Communication – the art of reaching out
At a recent workshop Soroptimists in South Lancashire took a long, hard look at their clubs’ online presence. How can we get the message across as to who we are? How can we spread the word that Soroptimists really do ‘make a difference’ to women and girls?
A club’s website is its ‘shop window’. It’s a 24/7 homebase and information repository. Jenny Stanistreet (Regional Web Administrator) led a session looking at various ways of attracting more visitors, retaining their interest, and persuading them to come back. As a means of exploring a club in depth, and as an enquiry point – notably for potential members – the website is key.
Lynda Lilley, the Region’s Communication Officer, explored the world of social media. These online posts are each club’s ‘special offers’. Unstructured and fleeting, yet they enlighten and inform. Certainly, their very interactivity fosters a club’s relationship with its followers. Lynda showed how social media can raise the profile of a club within the local community and far beyond.
Nicola Parkinson, who edits the regional newsletter, looked in some detail at ways of enhancing online content. Soroptimist clubs need visitors to engage with them and explore clubs’ activities and achievements. The online message therefore needs to be attractive, meaningful and accurate. Getting to grips with graphics, for example, need not be daunting – and can pay dividends in the public perception of Soroptimism.
Feedback has shown that the workshop addressed many of the participants’ concerns and that potential action is planned. Follow-up with Lynda and the team is very welcome.