Google Scholar
Medium (online long-form magazine)
Other publications (eg: The Conversation , other organization’s blogs)
Again, creating a content strategy is really about creating a plan to communicate your work.
Why Do I Need a Content Strategy or Communications Plan for My Work?
It’s helpful to have even a simple strategy or plan for your Cooperative Extension work or program for a number of reasons:
Extending information is fundamental to the Cooperative Extension mission. Just posting information on a website does not insure that your audience will find the information. We are barraged with information, help your audience find you . Even a simple plan provides a clear roadmap to identify who we want to reach, what we want them to know, and the best way to get our information to them. There are many ways to share information. Doing some advance planning may help you determine what will work best for you and your audience. Efficiency and capacity. Good content is “evergreen” and can be used again and again. Want to create a content strategy or communications plan? Here’s a template. Here’s a simple outline for developing a content strat egy or communications plan. If you walk through the series of questions and answer them, you’ll have a well -considered strategy and a plan that you can implement and evaluate. Assumptions: You have a blog post, FAQ sheet, report, research paper, or other piece of content that you want to share, OR you have a program/project/office that you’d like to have increased visibility. There is also an assumption that you’ll use one or more social platforms in your plan.
1. Determining Your Objective(s)
What do you wa nt to communicate? Do you have an idea for something specific you’d like to communicate, or are you primarily seeking to increase your visibility over time? (These are not mutually exclusive!) What are your overall goals/objectives? How and where do they align with your program/institution’s communications goals/messages and brand messages?
2. Audience Who are you trying to reach? That is your audience. You may have multiple audiences.
Remember: An audience in the case of Cooperative Extension is usually not only individuals, but also groups, including industry groups, professional associations, government agencies, NGOs, community-based organizations, etc. Be as specific as possible (ex: ranchers in Ventura County). What other information can you find out about your audience? What kind of social technologies are the demographic groups you are trying to reach using? Consider checking Pew Research to gather a broader understanding of demographic information and trends. Do some research on social media to find the people and groups you’d like to reach. (Hint: Consider finding groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, via hashtags, industry groups, professional associations, etc.).
3. Knowledge and Feeling
What do you want your audience to know? To feel?
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