ahead of the meeting gives everyone time to gather thoughts and may make your meeting more productive. Tip #2 – Plan at least a few hours of uninterrupted time to work through the big picture parts of the marketing plan with the team, then follow up with a second session to determine tactics and messaging. You might assign teams to tackle a tactics proposal for each marketing communications goal prior to your next meeting. Tip #3 – Use this worksheet to guide discussions. After it is complete, one person should be responsible for distilling the marketing plan into a single page with simple language. The template included in this packet is recommended. Tip #4 – Hang on to these worksheets, but treat the single-page document as your formal marketing plan. The document should be referenced frequently, particularly as you measure performance and report against your goals. Setting Your Goals are three types of goals. Business goals are the overarching goals that will drive success for your county center. Marketing goals show how you will achieve the business goal, specifically. Marketing Communications goals tie to your campaign call-to-action and should be measurable through selected tactics. In the example below, all marketing tactics will drive traffic to program pages of the website. Business Goal example: In 2018, participation in Extension’s Adams County Center programs will increase by 15%. Marketing Goal example: In 2018, 50 new participants (individuals who have not participated in programming before) will attend FCS programs. Marketing Communications Goal example: Website visits to FCS program pages will increase 5% each month through the end of 2018. EXERCISE Business Goal What single, overarching goal success for your county center in 2018? Drive awareness of the N.C. Cooperative Extension brand in Urbana County. Briefly how this goal supports the brand promise:
Content Marketing What resources are already available that you can repurpose? Do you enjoy creating original content? A natural fit for Extension. Serve content online and track link clicks. No cost, but time consuming. PR Do you have a relationship with media? Is the media supportive of Extension in your county? Are you trying to raise awareness or educate? objective coverage is more credible. Strong reach. Harder to track unless you count media mentions or article size. May impact web traffic positively. No cost for unless events and materials are needed. Some materials available on loan from Extension. Events Is the event well attended by your audience? Are there highly visible opportunities for a presence? Face-to-face contact; opportunity to give something meaningful away On-site data collection (sign-ups, booth traffic, etc.). High. Event materials and promos (some available on loan from Extension). Signage. Advertising Will the right people see your ad? Where/how do your key audiences consume info (specific websites, social, publications, etc.)? In rural counties, traditional media still has merit. In urban counties, more options exist. Monitor source traffic to website. Re-targeting opportunities with digital ads. High. Costs vary. Direct Mail; Fliers Do you have a mailing list? Can you buy one? Is there a place to hand out fliers (and do you have permission)? Local mail may get more attention than unfamiliar/junk mail. Harder to track unless you utilize a dedicated email response address. Low to moderate. Sponsorship/ Partnership Can you co-sponsor a popular event? Are partners willing to allow you a presence at their events? Local charities and sports teams may lend you some goodwill in the community Hard to track Varies. COUNTY-specific Tactic Weekly Radio Interview with DJ Ralph (WKMI) Radio station has listener metrics Free; only one time to record segment and