Many thanks to AMSSA in British Columbia for having me present this workshop to settlement and language workers across the province (you can view this and all their previous webinar recordings (really great repository) on their site). I’m definitely not a marketing expert. But, like making technology, or any service choices, it all comes down to being strategic and knowing/understanding your client.
That’s the key message, take-away, lesson, whatever you want to call it. Understand your client, and the right channel and approach to reach out/market to them will reveal itself.
In the Q&A I missed an opportunity to restate that. An agency asked about how they could market with a very small staff and no resources. I mumbled some stuff, but should have said: spend time talking with your existing clients. Get to know them and their community, how they find, access and act on information (including the channels and tech they us). Then choose a few of those, dive in, evaluate, and change/pivot or keep going.
Get to know and fully understand your audience. Talk to them. Constantly. Not just one time. Make it a habit.
Start there and you’ll find it all just gets easier
Below is the workshop description, video recording of the webinar, my presentation deck (embedded), along with handouts I provided. Other than all my “ummms” (really have to work on that), I hope you find it useful.
Webinar description
Not all newcomers arriving to BC access the services available to them. Helping newcomers and those around them become more aware that these services exist and their value is important. This webinar outlined and provided suggestions on how service providers can better work to promote their services to newcomers arriving in their community.
This webinar provided settlement staff and LINC instructors with greater knowledge of:
- The information practices of newcomers, including their use of technology in migration and settlement
- The role of community engagement in outreach
- Explore ways of finding and effectively outreaching to newcomers
- Creative outreach strategies that work, including emerging digital trends
- How to develop an outreach toolkit that includes technology such as social media & more
- How to create a digital outreach plan
Handouts:
Innovative-Outreach-Strategies-to-Reach-Newcomers-in-BC