Building Your PTA Communications Plan this Year

commsguide1This year’s fully digital PTA Back-to-School KIT is full of resources and tips for building and sustaining your local PTA unit. As a PTA leader, it is critical that you regularly keep your members informed of the work your PTA is doing and how they can get involved. In our Communications Quick Reference Guide PTA has detailed plans and suggestions on everything from leading meetings to sharing messages with fellow PTA members, school staff and adminsitrators, and community members. As you build PTA programs this school year, develop great working relationships with reporters and media personalities. The media can be a valuable partner in sharing your story, and we encourage you to reach out using our sample media advisories and tips to get started.

Social media is a powerful tool for individuals to share ideas and content and facilitate a conversation. It also is fast, free, and easy to get started. From Facebook to Twitter, there are many platforms for you to quickly showcase your PTA at its best and receive feedback from friends, colleagues, and the broader community. We know that many of you take photos highlighting your many events, projects, and initiatives. Consider rolling these images into a photo collage summary using one of many FREE and user friendly video services like Animoto or pay a small fee for other services like Roxio’s PhotoShow. When using social media, be sure to foster transparent, honest, and knowledgeable dialogue to build engagement and interest in your program. Also remember that photography and videography convey the excitement of your events and are great channels to feature your events, but be sure to use photo release forms to obtain a photo subjects’ permission for use in promotional materials. For further guidance or ideas to increase your following online, review our social media policy to help establish your PTAs online boundaries.

Consistent branding and a uniform presence for National PTA and all PTA produced material is key. Our branding guidelines are imperative and have helped to establish PTA as a leader on advocacy for children. Speak with a consistent message and have a credible voice to serve as a media spokesperson or representative from your Unit. As a PTA officer, spend some time with your PTA leaders in the coming weeks developing your communications strategy to promote and share your PTA success this school year. Effective communication is key to promoting your programs to a variety of groups and building support from the community.

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