The Digital Advantage: How to Create Better, Smarter, Cheaper Communications Campaigns in the Age of Tech by Alejandro de Onís & Anusha Alikhan Knight Digital Media Center presented a day-long workshop for foundation communications professionals on April 4, 2016 as part of the CommA Days conference in New Orleans. Participants learned about strategies in communication and engagement on digital, mobile and social platforms.

1. THE DIGITAL ADVANTAGE:
H O W TO C R E AT E B E T T E R , S M A RT E R , C H E A P E R
C O M M U N I CAT I O N S CA M PA I G N S I N T H E AG E O F T EC H

2. There is more opportunity for interactions
with audiences than ever before.
THE BIG PICTURE:

3. THE OLD WAY…
THE MEDIA, ADVERTISERS,
ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES
TELL PEOPLE WHAT’S
IMPORTANT.
Brand Consumer

4. THE NEW WAY…
PEOPLE TELL OTHER
PEOPLE WHAT’S
IMPORTANT.
*Buzzfeed’s BWN (bored at work network)
•New networked way of
communications
•Supporters become your best
messengers
•Beyond telling people what we do,
we listen and respond to our
audience

5. STRATEGY FIND NEW WAYS TO TELL
YOUR STORY#1

6. ALIGNING
COMMUNICATION
ACROSS STORIES

7. REACHING BEYOND
TRADITIONAL
MEDIA

8. TODAYS DIGITAL LANDSCAPE
• FRAGMENTED
• PROLIFIC
• ALWAYS CHANGING

9. HIGHLIGHTING THE PEOPLE
AND THE PROJECTS YOU
SUPPORT

10. STRATEGY
#2
REACH THE RIGHT
AUDIENCES

11. TAILOR TO YOUR
AUDIENCE
• Platform specificity
• Design to reflect goal
• Create value

12. CIVIC TECH REPORT
CASE STUDY
Civic tech funders: More than $430 million invested in tech
organizations focused on advancing civic tech since 2011.
Open Data Buffs: New report offers data-driven approach for doing
social sector research.
Civic tech field, open government practitioners: Knight Foundation
invites people to help expand study of civic tech investments.
Citizens: Strange bedfellows or yin and yang? What Sunlight
Foundation and Airbnb have in common.
All: Pulling back the curtain on civic tech: interactive map invites
users to explore investments across multiple areas of civic tech.

13. CIVIC TECH REPORT
CASE STUDY
RAW DATA

14. CIVIC TECH REPORT
CASE STUDY
ANALYSIS

15. CIVIC TECH REPORT
CASE STUDY
DESIGN

16. #VOTELOCALSTARTING A TWO-
WAY CONVERSATION
• Twitter Chat
• Reddit AMA
• Webinar
• SMS Voting
• Events

17. • BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
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GOING WHERE
YOUR AUDIENCE
GOES
+67%
Mobile
Growth
+18%
Referral
Growth
+28%
Twitter
Growth
+61%
Facebook
Referral

18. STRATEGY
#3 KEEP IT SIMPLE

19. • BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
BEING A CONTENT
CREATOR

20. • BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
EASY TO USE
TOOLS
• CANVA.COM
• GIFMAKER.ME
• WEVIDEO.COM
• INFOGR.AM
• ATAVIST.COM

21. LEVERAGING PUBLISHING
PLATFORMS WITH EXISTING
NETWORKS

22. STRATEGY TAP INTO YOUR
NETWORKS
#4

23. • BULLETS HERE
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GETTING PARTNERS
TO SPREAD THE WORD

24. MAKING SOCIAL
MEDIA A PRIORITY
#knightcities
#newschallenge

25. • BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
• BULLETS HERE
CREATING
ENGINEERED
COLLISIONS
• LUMA WORKSHOP
• DEMO DAYS
• MEET KNIGHT BREAKFAST
• CONVENINGS

26. STRATEGY
#5
REACT, REUSE
AND INVENT

27. RESPONDING TO NEWS AND
TRENDS
• Be strategic about timing
• Create new value for audiences
that serves your goals
• Have an opinion
net neutrality

28. REPURPOSING YOUR CONTENT
10 basics for journalists, a listicle
with purpose.

29. STRATEGY
ENCOURAGE STAFF
TO BE SEEN AS
INFLUENCERS#6

30. PITCH STORIES THAT
FOCUS ON IMPACT

31. PROPOSE STAFF FOR
INTERVIEWS, SPEAKING
ENGAGEMENTS

32. ENCOURAGE STAFF TO BE
BRAND AMBASSADORS
“I mean, how could
this guy be in two
places at the same
time? I had to get to
the bottom of it.”

33. STRATEGY
#7
MEASURE YOUR
PROGRESS EARLY
AND OFTEN

34. METRICS

35. USING METRICS TO
TRACK ENGAGEMENT
• Go beyond clicks and page views
• Think about time on site
• Do you know your bounce rate?
• Track social media insights

36. MAKE ROOM FOR
EXPERIMENTATION