Communications Resources

Messaging

• Editorial: Same Ol’ Story, Just a Different Day. Why the Southern Illinoisian is spending a year investigating HUD (the power of repetition). “There is a good reason this newspaper is running yet another story about the public housing crisis in Cairo, in East St. Louis and towns and cities across the United States. The problems are not being addressed, at least not in any palpable fashion.”
• When the Facts Don’t Fit the Frame (Tiffany Manuel)
• Creating Affordable Housing Opportunities Means Talking Equity (Tiffany Manuel and Nat Kendall-Taylor). TL;DR: We must build public support by shifting narratives away from consumer choice and personal responsibility, as well as highlight systems that create and enable equity. See also her related paper, Dismantling the Narratives that Constrain Public Support for Fair Housing: The Urgent Need to Reframe the Public Conversation to Build Public Will.
• Changing the Narrative (U.S. Partnership on Poverty and Mobility): Discusses three false narratives that shape the way people – and policy makers – think about poverty: 1. People in poverty have no one to blame but themselves. 2. People in poverty are helpless victims of a larger socioeconomic system in which they have no agency. 3. Exceptional “rags to riches” stories prove the American dream is available to anyone willing to work hard enough for it.
• For a Former Foster Youth, ‘Poverty Porn’ Is Personal (Roselyn Miller): Applies Changing the Narrative to specific narratives, including coverage of her own story. “In the article written about me, I was used as an example of individual grit and achievement despite the odds. When stories like this become the norm, like the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson stating poverty is a “state of mind,” governments back out of or roll back assistance programs.”

Statistics, Research and Think Pieces

• Understanding Bounce Rates in Google Analytics (Yoast)
• Exploring the Top 10 Twitter Metrics You Should Be Tracking Today (Sprout Social)
• Bridging the Gap Between Communications and Marketing (PDF)
• Cision 2020 State of the Media Report (PDF): TL;DR: Email. Brief. Targeted.
• Cision 2018 State of the Media Report (PDF): Takeaway 1: They like press releases. Really. Sixty four percent of respondents said press and news releases were the most valuable content provided by their PR contacts. Caveat: Cision owns PR Newswire.
• M&R Benchmark Study: Examines 154 nonprofits’ digital interactions with their constituencies.
• The Role of Brand in the Nonprofit Sector (Nathalie Kylander and Christopher Stone): “In this article, we describe a conceptual framework [called] the Nonprofit Brand IDEA (in which “IDEA” stands for brand integrity, brand democracy, brand ethics, and brand affinity.” 
• Conservatives’ Three Simple Steps for Getting out of Poverty (Brian Alexander): Discusses the “success sequence” – “graduating from high school (at least), getting a full-time job, and marrying before having kids (in that order)” – and how, “trustworthy as it may sound, [it] conveniently frames structural inequalities as matters of individual choice.”

Best Practices, Definitions and How-Tos

• How to talk about invisible disabilities at work (HBR)
• Nonprofit email report (Neon One)
• Event marketing guide (Hubspot)
• Social media image sizes (Sprout Social)
• How to build a brand kit (Canva)
• Accessible U: Start with the 7 core skills
• Alt text vs image descriptions
• Microsoft Inclusive Design
• Centering Accessibility in Data Visualization (Urban Institute)
• How the Instagram Algorithm Works (Hootsuite, 2022)
• Logo Size Guidelines (Wix)
• The Dart Center Style Guide for Trauma-Informed Journalism (Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma)
• Guidelines for Age-Inclusive Communication (Changing the Narrative)
• Building Accessible PowerPoint Presentations (Microsoft)
• Covering Poverty – What to Avoid and How to Get It Right (Conscious Style Guide).
• Inclusive Design for Social Media (Hootsuite)
• 9 Best Practices to Make Your Social Media More Accessible (Shondaland)
• How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar (Hootsuite)
• How to Start an Association Podcast (SmithBucklin)
• LinkedIn Pages: Action Plan for Nonprofits
• The Next Step: Adapting Your Comms Strategy in Challenging Times (Cision, Q2 2020)
• Social Media Image Sizes (August 20, 2020)
• The Conscious Style Guide
• A Guide to Culturally Conscious Identifiers and Emojis
• The Diversity Style Guide
• Poynter’s Unreliable News Index – removed as of May 2019
• Poynter on de-hyphenating [word]-American; also has list of style guides and resources on diversity.
• How to Master Social Media Strategy Today (Associations Now)
• Six Simple Rules for Email Pitches (Cision)
• Media Training for Nonprofits: Covers pitches and interviews, and provides a list of resources.
• Citylab University: Inclusionary Zoning: A primer on the term “inclusionary zoning.”
• On the Record, Off the Record, For Attribution and On Background Explained (RethinkMedia.org): Before saying anything to a reporter, make sure you are both on the same page about what these terms mean, when they apply, and when they don’t.
• Elements of a Strategic Communications Plan (W.K. Kellogg Foundation: 2006): Workbook for non-profits. Created in 2006, well before the rise of social media, but still asks good questions and provides basic principles. PDF. 
• 7 Ways to Build Better Relationships with Journalists (Cision): TL;DR: Build relationships.
• From 40k to 4 Million Views: How I Grew My Nonprofit YouTube Channel: By the creator of Invisible People, a storytelling organization trying to change how people think about homelessness.
• 10 Lessons from a Rebrand (Prosperity Now)
• Brand Identity (Berkshire Hathaway Home Services): Note the classification of three types of exposure: paid (ads, etc.), owned (press releases, statements, etc.) and earned (speaking engagements, social interactions, etc.)
• The PESO Model (PRA Public Relations): Adds shared (social media pass-along and comments) to the three types of exposure listed above.
• How to moderate a panel: Advice from HBR and HuffPo. Bonus: excellent Twitter thread about choosing a moderator (Comic-Con specific, but the advice applies across industries).
• How to be a good panelist: Tips from INC and The Muse.
• How neuroscience beats Powerpoint coma (Univ. of Melbourne)
• Equity glossary (Charlottesville Tomorrow)

Interview Guidelines

• The Art of the Interview (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Interview Principles (Columbia University)
• Casting, Cutting, and Coaching: A Producer’s Guide to Unmoderated Conversations (NPR)

Other Resources

• Ramadan Tips for Non-Muslim Friends of Muslims
• List of Diverse Stock Photography Sites
• Tango – Chrome screenshot and documentation browser extension