Door Out Sport GUIDE
Chapter 6
Steps for making communication strategy for your dos events and programs
For achieving your organization/club/camp aims, mission, and vision, you will need to develop a communication strategy as a tool that will help you in this. Your organization/club identity is given in its visual identity- this is what is in the eyes of the public the image of your vision and mission. This goes also for your DOS programs and activities- every time you organize multisport outdoor event make it reflect your overall work- match its visuals and values with your work, obtain your identity all the time.
The main role of communication strategy is to ensure the promotion of your work and the activities you are doing. You should plan your communications because every time we are not the creators of our story, we can easily become the part of somebody else’s narrative. Own your communication and this will help you to rule the way how people are perceiving you and your hard work.
STEP 1: COMMUNICATION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Every communication strategy should have its goals and objectives to lead you through. Define what is that you want to achieve with your communication about the DOS program and/or event (communication goal) and then decide how it will be done (communication objectives).
Your communication GOAL can be for example to introduce DOS programs to new uses, but your communication OBJECTIVE should be more concrete, e.g. reach the number of X applications for DOS event you are organizing. Be careful not to plan too much but also don’t underestimate your impact. For this, your goal should be SMART.
Specific– this helps you to set the frame in which you will be working. Know your influence and domain. Mention the way you will be doing it, in this case through door out multi-sport activities, and what you want to achieve.
Measurable– you should be able to detect the quantitative aspect of your influence If you know the number of your participants or any other data, mention it.
Achievable– know your capacities and how much you can do
Realistic– we cannot change the world over night. Let’s do it step by step.
Time framed– know your dates and dynamics of activities. Also, plan and know when you will start and when you will be finishing with your campaign.
When setting the goal for promoting your DOS event make sure that you know what is that you want to achieve. If you are calling for young people to join you, your goal should be reflecting it to make sure that you define the objectives accordingly. If you are doing the promotion of already held DOS activity, then define in your goal and objectives the frame of your communication to match it.
STEP 2: TARGET GROUP
Very important part of communication journey is also to know your audience, meaning that you must know exactly to who you are talking, know your TARGET GROUP: Since not everyone in your audience will have the same characteristics and preferences, you will also have to do the SEGMENTATION of your target group to learn who are they in more details. All this is very important if you would like to be more effective in your communication.
When we say that you need to know your audience this means that you should be able to recognize them among the other young people. You must analyze and understand their behavior, habits, preferences, and performances. This will all help you to know when you should reach to them, at which platform and with what kind of message. An asset would be for you to know what they feel about the outdoor activities and sport.
For the specific types of campaigns and communication products, you will have the different audiences, and this is why you need to know sub-categories of your target group. E.g., if you are targeting high school students you must know that their communication preferences are completely different to university students or other groups of young people. You will not be able to reach them while they are at school for start and accordingly plan your time of posting in the campaign. Contacting their teachers for physical education could be the good way of reaching them also since this is the authority they recognize and trust to learn about the outdoor multi-sport activities and their possible participation in it. This is just a small illustration what you should include in your target group segments analysis and approach.
If the target audience for DOS event you are organizing is composed of your “old” users, then this means that they already know you and your approach to them will be more direct and based on previous history of your relationship. But if you are calling for new users to join you your approach of communication will be more motivating and should explain the benefits of DOS activities clearer. This why you really need to know your target group. This will define your communication approach in whole.
The project “Door Out to more Sport for all” is co-funded by the European Union.