September 2015
Vol 13 # 9
In this issue:
Top 5 Tips for “Microlearning” Videos
Why Press Releases Don’t Work Anymore
PR Opportunity - National Day of Service is September 11
As many of you know, September is National Preparedness Month.Ready.gov is pushing the annual Prepareathon on September 30. What is your group doing to promote Amateur Radio in your community as another tool in the toolkit? There’s plenty of time to line up a public demonstration of ham radio at your local library or community center, partner with your local Red Cross on their event, or cooperate with your local CERT teams for outreach. Share your plans and ideas for the Prepareathon on the ARRL PR reflector. What have you done for previous Prepareathons? What worked? What didn't?
I just finished up the QST article promoting the annual ARRL Bill Leonard Award. This award is bestowed upon professional journalists who do a great job of showcasing Amateur Radio in their coverage. There are three categories: Audio, Video, and Print/Text.
Did your group receive outstanding coverage in the media this year? Do you recall an excellent story you read or saw that captured the essence of what we do? Let us know! If you need refreshing, you can always review the ARRL Media Hits page for ideas. Complete instructions are available on the Leonard Award page at ARRL.org. Deadline for submissions is December 4.
Top 5 Tips for “Microlearning” Videos
It’s become easy to crank out video of your group demonstrating a procedure or technique. But can you crank out a *good* video? The online learning community has been discussing “microlearning” videos; videos that keep the focus and time limited. They’re designed to highlight one specific thing, and they’re a great tool for content generation in your area. Here’s a list of the top five tips for producing microlearning video from Tom Spiglanin, guest writer at the online learning management system Litmos.
Why Press Releases Don’t Work Anymore
Old-school PR dictates the press release is a cornerstone of any outreach campaign. As media consumption changes, however, some are starting to disagree with this tactic. Marsha Friedman, founder of the PR firm EMS Incorporated, recently posted a tip to the Association Media & Publishing group a different approach to the press release: write the news story yourself.
PR Opportunity - National Day of Service is September 11
It’s a bit of short notice, but don’t forget that the National Day of Service is September 11. Get your ham club out in the public eye, even if it’s not related to Amateur Radio. The key here is visibility and giving your group awareness. Spend the day as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanty, a senior center, your local food pantry, anything that gets your group in touch with your community. Meet new people, give back to your community, and get exposure for your group all at the same time; sounds like a winning combination to me. Find ways for your group to help at serve.gov.
PRC Chair Katie Allen, WY7YL, and I spent two days with fellow PR Committee member Scott Westerman, W9WSW, last week. Scott’s an amazing guy: he's the Executive Director of the Michigan State University Alumni Association, after a distinguished career in cable television for many years. He knows a thing or two about customer service, outreach, and promotion. For two days, we learned about all kinds of stuff over our time. We were able to give back, too; part of our trip was interacting with the MSU Amateur Radio Club, W8SH. They’re looking for new members; every college club goes through a rotation period because members graduate and move on.
Thanks to our time together, W8SH has a couple of new ideas for member acquisition and retention. They’re going to be activating the club on HF for EVERY MSU home football game, all season long. Special QSLs for each activation will be made. This is an easy thing to do and would have a lot of impact on the general public, university alumni and new members of the club. If you’re associated with a University club station, I think you should really look into this idea.
Many thanks to Scott and his team for extending the MSU resources to ARRL. We’re hoping to begin implementing some of the things we worked on before the end of the year.
Thanks for all you do.
Sean Kutzko, KX9X
Media and Public Relations Manager
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