Umbrella Statement: Key Message

Depicts the broad goal and mission of the municipality surrounding a specific topic in sustainability

Example:

"Help Meridian Township go green by enrolling in the community solar energy program!"

Supporting Messages:

Supporting messages provide more information and direct the target audience to supplementary resources and action steps to further the sustainability goal. Using two to three supporting messages can help strengthen key messaging.

Example:

"Solar power technology is scientifically proven to decrease carbon emissions and can lower household electricity bills. Visit www.merdian.mi\GreenMeridian for more information."

Example of Effective Key Messaging:

"Help Meridian Township go green by enrolling in the community solar energy program! Solar power technology is scientifically proven to decrease carbon emissions and can lower household electricity bills. Visit www.merdian.mi\GreenMeridian for more information."

TAILORING THE STRATEGY

Green communications ought to be specifically tailored to address the sustainability-focused needs, concerns, and desires of the target audience in combination with municipal resources, aims, and visions. Once the target audience is set, community preferences are taken account of, municipal resources and limits are determined, and key messaging is established, the communications strategy can be fine-tuned to produce effective and efficient outcomes.

When tailoring the green communications strategy it is important to ask,

What is the best way to enhance engagement with municipal key messaging in a manner that boosts community participation in municipal sustainability programming and events?

A good place to start is to determine the municipality's budget for green programs marketing. Setting a concrete budget will help determine which channels of communication are feasible and aligned with municipal resources. Another consideration when tailoring the communications strategy is to assess current marketing and outreach and ask,

What current sustainability marketing initiatives are most successful?

What current sustainability marketing initiatives have fallen flat in terms of engagement and participation?

What channels of communication does the target audience interact most with?

If certain marketing initiatives have not generated the desired amount of community participation, it may be beneficial to explore an alternative channel of communication. Some initial considerations when selecting new channels of communication include:

Budget and Timelines

• Is the channel of communication feasible within the municipality's budget?

• Is there staffing capacity to develop, manage, and operate the new channel of communication?

• Is the time commitment necessary to develop the new channel of communication feasible and complimentary to the municipal goal time-frame?

Target Audience

• Is the target audience most likely to engage in this channel of communication?

Geographic Proximity

• Is the channel of communication geographically targeted and relevant to engage the target audience?

Municipal Brand Standards

• Is the new channel of communication consistent with that of the municipality?

STEP 1: SELECTING CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION

After analyzing existing channels of communication and opening doors to new channels of outreach, ranking potential communication channels is a good next step. Channels of communication include:

STEP 2: DRAFTING THE GREEN COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

After determining which channel of communication is best fit for the municipality, a tailored communications strategy presents itself. In this stage the municipality may begin to compile relevant reference materials including, key messaging documents, outside resources for best sustainability communications and design practice (See Part 4, "Supplementary Communications and Design Resources"), and a cross-promotional contacts list. Then the municipality may Insert the guiding problem statement, provide background, outline goals/objectives, set the target audience, describe the strategy, list tactics, determine channels of communication, establish metrics of success, provide a timeline, and set a concrete budget.

The Green Communications Toolkit contains a customizable communications strategy template here:

Green Communications Strategy Template

STEP 3: CREATING AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR

After writing the tailored Green Communications Strategy, the municipality can create an editorial calendar for timely content dissemination to ensure the media publication timeline is in sync with the overall communications strategy.

Editorial calendars are great ways to visualize the timeline for content dissemination and can provide additional structure to the communications strategy by concentrating all the resources in one place. The calendar also provides a supplementary layer of accountability for timely content dissemination to ensure that community members are receiving

relevant sustainability content, in an organized manner, that is complementary to municipal programming, goals, and objectives.

The Green Communications offers a customizable editorial calendar spreadsheet template and step-by-step directions here:

Green Communications Editorial Calendar Template