Photo Credit: Alison Smith Long
Case Study: First Unitarian Society
Sector: Faith Communities
Project: Same Page Content Planning Session for UU Marketing
We facilitated a Same Page Content Planning Session with First Unitarian Society, giving them a three-month content blueprint to plan social media—and other UU marketing efforts—collaboratively, in a time-efficient manner. This keeps their strategic marketing and communications goals front and center and provides metrics to track the effectiveness of their efforts.
The Challenge
First Unitarian Society (FUS) is a large Unitarian Universalist community in Madison, WI, that welcomes hundreds of curious seekers into their historic meeting house—or via live stream. In the early stage of a digital transformation, FUS’s marketing and communications had relied primarily on emails and printed newsletters to disseminate information to members. They tapped our firm to come in to update and enhance their social media presence in an effort to not only keep existing members up-to-date, but to attract new members as well.
They reached out to SBS for help in developing a new digital communication plan that could meet the following goals:
They reached out to SBS for help in developing a new digital communication plan that could meet the following goals:
- Improve their social media messaging to bring more followers onto their social media channels to raise awareness and engagement with existing and prospective members;
- Develop a content plan that was both robust and achievable so that their staff could confidently identify and coordinate on high priority elements that would be most effective for existing and prospective audiences;
- Find ways for their new staff members and long-standing volunteers to work together strategically and effectively to create and track measurable goals in social media—a platform that felt exciting but daunting.
The Idea
The SBS team identified a solution to the challenge:
Same Page Content Planning Session
The Same Page Content Planning Session is a 2-3 hour whiteboarding strategy designed to get First Unitarian Society's staff together to get “on the same page” about their UU marketing activities and to plan a three-month content calendar and plan for their social media channels. Because we teach our clients to create a plan that can be used across multiple marketing channels, the plan can also be utilized for the organization’s website, email, and print newsletter.
Same Page Content Planning Session
The Same Page Content Planning Session is a 2-3 hour whiteboarding strategy designed to get First Unitarian Society's staff together to get “on the same page” about their UU marketing activities and to plan a three-month content calendar and plan for their social media channels. Because we teach our clients to create a plan that can be used across multiple marketing channels, the plan can also be utilized for the organization’s website, email, and print newsletter.
An outcome of this process is a three-month content blueprint. Another core outcome is a time-efficient process that can be repeated, and integrated into the team’s workflow on an ongoing basis. This framework also improves collaboration and streamlines communication, between staff, enabling them to coordinate efforts effectively.
The SBS team’s FEEL - THINK - DO framework was introduced during the planning session, to create a balance of content that inspires awareness and loyalty, decision-making, and action.
The SBS team’s FEEL - THINK - DO framework was introduced during the planning session, to create a balance of content that inspires awareness and loyalty, decision-making, and action.
The Results
- One outcome of our work together is a clear, mission-focused game plan that FUS’s Communications Director can use to build a clear, consistent UU marketing strategy that is time-efficient to produce.
- Our session yielded a three-month content blueprint for their social media program, along with defined goals and metrics that can be tracked month-to-month to assess the effectiveness of the team's efforts.
- In addition, our framework provides a time-efficient process that can be repeated and integrated into the team’s workflow on an ongoing basis. Content planning can be completed more quickly and effectively, which allows the team to spend more time on strategy and tracking as they look to create consistency across all of their communication channels.
- Centralized knowledge about upcoming marketing activities will help facilitate the flow of knowledge between staff, and will make it easier to onboard new staff or volunteers as roles change in the future.
- Finally, our session culminated in a practical and achievable content plan that will help the team analyze the many activities, programs and messages of the organization and determine which to prioritize across their website, emails, and social media to reach existing and prospective members most effectively.
"We knew there was so much more we could do with our social media accounts but needed a solid strategy for how to engage our community and to keep them engaged. As a religious community, creating a welcoming and authentic online presence is a vital part of our communication philosophy. Sarah Best and her team's expert industry knowledge, paired with their experiences with a wide range of religious communities, provided us the perfect balance of effective strategy and meeting our unique needs. We are now equipped with the tools and strategies to effectively reach our community on social media. We're excited to see where we will be a year from now!"
