Marketing & Communications Guidelines

Transcription

1 Marketing & Communications Guidelines Policy date Policy owner New or review Lisa Charles New Internal/customer facing Customer facing (regulators and other similar stakeholders) Version no 1 Approved by Strategy & Partnerships STMT Date approved Review date January 2019 Date of equality analysis TBA 1

2 1. Objectives The overall objective of this policy is to ensure we have a consistent and robust approach to: Engaging with customers, residents and colleagues Conveying corporate messages Promoting Bolton at Home services Sharing community achievements Supporting the delivery of our corporate priorities: o Maximising income for our organisation o Maximising income for our customers (particularly through employment and training opportunities) o Growing our business o Diversifying our business o New build and other development 2. How will we achieve our objectives? We will achieve our objectives by: Publishing relevant and current content Ensuring our services are appropriately publicised and customers understand how to access them Celebrate achievements and sharing good news stories about the work done in our communities Being open and honest in our communications Being clear on our approach to FOI and data access requests and responding in a timely manner where required 3. Stakeholders We have grouped our stakeholders in to two main audience types based on their communications and marketing needs: Those whose information needs we need to anticipate and respond to by publishing (or sharing) appropriate content/developing appropriate campaigns this group includes: o Customers o Staff o Councillors o Bolton Council o Board members o Consultants, contractors and suppliers o Funders o Regulators o Potential employees o Media Those whose information needs we need to respond to when requested by publishing (or sharing) appropriate content this group includes: o Government offices o MPs o National Housing Federation o Health authorities o Other local authority partners o Other housing associations o Media o General public 2

3 4. Resources We have a small in house team comprised of: Marketing Manager Communications Manager Marketing & Communications Assistant We rely upon the wider business to identify opportunities for positive stories, which the team can then share with relevant stakeholders. The team works particularly closely with colleagues working in our neighbourhoods, tenancy teams and customer involvement team, as well as with our Customer Committee. We draw upon a roster of external providers, including a design and print agency, a website provider and a PR provider. 5. Types of content 5.1 Videos Can focus customer attention and appeal to a wider audience as well as providing a good way of conveying information and character to people who are less able to engage with written content. 5.2 Written Whilst effective for conveying large amounts of information written content needs to be worded effectively and kept to a minimum to keep the attention of its audience. Copy should be written in the Bolton at Home style and should be appropriate. 5.3 Images After written content images, especially photos, are the easiest to produce and are effective and engaging. In the main photos should be in the Bolton at Home style but if more people are to contribute this may not always be possible. 5.4 Infographics and charts Infographics can present statistical data in a clear and accessible way and is useful for pulling key information together. 5.5 Audio Currently audio is primarily produced from the weekly radio show. Audio content can be useful for people who might not want to read large amounts of text but can be problematic if people are using public computers. 6. Other communications and marketing tools In addition to the categories of content indicated in section 3, we will also use a range of other tools depending on their relevance to the stated communications or marketing objectives of a given campaign. These are listed in Appendix Content destinations Content destinations should focus on channels already used by the target audience. Producing content on these channels means information will reach the target audience and will allow traffic to be driven to destination sites with more in depth information such as the Bolton at Home website. Some examples of content destinations are provided below. 3

4 7.1 Print Door to Door tenant magazine (quarterly) At Home staff magazine (quarterly) Leaflets and brochures Annual report Value for money self-assessment Business plan Financial statement & accounts 7.2 Press Local newspapers Trade press 7.3 Broadcast Local commercial TV Local commercial radio Local community radio Regional BBC TV and radio 7.4 Online Various social media and online digital publishing opportunities exist and the list below indicates our current priority destinations: Bolton at Home website Bolton at Home blog Facebook Pinterest Flickr YouTube Vimeo Your Listen 8. Key considerations 8.1 Branding When developing any marketing or communications campaign or initiative we will adhere to our brand guideline, which includes in-house style guide that outlines our approach to branding, copywriting and tone of voice. 8.2 Ensuring staff are confident and able to support themselves locally We provide additional support on: Setting up an RSS feed (to ensure staff can easily access new content on our digital platforms and on other relevant platforms) Posting for content on the website and intranet (where permissions have been granted and training received) Setting up work Facebook and Twitter accounts (where appropriate training has been accessed) We also offer a template-driven design portal that allows staff to self-serve for simple poster/flyer based marketing needs. 4

5 8.3 Content that is engaging and relevant Our annual planning process involves consulting with teams across the business to understand their forthcoming marketing and communications needs. In doing this, we reference our agreed business plan. By working in a coordinated, cyclical way we ensure we achieve: Greater impact from our campaigns Campaigns that are closely linked to business priorities Better value for money Campaigns that are integrated Listening to customers questions and engaging with our Customer Committee, and other involved customers, will allow campaigns and content to be produced that is relevant to their current concerns and issues, while matching our communications and marketing priorities. 9. Responding to requests for information We are under no legal obligation to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, although where we can help with customers who have responsible requests we aim to do so. Customers can of course obtain copies of their own personal data under the Data Protection Act Any requests from regulators or official bodies for information are responded to in an appropriate manner. Furthermore, under our obligations for receiving support for new build schemes, we are required to publish details of spend over 500 in connection with the delivery of those schemes. We publish information on how tenants may obtain information relating to their tenancy (as covered by the Data Protection Act 1998) on our website: Equality analysis Our approach to equality analysis and the latest equality analysis (previously equality impact assessment) for our marketing and communications activity can be found on our website: 5

6 Appendix 1 Those flagged with an * indicate our current priority channels. Digital and online marketing: Website* Webinar Blog* Photo stream Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Storify, YouTube* Getting visitors to your web or intranet page* Advertising adwords Advertising online display Advertising recruitment online* marketing E-zines Text messaging* Website landing pages, news, polls/surveys* Intranet landing pages, news, polls/surveys* Online forums (BH and non-bh owned) Wikipedia Presentations/slide shows online Video footage* Audio capture* signatures auto responders Offline and broadcast marketing: Advertising print Advertising out of home (bus, billboard, event, toilet doors, banners, window clings, flags) Advertising recruitment print Promotional merchandise Posters* Leaflets* Event management* Calling cards* Business cards* Direct mail (hard copy) Brochures* Rent letters* Wage slip enclosures Pop up stands* Exhibitions and displays* Word of mouth: meeter/greeters, community researchers, mobile unit, meetings/briefings/conferences* Trade shows/festivals Community radio in studio, pre record, outside broadcast* Open days* Drop ins/surgeries* Presentations offline Packaging/franking/mailing outers Livery* Uniforms/clothing* Invoice stationery Letter templates* Contact centre outbound WOM On hold messages* 6

7 Communications: Staff briefings and newsletters* Tenant newsletters* Press release* Press briefing* Press interviews Photo opportunity* MP/councillor briefings* Crisis management public relations* Award submissions 7