It invariably happens. You have an upcoming event and you need to reach everyone. Everyone, as in, the grandmother living on food stamps, the family receiving public assistance, the homeless in your service area, the foster youth in transitional housing. Those most vulnerable. The ones your event is meant to serve.
It can seem daunting. Especially if your last event didn’t exactly bring in the numbers like you’d hoped. Not to fear. Your next food drive, resource fair, or the like, can be more successful.
Here’s how:
Start Early
Plan weeks, even months in advance. Give people multiple opportunities to digest your messaging and see your name and program information in print and online.
A study published in the December 2017 issue of the Journal of Public Health noted that over 50% of low-income people have access to the internet. Traditional flyers and posters are marketing mainstays, but social media marketing is definitely your new friend.
Go Mobile
In 2013, Healthcare-infomatics.com interviewed The Center for Connected Health’s Joseph C. Kvedar, M.D., who noted that the underserved “have leapfrogged desktop technology and have essentially gone to mobile Internet as their primary source of engagement.” It’s not surprising that, 5 years hence, that trend continues. After you’ve checked your agency’s communications guidelines, use text and social media to build awareness.
Make Marketing an Agency-Wide Effort
Recruit everyone on your team, from the director to the front desk secretary, to tweet, text, post, and talk up your event. Make everyone an official brand ambassador. Determine your core messaging, which social media platforms you’ll use, and who will post what and how often. Then, create a schedule and make it a team effort.
Prep a Clear and Concise Fact Sheet
Keep your brochures, flyers, and fact sheets short and to the point. Don’t assume your constituents will automatically understand why they need to come out. Make clear just how will they benefit. Explain what the event is about? Make sure they ‘get it.’ Like a journalist would use the inverted pyramid in a news story, stick to concise, essential information they may need to know.
Engage Your Stakeholders in the Effort
Schedule google alerts to keep tabs on sister agencies you might partner with. Recruit volunteers. Post to their social media sites. Share your core messaging, flyers, and posters electronically. Most importantly, give community stakeholders instructions on how to help you across their own social media and networking channels.
Sustain Engagement Post-Event
Keep the conversation going post-event with regular twitter chats, periscope videos or instagram images. Create a fun newsletter constituents can look forward to. Post and distribute clever announcements, newsworthy press releases and educational materials, photos, and other engaging content, all year long.
How do you reach underserved constituencies? Please share your insights with us in the comments section below.
