IDENTIFY * CHOOSE * PREPARE

Why Are You Here?  Who is Brad and why should you care?  Who are you? Gender Generation Tech savvy

What the Heck is Communications?  Communicating with members, your larger parent communities, or others by Identifying your target audience Choosing your medium / media Preparing your message  Learn how to target your audience, choose your medium and prepare your message

Strategic Communications Plan Clear objectives Right strategy Right audience Right message Right media Right time Frequent assessment

Your story begins …  Your story starts when you are given a PTA office or task to be responsible for.  The basic telling of the story is the same whether you are Unit / Council / District / State / National.  Thank you, I’m honored, now what do I do!?!

#1 What is your PTA office/task?  Officer: Communication, Membership, etc.  Chair: Jog-a-thon, room parent, etc.  What are your roles/responsibilities?  Focus on communication aspects If communication chair – a given If another office/task – communication still comes with the territory

#2 Identify Your Target Audience  For any project – like I did at the start  Who do you want to reach – remember, there may be more than one target audience  The plan for reaching parents may be very different from the one used to reach students, elected officials, parents interested in advocacy, etc.

#3 Choose Your Medium  Once you have agreed on what audience (who) you are trying to reach, ask: how is the best way to reach them?  There is no universal best choice Web site Phone call Stand on the sidewalk Etc.

PTA media / publication types  messaging systems and lists  Newsletters – print and/or digital  Web site  Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)  Electronic and Print Fliers  Video  Brochures  Banners  Word-of-Mouth  Each unit, council, district must determine what will work best with your members and communities – and what will fit within your budget.  Other…

#4 Prepare Your Message  Prepare the Message. Think through what to say and how to say it Whether making a speech to a large group or writing an article for the PTA electronic newsletter, take the time to review and refine your PTA Talking Points to concisely convey your message All the energy should be focused on making that message clear – discard the rest

What do you want your audience to do?  Think about what you want/need the audience to understand/know/do from your message.  Do you want them to… Understand? Act? (write letters, come to a meeting, make public comment at a site council or school board meeting) Reply by a deadline? Send in something?

Prepare your communication Branding – visual identity  Your PTA - Part of a larger organization  Your visual identity – its importance Uniform use of logo throughout the country The California State PTA encourages all unit, council, and district PTAs to do the same.  The PTA logo CAPTA offers downloadable logo that can be customized for use with your PTA materials (capta.org, search logo). English/Spanish

Visual identity: Looking Like PTA = Instant Recognition  Visual clues often the easiest way for people to recognize an organization they trust. logo catches the eye and in a crowded scene makes an instant, familiar connection. Think about the brands you regularly buy – the company's logo on the package represents all that you may like or dislike about the products you buy. An organization's logo does the same thing.  Bottom line Your communications are PTA and should look like PTA. Otherwise ask yourself – why PTA?

Downloading The PTA logo  To Build Your Own logo use Arial Black (or Bold) font (  Download from CAPTA.org and search for logos (

Identifying Elements Needed in PTA Publications  Newsletter  Web Site  Facebook  Other social media such as Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

Newsletters – Print or Electronic  First page OR in sensible groupings (not scattered all over) The name of the newsletter The name of the unit The name of the council The phrases “Thirty-Third District PTA” and “California State PTA” The PTA or PTSA slant logo with the tagline The complete association address The name and title of the PTA/PTSA president and the editor The month, year, volume and issue number  Must be published at least 4 times a year  Each page should have the page number, the name of the newsletter and the date (month and year) positioned at either the top or bottom of each page  The layout should use white spaces, titles and graphics to create eye appeal and readability

Electronic Bulletins  E-bulletins should reflect PTA and school (or school district) interests only  E-bulletins should be sent out on a regular schedule  Content should reflect current and upcoming events  Items that should be at the beginning of the document The name of the unit The name of the council The phrase “Thirty-Third District PTA” The phrase “California State PTA” The PTA or PTSA slant logo with the tagline The complete association address The name and title of the PTA/PTSA president

Web Site  Should reflect PTA and school (or school district) interests only  Items that should be on the home page The name of the unit The name of the council The phrase “Thirty-Third District PTA” The phrase “California State PTA” The PTA or PTSA slant logo with the tagline The complete association address The name and title of the PTA/PTSA president

Example: CAPTA.org  Old vs new  Message  Story driven  Audience  Call to action

Example: 33rdPTA.org  Audience  Design  Content/Messaging

Facebook  Best for sending people to find information  Good for organizing people/events  Good for getting people to spread the word  OK for timely information

5 Reasons for a Facebook Page 1. Remind parents of upcoming events, PTA meetings, deadlines, etc. 2. Build relationships with key audiences – make the connection feel personal through photos, comments, likes and sharing 3. Recruit volunteers for events and/or leadership roles 4. Educate key audiences on how the PTA benefits their children, the school and the community 5. Discuss important issues and mobilize parents into action

Social Media  Twitter is best for a very few timely alerts and reminders  Pinterest and Instagram can be great for attracting people and showing off  YouTube can be great for showing off as well as teaching

3 Tools to Make Life Easier  Hootsuite ( to schedule and manage Twitter posts  Wordpress ( for great looking Web sites that you can update yourself  Mailchimp ( for free lists

Questions? Brad Waller