Publicity
Publicizing and promoting your club is much like public
speaking, in that good public relations skills are not
taught but rather are developed through regular practice.
Good public relations can be defined as anything that
produces a positive response and stimulates the reader
or listener to do something, such as visit a club meeting
or a club web site to learn more about Toastmasters.
Your Target Audience
In the broadest sense, everyone can benefit from joining
Toastmasters, so everyone should theoretically be a
target for your club's publicity. However, a good publicity
campaign is much more likely to succeed if your audience
is well defined. Identifying your club's target audience
is critical to developing the message you want to convey,
as the message will depend very much on the needs of
your audience. Having a well-defined target audience
will also make it easier to determine the medium with
which you will deliver that message.
Types of Activities
There are several basic activities that your club can
conduct to publicize itself. Some of these basic activities
include posting flyers in a public location (such as
a library or company cafeteria), distributing hand-outs
or brochures at an event, and arranging public service
announcements in newspapers and on the radio. All of
these activities are fairly simple to accomplish.
Other forms of publicity can take a little more effort
to accomplish but generally yield much greater results.
One such activity is to pitch a story to a local newspaper
(which may include writing a press release). The most
important step here is to get the name of a contact
person in the news organization that you are targeting.
Because of the nature of Toastmasters, publications
such as newspapers can sometimes be persuaded to carry
a "good will" story about your club. On occasion,
local radio or television stations may even want to
arrange an interview.
Framed in the proper light, almost any club event can
become newsworthy. Many are relatively routine and may
receive only a brief mention. Others have greater news
value and may strike a cord within a particular organization,
possibly giving your club more extensive media coverage.
Listed here are a few suggestions for events that may
be potential news stories:
- Regular meetings/calendar
- Election of officers
- Important visitors or guests
- Speakers Bureau
- Club anniversary
- Toastmasters International anniversary month (October)
- Joint meeting with other club(s)
- Demonstration meetings
- Speech contests
- Special programs open to the public
(Speechcraft, Youth Leadership, etc.)
For additional ideas about promoting your club, refer
to the "Let the World Know" handbook from
Toastmasters International. This publicity and promotion
handbook is listed in the Toastmasters International
Supply Catalog, which is also available online. (The
catalog number for the Club Success Plan is 220.)
Special Events
Through special awards, the Toastmasters program allows
your club to recognize non-Toastmasters for their achievements.
Not only does this benefit the community at large by
drawing attention to outstanding individuals in the
community, but the presentation of these awards offers
a terrific opportunity for your club to generate positive
publicity.
Communication and Leadership Award
This award represents an opportunity for the club
to recognize someone outside the club for his/her
contributions to communication excellence. Recipients
may include such figures as public officials, company
executives, or local news broadcasters. A complete
package describing this award and including a plaque
and a sample press release is listed in the Toastmasters
International Supply Catalog (catalog number 1972).
Honorary Club Membership
Once a year, your club may award an honorary membership
to a non-Toastmaster for outstanding contributions
to the community or to the club. The presentation
of an honorary membership certificate (Supply Catalog
number 508-A) can generate goodwill and publicity
for your club.
|
