Communications

Hello and welcome to the communications page. This is the information page about our tactical working in progress communications processes. Everything revolves around a monthly process. And it's a participatory experience with staff and projects owning the responsibility for adding their own news and blogs and other content to the site, so that the web and comms people can then make sure it gets through the right channels. Please ask Ed if you have any questions.

The monthly communications rhythm

• First week of the month:

News gathering and editing for monthly newsletter in TN Monthly newsletter google doc

Comms delivery group meeting: first Tuesday of the month/last Tuesday before the newsletter

Next month's theme agreed

Newsletter content deadline: first Wednesday of every month

Newsletter published: First Friday of every month

This month's Comms 'ubersheet' available with key stories, things we're promoting etc.

This month's 'tweetsheet' available for staff to add their tweets to be scheduled for the month here Monthly tweetsheet

Monthly metrics captured and recorded in Website Usage Statistics google doc

• Second week of the month:

Website editor generates content for the site

Scheduled content is tweeted etc.

• Third week of the month:

Web comms person sends out first newsletter content reminder for content to go in TN Monthly newsletter google doc

• Fourth week of the month:

Website editor writing lead article for next month's theme

Web comms person sends out second and final newsletter content reminder to go in TN Monthly newsletter google doc

Getting your news marketed and communicated

In order for staff and projects to know that their news is being marketed and communicated across the month in a structured way, we have the following process:

1. Publish the information as an item on TN.org (blog post, event addition etc.): project owner
2. Inform staff/comms about it: project owner
3. Add item with title and link and teaser to newsletter google doc for that month
4. Write some short tweets with a shortened hashtag and add them to the 'tweetsheet' for the comms people to schedule: project owner
5. Tweet it using the hashtag "#tt" to send it through the transition towns twitter yourself: project owner
6. Facebook it (or ask a FB person to FB it): web comms person
7. Repeat #5 and #6 a few times with different messages but don't overdo it: project owner and web comms person

Channels we have to market our services/products/information

1. TN website: we need an item with an individual URL to point people to
2. Twitter: 10K followers following transition towns account
3. Facebook: 8K likes following transition network page
4. Newsletter: 15K subscribers
5. Direct mail to website registered users (e.g. Primary Points of Contact for TIs) - NOT a formal or agreed process yet, so rather edgy and likely to generate complaints so we're reviewing this and going very slowly

The monthly newsletter

• Newsletter tinyurl link is: http://tinyurl.com/TN-newsletter-management
• Mike Grenville edits Transition Network's monthly newsletter
• All staff and projects are invited to add their stories to the 'TN monthly newsletter google doc'
• Staff need to have a Title, URL, two line teaser for their content
• Mike/Rob/Ed/anyone else can't accept Word documents or other text - news has to be added to TN.org
• There is an archive of the past monthly (admin) pages as google doc here

The Infographic

Transition Network created an infographic in 2013 - designed to be easily transferable to other languages and cultures.

• Infographic in TN resources section
• Infographic translation mastersheet has the process, costs and people involved in doing translations

Domain Names

Transition Network holds approximately 45 domain names. They are updated to April 2014 (When Ed is back from part-time paternity leave):

• Domain name spreadsheet on google
• They are managed through Gandi

The monthly Comms Delivery Group meetings

A staff group meets once a month to discuss the communications themes for that month, agree the next month, raise comms issues as a group, and other issues. It uses a standard meeting agenda with any requests agreed at the beginning of the meeting

• See meeting notes here

Standard agenda here

1. Share agenda in Skype group window and ask for any requests
2. Actions from last meeting
3. Newsletter review by clicks and discussion (led by Mike)
4. This newsletter's deadlines (Mike)
5. Gender balance of content provided to newsletter (led by Fiona)
6. Big stories from last month - (month) (on TN.org/social media) (all)
7. Coming month's theme - (month) - 'XXX' (led by Rob)
8. Next theme to discuss - (month): XXXX (all)
9. International news (Filipa and Ben)
10. Social Reporters update
11. Other requests - things requested in advance of, or at beginning of, meeting
12. Next newsletter: Friday (1st Fri of each month) (all)
13. Next comms delivery group meeting: (Tuesday before newsletter if possible) (All)

People in Comms Delivery Group

• Fiona
• Filipa
• Rob
• Naresh
• Sam
• MikeT
• MikeG
• Ben
• Ed