Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Why do I need to have a monthly newsletter?



  
Inform Your Community & Build Connections

The number one reason your campus should have a newsletter is basic...it's to get the word out about what's going on at your campus or within your department. Publishing a newsletter is also about something else much more important - it's about setting a tone or feeling people will have about you and your campus or department. 

Most of the time we call this your brand.  Basically a newsletter is one of the easiest ways to establish and reinforce your brand.

Every day we are asking our students, parents, staff and community members to do something. 

We're constantly soliciting compliance or participation...and sometimes it's before we have established trust or a relationship with who we're asking support from. 

If you want to increase parent involvement, inspire student achievement, or spark passion in your employees, you first need to establish a strong relationship.  A newsletter is a great way to get your voice out there in a very personal and transparent way that can serve as a foundation for building these critical relationships in a deeper way.

What can your newsletter do for you?

Platform for Call to Action & Engagement

Defuse or Avoid Frustration

Organize and Direct Your Other Communications

What can you do today?

Send us a copy of your newsletter.  Send copy now >>

Post your newsletter on your campus website

Print copies of your newsletter for campus visitors

Provide copies of your newsletter in multiple languages

Ask parents or other campus or department leaders to get involved and work with you and your team to create a monthly publication.  It's a great way to get more of your target audience involved and informed as key communicators in your community.

Invite students to submit or participate in a special section of your newsletter.  This will peak their interest and provide an opportunity for you to reach a wider demographic.

Communications Makes Everyone's Job Easier

Effective communications will make your job easier. That's why we're taking time to focus on helping you build better communication strategies that you can use on campus and in your community.  The goal of T-2-4 is huge.  To move the needle in the right direction quickly, all of us need to be informed about our district goal, our individual roles, and how well we are or are not reaching milestones and critical measures.

Effectively communicating with our educational partners (students, parents, community, teachers and staff) the critical and important nature of the work we do, and how your campus and programs/activities support the goals and mission of T-2-4, is a combination of effective messaging and effective delivery. This site offers resources to address both.

Our hope is that campuses and departments will look to the SBISD Communications Department to model best practices and serve as a technical reference on which they can build their own communication strategies.

There is a wealth of tool that we can utilize in this endeavor.  From email, to websites, e-newsletters, online videos and other social technologies, each has an increasingly critical role in our world today.  When used effectively they can dramatically enhance the effectiveness of your communications effort.  They can also become overwhelming and cumbersome if you do not have the staff or time to invest in using them effectively.

The tips and suggested used here are designed to provide you with the best payoff with the lest investment in time and resources.