1. Developing Meaningful Strategies Connecting with our community
“Hello, I’m Charles Sturt.”
My real name is actually Kristie Johnson, and I’m the Coordinator of Marketing and Communications at Charles Sturt. I’m also lucky enough to have a hand in most of our marketing, communications, engagement and community connection opportunities across Council.
Developing Meaningful Strategies
Connecting with our community

2. Marketing. Communications. Engagement. Promotions. Community Building
Marketing Communications Engagement Promotions Community Building Placemaking Customer Outreach
I want everyone to stand up… now if the answer is yes to any of the following questions, I want you to sit down…
Do your managers/ directors ever ask how many likes you have on your library social media pages?
Do staff suggest offering prizes for customers to engage with you?
Are any of your corporate KPIs about how many visits you get online?
Have you had any internal or external discussions about declining library usage and whether it is because your marketing strategy isn’t right?
Have you ever blamed short time frames as the reason a promotion didn’t take off the way you wanted?
Who is still standing? Maybe these guys should be the ones giving the presentation! Why do you think you didn’t answer yes to any of those questions? Interesting!
That was just a quick exercise to illustrate that we are under significant pressure to deliver – sometimes on things that others don’t understand, and sometimes things we even we don’t understand. I only have 45minutes with you today – and the aim is not for you to walk away as a textbook spouting the 7 “P”s of marketing. My aim today is to take you through how to build a successful strategy with practical examples.

3. Terrific Terminology
Marketing Communications Engagement Promotions Community Building Placemaking Customer Outreach Digital Content
At universities, and throughout many organisations across the world – whether they are for profit businesses, government providers or NGOs, experts and specialists in marketing, comms, engagement, PR, media, journalism, placemaking, customer outreach, social media etc will be able to give you definitions for each skill area, and will be able to tell you exactly what the differences are between each. Some of them will also be able to successfully argue a hierarchy, or strategic priority, beginning with one area (most commonly marketing) that then flows on to less strategic elements like communications and social media.
I’m not here to argue against those definitions, and I’m not here to change the “natural order” or challenge your Council’s hierarchy of marketing, communications and customer outreach. What I am here to say is that sometimes, we can get hung up on these things, which prevent us from taking action. I’m a trained journalist and a communications specialist by trade. I naturally chafe against being told a marketing strategy is the overarching document that dictates every aspect of communications. So at our council, we actually don’t ask what comes first, and we don’t discuss what theory is the boss of our actions. We have a Marketing and Communications Team that is dedicated to the whole of Council, and we also have a Customer Outreach and Engagement Team in the Library. To me, these teams have the same function, and I’m ok with that.

4. - WHY do we need a strategy
Writing a Strategy
Purpose
- WHY do we need a strategy
Objectives
- WHAT is the point of it
Stakeholders
- WHO are we talking to
Opportunities
- How can we deliver
Boring Table with Jobs
- Key Messages
This is a really easy cheat sheet I use to develop a Marketing Strategy – every single document you create should be relevant, and so should include answers, and no questions.
A strategy needs to include a purpose, the reason for doing a strategy. It needs to clearly state what the point of the strategy is. It needs to target specific stakeholders. The less specific you are, the harder it is. The strategy also needs to list opportunities or methods or channels in which you can communicate, promote, engage, connect, with your stakeholders. Finally, it needs a really boring table, or matrix, or action plan that sets out timeframes, comms methods, who is responsible internally, who is the target externally, what the key message is, and whether it has been completed or not.

5. Connecting with our Community
The most fundamental part of our roles at Council, no matter what role you are in, is to provide a service to the community – and to successfully connect with our community.
Any Marketing and Communications and Engagement Strategy that we develop therefore has the following objectives right at the front of the document:
- To ensure that our community has easy access to appropriate information
- To ensure that our community is given opportunities to connect with us in ways that promote participation from a range of demographics and in ways that are inclusive and interesting.

