Enjoy a "free sample" of our new book

It's a strategy as old as time. Allow someone to sample your product for free and those who like it will become buyers. Whether at your local grocery store, big-box warehouse club, or favorite brewery, the "Try Before You Buy" approach is alive and well.

In the spirit of the Free Sample, I am pleased to offer the following content from our new book, The Professional’s Guide to Establishing a 360° Communications Program for Educational Institutions: A Practical Guide to Systems That Work:

Operate As Your Own News Organization We made significant strides after completing an entire school year under the new communications plan. We implemented each of the identified strategies, improved the website as intended, and began preparing for the second year of operating under the plan. The first year was a success, but there was one external factor becoming increasingly evident that ultimately led us to the philosophy that our department would follow moving forward. The media industry at that time had started to evolve into something different. Local newspapers were beginning to establish more of an online presence through their websites and social media. Television news reporters were no longer bringing a dedicated camera operator with them to cover their stories. Instead, the reporters were setting up and running the camera, lights and audio themselves. As digital technologies advanced at breakneck speed, pundits began talking about “the death of print journalism.” Smaller newspapers were being bought up or simply shut down. It was clear that we could no longer rely upon the local media to tell our story, so I determined it was time for our department to begin operating as its own news organization. It turned out to be one of the wiser decisions I ever made for the organization as the media landscape continued to evolve in a rather tumultuous manner. Adhering to this philosophy proved valuable, particularly regarding what happened to print media. At the time I was hired, there were two weekly newspapers serving our community and a daily newspaper covering all of central Ohio. In 2012 our two local publications merged into a single weekly newspaper. This remaining local newspaper ceased production in January 2023, leaving behind only the large daily newspaper and a significant void of local news. During that time of change, we had all of the components in place to reach our constituents directly with district news. The greatest challenge was (and I believe always will be) direct outreach to the approximately 75% of our residents without children in our schools. We periodically acquired up-to-date mailing lists for all households and apartments in our school system, purchased email distribution lists, and used geofencing advertising techniques to attempt to reach this elusive audience. While some of these strategies may be cost-prohibitive for your organization, the bottom line is that we never stopped trying to expand our ability to reach residents without children in our schools. The philosophy of operating as your own news organization is just as applicable today and I strongly encourage you to adopt it for your own communications if you have not already done so.

You can learn more about the book's purpose and review additional content online at https://www.eimcreative.com/360book. If you like what you've sampled, there's an opportunity to buy the book on that same page and inquire about other associated services. Thanks in advance for your interest.