Today’s Digital Working Group post is by ELGL Executive Director Kirsten Wyatt.
As you learned from Kevin Herman yesterday, the ELGL Digital Working Group split into two breakout groups to tackle some specific messaging to our members. Kevin’s team is working on messaging to recruit new members, and my team is working on messaging to send to new members.
Our group has observed that it can feel like drinking from a fire hose when you first join ELGL: there’s a ton of content (arrayed in blog format, which is unfamiliar for some readers), plus really active accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and SnapChat.
If someone is accustomed to the slower, paper-focused pace of more traditional local government professional associations, then ELGL seems like a Tasmanian devil of local gov information.
So, our goal in creating “Welcoming Messaging” is to ensure that new members can find their lane and drive at the speed they feel comfortable with – and still know how they can jump into the fast lane if they want.
On the call, we were able to find a process so a new member gets a personalized email as soon as they join. Now, we’re working in a shared document about what the message sounds like. We want to capture the ELGL tone and style without overwhelming the member with information about our blogs, webinars, social channels, Supper Clubs, events, conferences – well, you get the idea.
We also want to have a cool map where members can find the other ELGL members who are near them for quick connections (like Supper Clubs and meet-ups). And we want to showcase our big upcoming events (like webinars and conferences) so people can plan ahead on their calendars.
We ultimately decided to do a “Step by Step Guide to ELGL” but I have to admit that everytime I hear “Step by Step” or “Step 1…,” this is the only thing that comes to mind:
Also, we’re seeking an answer to the same question as the other group:
We need a better name for “government people”.
Do you have any ideas? Let us know!
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