Create Your Communications Plan
Now that you are integrating youth voices and have mapped your context, designed your program, and built a measurement framework, let’s talk about communications.
Taking the time to collect, craft, and share stories of impact from your project, program, or organization will help you connect to different audiences in a memorable way. This can not only increase awareness of the positive change you are creating, it can strengthen support for your cause, build interest in participation, and gain momentum to expand the work. Similarly, it is important to work with young changemakers to be able to tell the story of your joint work with them.
Before you start thinking about content to tell your story, you need a plan! If you’re just getting started:
- International Youth Foundation’s webinar on Taking Charge of Your Story takes you through nine steps to develop a communications plan, using social venture Rescuing Leftover Cuisine as an example. You can also download the slides from the webinar as a reference or use the provided communications plan template to start writing your plan.
- Developing a reference document such as a branding guide or press kit is a helpful way to put the key elements of your communications plan together so that both internal and external audiences can easily find - and consistently use - up-to-date messaging, logo and color scheme, links to social media handles, etc. Check out the YouthMappers Press Kit for a great example.
Ready to integrate social media into your communications plan?
- This social media toolkit from Global Changemakers is a useful guide to help you plan how to use social media for your program or organization;
- The Social Media Guide for Volunteers and Travelers from Radi-Aid offers guidance on ethical considerations in social media content creation and storytelling that are applicable for everyone, and the accompanying Checklist for Ethical Considerations in Social Media Content is a great quick reference;
- The YouthLead Virtual Engagement Starter Kit includes a range of resources on using digital tools for advocacy and civic engagement, including social media.
