Basic communications tips for migration NGOs in crisis-hit Greece

Presentation from the conference: “The silent humanitarian crisis in Greece: strategies to improve the situation of migrants” on December 4, 2012 in Athens

Transcript

1. Basic   communica+ons   +ps  for  migra+on   NGOs  in  crisis-­‐hit   Greece     For  the  conference:     “The  silent  humanitarian  crisis  in   Greece:  strategies  to  improve  the   situa+on  of  migrants”   Mehran  Khalili   [mkhalili@gmail.com]   Athens,  December  3,  2012  
2. Why  build  a  comms  machine  at  all?     Your  comms  machine     10  +ps  to  help  you  op+mise  your  machine     What  we’ll  be  talking  about  today  
3. •  Because  if  you  communicate   effec+vely,  to  the  right   audiences,  it  will  help  you   achieve  your  organisa+on’s   goals   •  Because  you  are  already   controlling  your  message   anyway,  even  if  you’re  not   aware  of  it   •  Because  your  opponents  are   doing  it   Why  build  a  comms  machine  at  all?  
4. Your  comms  machine  
5. Example  of  NGO  comms  machines  in  ac+on   Also:   •  Publica+ons   •  Posi+on  papers   •  Campaign  websites   •  Photography   Decision   makers   Tradi+onal   media   GENERAL   PUBLIC   Volunteer   community   Social  media   Le_ers   Mee+ngs   Video   Press  release/   pitching   Blog  post  
6. Produc'on   Tip  1.  Be  clear  about  your  objec+ve     •  Ensure  your  story   relates  to  achieving  a   core  objec(ve  of  your   organisa(on  that  is  as   measureable  as   possible   •  Choose  your  message   and  audience  based   on  this  objec+ve  
7.     Produc'on   Tip  2.  Back  up  your  story   •  Neutral  language;     drain  the  drama   •  For  maximum  impact,   let  the  facts  tell  the   story.  Show,  don’t  tell   •  Use  links  and  footnotes   to  recent,  relevant,   authorita+ve  data   sources  
8.     Produc'on   Tip  3.  Find  a  fresh  angle   “Editors   always  want   things  that   are   surprising”  
9. Produc'on   Tip  3.  Find  a  fresh  angle  (cont.)   Stories  that,  to  date,  have  not  been  well   covered:     •  Vital  context:  Migrants  in  Greece  are   not  a  monolithic  group   •  Big-­‐picture  solu+ons  to  the   humanitarian  crisis   •  Posi+ve  stories:  Daily  lives  of  migrants   in  Greece  (as  opposed  to  vic+m  stories)  
10.     Produc'on   Tip  4.  Use  a  unique  format   •  Go  beyond  text  to  “show,   don’t  tell”     •  Photography,  video,  infographics  are  more   engaging,  and  can  go  viral  (text  can’t)   •  Doesn’t  have  to  cost:  use  volunteers  
11.     Distribu'on   Tip  5.  Use  today’s  distribu+on  tools   •  Get  on  Twi_er  and  use  it   properly   •  Wordpress  /  YouTube  
12.     Distribu'on   Tip  6.  Cul+vate  your  contacts   “Coffee  is   the  best   social   media”  
13.     Distribu'on   Tip  7.  Consider  interna+onal  media  outreach   •  If  the  story  is  big   enough,  pitch   interna+onal  outlets   •  Most  interna+onal   journalists  are  on   Twi_er.  Otherwise   easy  to  find  their   email  addresses  
14.     Monitoring   Tip  8.  Use  today’s  monitoring  tools   •  Google  News   and  Google   Alerts     •  Twi_er  
15.     Monitoring   Tip  9.  Learn  the  landscape   •  Understand  what’s  being   wri_en  and  discussed  about   migra+on  in  Greece   •  Find  out  who  the  influencers   are,  and  whether  they  are   poten+al  allies  or  opponents.   Capture  their  contact  details   •  Feed  this  informa+on  back  into   your  produc+on  and   distribu+on  work  
16.     Monitoring   Tip  10.  Check  back  on  your  objec+ve     •  Did  you  achieve  your   core  objec(ve?   •  Capture  lessons   learned;  feed  them   back  into  your   machine  
17. Produc'on   Back  up   your  story   Find  a  fresh  angle   Learn   the  landscape   Use  a  unique  format   Be  clear  about   your  objec+ve   Use  today’s   distribu+on  tools   Cul+vate  your   contacts   Consider  interna+onal   media  outreach   Use  today’s   monitoring  tools   Check  back   on  your  objec+ve  
18. Mehran  Khalili   mkhalili@gmail.com   @mkhalili  on  Twi_er   Thank  you!