6. Our Community So – basics first – who are we talking to?
For me, all people who reside in, own property in, frequently visit and who do business in the City of Charles Sturt are considered our community. This is a pretty broad group of stakeholders – we have 115,000 residents. How many of you are trying to talk to EVERYONE all the time? It is ok if you are, sometimes we have to.
You’ll find on your tables some markers, and some paper. You will also find a coloured piece of paper with a scenario on it. Forgive the non typed nature, I prefer textas to typing! Speedily in your groups, I want you to read your scenario, and then make a decision on who within your broad community is your stakeholder group. It may be that you have a list of a few groups… it may be that you have a list of 1 or 2 stakeholder groups.

7. Stakeholders
Stakeholders can include: kids, adults, families, singles, retirees, elderly, online users, in person visitors, political leaders, the media, social media users, frequent visitors, local government agencies, state government agencies, schools, teachers, youth… make some quick decisions! (5mins)

8. Opportunities
We provide access to information, access to staff, and access to ways our community can connect with us online and also in person.
Next in your groups, I want you to list a range of opportunities through which the stakeholders you identified can connect with you online and in person.

9. Communication Channels
What opportunities do we use to promote, how do we connect?
This is just as important as any other part of your strategy.
SOCIAL MEDIA – FACEBOOK AND TWITTER? More? Less? (just because you have Instagram and snapchat doesn’t mean you should use them!) Posts? Events? Videos?
TRADITIONAL MEDIA – Can you sit down with your CEO, Comms/Media Manager and the Messenger journalist to give a brief on your scenario? Is it overkill or worthwhile? What about media releases, paid newspaper advertisement, systematic releasing of information for editorial stories?
COUNCIL METHODS – Do you have Banners, Posters in libraries and community centres, magazines, newsletters, website content, s, text messages, flyers, postcards?
ELECTED MEMBERS – One of our biggest channels is via our Elected Members. They are incredibly vital to the process of information sharing, and they have the responsibility to go back to their wards and discuss the changes. Where are the opportunities with them?

10. Communicating our Key Messages
Beginning
Get involved
These are the ways to connect
This is what we are doing
This is why it matters
During
NEW! Connect in a different way
Quick! Tell us what you think…
This is why it matters
After
What did you think?
Others loved it because…
New things coming soon…
I tend to divide the key messages into three phases – the beginning of the promotion, during the promotion and then after the promotion has ended.
Key messages for the beginning are general messages – calling for action – get involved, come and connect. And, heading off the media getting it wrong, or strategic misinformation within the community – tell them the facts, and what it means for your stakeholders!
During the promotion, focus is on the new way to connect. We also have a bit of a nag, telling people to get in quick with feedback or to sign up or come along. We also keep discussing the projects/ services that will be delivered and why it is important.
After the promotion is closed, we close the feedback loop. We ask for comments and feedback, we share what other people said, and then we use the leverage to begin another promotion.

11. Key Messages
Now I want you to swap your scenario and your notes with another table.
They are going to look at your scenario, your key stakeholders and the opportunities you have identified, and they are going to list some of the key messages.
This is the hard part! You only have a 5minute window, so get to it!
Ok – 1 person from each group – tell us the scenario, tell us the stakeholders, and then tell us what your key messages are and what channel you will use

12. Learnings What to include in a strategy document Main objectives
What opportunities/ methods are available
Key messages at the beginning of, during and at the end of, the promotion
Did any of you find parts of this difficult? What bits?
- From here, I encourage you to go back to your teams, and look at the range of events, services and connections you provide. What are you doing to promote these? How could you promote them better?

13. Questions? Contact me at kjohnson@charlessturt.sa.gov.au
I hope today was a refresher for those of you really well versed in connecting with your communities, and that it wasn’t too boring.
If this was pitched too low for you, please let me know via my as I have some stretch opportunities for you. If it was pitched just right or you want clarification, also please let me know via so I can provide more support.