Look, I get it. It’s absolutely not easy being a solo communications shop – you’re the one who writes the tweets AND dreams up the strategic communications plan. You’re over there photographing an event AND coordinating the reporter interviews. If you’re the only communicator in your organization, you deserve a round of applause. Today, I’m sharing four tips for solo communicators based on what we’ve learned through our work across more than 30+ one-person comms shops.
Read MorePeople hate change.
It makes us feel uncertain, uncomfortable and like things are out of our control. And that’s not just coming from me – that’s directly from Dr. Joseph Ciarrochi, author of “What Makes You Stronger: How to Thrive in the Face of Change.”
And this fact is really, really important for our work – because to best serve kids and families, we often have to lead innovation – also known to your families and team as change.
Here at Forthright, we’ve done a lot of research and work around tricky topics. We’ve included a few key takeaways from our most recent research project – school redistricting – below.
Read MoreWhether you’re watching, selling, teaching or learning, video remains a critical communications tool. As a matter of fact, 92 percent of marketers say video leads to a positive ROI. And your video options are virtually limitless. That’s why today, we’re breaking down two video types – animated and live action – to help you choose which one is right for your next big campaign!
Read MoreMaybe you just joined a new district or organization and want to do a communications audit. Perhaps you’re considering a big change that affects students. Or you simply want to build better communication with the families you serve through your nonprofit or foundation. No matter the reason, there’s one critical piece to all successful communications work: listening. Today, we’re sharing tips for before, during and after your listening sessions.
Read MoreWhen our team kicks off our work on a communications campaign, we focus first on the objective we’re trying to achieve. What’s our goal? But quickly afterwards, we ask the important question: who can make our goal a reality And that’s when we start our search for likely AND unlikely allies. We’re sharing what unlikely allies are — and how you can find them — here.
Read MoreOur besties know we *love* feedback. We always want to hear from YOU – the nonprofit and foundation leaders, the communicators, the public school superintendent, our PIOs – about what will make YOUR life easier.
You’ve shared that you know we have great resources – but sometimes have a hard time finding them. We heard you. That’s why we created a brand-new, easy-to-search resources page!
Read MoreA couple of weeks ago, my colleagues and I were reminiscing about “how PR used to be.” In addition to making us feel – well, like seriously seasoned comms professionals who have seen it all – it made us realize just how different things are.
So then I asked the rest of our teammates how PR has changed over their careers. Here are their answers, just for fun.
Read MoreWhen we work with a client on a branding and logo project that involves decisions about color choices, we always start with strategy. We ask questions such as: What do we want people to feel when they consider the organization? What emotions do we want people to associate with the brand?
Knowing the answers to those key questions can help us make smart color choices.
Read MorePassive language is the enemy of simple, easy-to-understand language. Using passive language can confuse your audiences – or even stop them from reading/listening to your message. We’re breaking down why, along with writing best practices.
Read MoreWe’ve spent years creating campaigns to reach both families with AND without internet access. Through our extensive research, we’ve put together a list of tactics that you can begin to implement – or use to improve your existing strategy – to effectively reach audiences without internet access. In the worksheet, we’ve included five tactics, the data that support each tactic and best practices to use while implementing each one!
The weather is warming, the days are longer and summer break is so close you can practically taste it. (And we hope it tastes like tropical beverages by a beach, or iced tea on a porch with nothing but you, a good book and a view.) During this final stretch, we have a few tips to finish strong, maximize on the summer and build positivity with your community and team.
Read MoreWe’re sharing the freshest data about how people are consuming news in 2023, so you can ensure your information gets in front of your target audiences, even while they’re sunning themselves at the beach.
Public school enrollment continues declining, and the U.S. Department of Education has the data to prove it. We’re sharing more of the fresh stats – and of course tips for your next steps.
Is your team stuck in a rut? Need some skills-building? Looking for a laughter-filled get-together centered around learning? Our marketing and communications workshops are jam-packed with helpful how-tos. You and your team will walk away with confidence and the knowledge you need to take (successful) action. Plus, we’ll have fun while we’re doing it! Here’s a (sampling of) what we’re offering this spring and summer…
Families in your district know their teachers – they communicate with those teachers – they trust teachers. While as a district leader, you play a truly critical role in helping your district succeed (and frankly, we think you’re awesome for it), you're not always the one parents are engaging with weekly, or even daily. And THAT, my friends, means you have a huge communications opportunity in front of you. We’re sharing more here.
Read MoreYou know you have a good story – one people need to hear. So how do you break through the noise and get your news covered? Former reporter and Forthright VP Emily shares insider tips to help you with your media relations efforts.
Communicators like us face disinformation and misinformation spreading through social media, the news and in our communities every day. We’re sharing a few tips about how to combat this misinformation here — starting with why people believe it in the first place.
Read MoreTo us, consent means ensuring that every person we interview feels comfortable, confident and even empowered about sharing throughout the interview process. In other words, consent is so much more than asking for permission to share a story. Gathering consent during interviews is just one of many critical parts of ethical storytelling. We're sharing how we approach the process in this blog.
Read MoreAs a parent who is aware of the schooling options available – one who *wants* to send her kids to public schools – I’m sharing a few steps I wish my local school district had taken over the past few months.
Read MoreI was driving across North Carolina, headed for a quick weekend getaway in Belhaven, along the Pungo River. It was my favorite kind of drive, through all that my amazing state has to offer – beautiful water views, farm fields and cypress swamps.
But along with the landscape, there were billboards. So many of them.
And I got to thinking about what a great opportunity billboards can be for school district communicators – but only when done purposefully and with best practices in mind. (There are, I have to tell you, some pretty confusing and visually crowded billboards out there…)
Here are a few tips for creating an effective billboard ad for your district.
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