5/4/2012

Communication Strategy
Tilden Communications Authored by: Kevin Marheine, Joe Parzych, Noelle Sciarni, and Jennifer Ismirle

Tilden Communications

Communication Strategy
Table of Contents
Introduction..pg. 3 What We Know About Michigan Trout Unlimited.pg. 3 Analysis of MITU Brand & Communication Materials..pg. 4 I. Michigan TU Brand Analysis......pg. 4 II. Fall 2011 Michigan Trout Magazine Analysis.pg.7 III. Fund Appeal Analysis....pg.10 IV. Michigan TU Website Analysis.......pg.13 V. Social Media Analysis......pg.15 Communication Tactics..pg.16 Recommended Timeline...pg.17 Conclusion and Contact Information....pg.22 Sample Documentspg.23 Storyboard for a Commercialpg.23 Fund Appeal Letter..pg.25 Letters to the Editor.pg.27 Michigan TU Website Suggestions.....................pg.28 Michigan TU Demographics Survey...................pg.31

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Introduction:
Using the extensive skills we have learned as Professional Writing Students at Michigan State University, we offer in-depth analyses and practical communication strategies in this report that can be implemented by your organization. We identify areas where you are having success and areas that could use some improvement. We also provide analyses of specific communications and your brand, as well as overall communication tactics for Michigan Trout Unlimited.

What We Know About Michigan Trout Unlimited:

After speaking to you directly and examining your current communication materials (including Michigan TUs Strategic Plan and the Michigan TU EAS 2009 Grant Application), we discerned the following values and practices for Michigan Trout Unlimited. We also included what we determined to be your current audience.

Mission:
To conserve, protect and restore Michigans coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

Vision:
In the state where Trout Unlimited was founded, Michigan TU will work to ensure clean, healthy streams and rivers supporting thriving populations of wild trout and salmon, for future generations to enjoy.

Audience:
The following describes the majority of involved Michigan TU members:

White males between 40-70 years old Mostly anglers Highly educated Skilled professionals High income

About 90-95% pay for a membership and that is the extent of their involvement. Only 5-10% of the members actively participate in activities, advocacy, and other projects. Members usually fall into one of two groups: 1. People who want to conserve coldwater fisheries. 2. Anglers who are looking for camaraderie and a community with similar interests.

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Core Activities:
What sets Michigan TU apart from other environmental groups is that you are the only organization focused on coldwater fishery conservation. TU is the largest fishery group, and is one of the largest aquatic conservation groups in the nation. Beyond conservation efforts, Michigan TU is also heavily involved in environmental education and advocacy.

Outreach Plan:
The justification and details of participating in this program will be communicated directly with participating chapters through in-person presentations and training sessions. Details of the overall program will be communicated to all TU members in Michigan via communications in MI TUs quarterly magazine, Michigan Trout.

Three Main Goals of the Outreach Project:

Collection of important and useful data needed for coldwater fisheries management. Engagement of volunteer members. Re-establish the relevance of TU in hands-on conservation work.

Analysis of MITU Brand and Communication Materials:

We used our initial findings of your organization to choose specific areas for analysis, which are: the brand of Michigan TU, sections of your Fall 2011 Michigan Trout magazine, your Fund Appeal letters from April 2012 and November 2011, your website, and your use of social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. We provide examples of what is working in these areas, recommendations for improvement, and implementations for using our recommendations.

I. Michigan TU Brand Analysis:

What Is Working:
Trout Unlimiteds logos and brand symbolize 50+ years of TUs dedication to coldwater fisheries conservation in North America. The TU brand symbolizes the organizations longstanding reputation and the work achieved over decades by tens of thousands of volunteers who have worked to protect, conserve and restore rivers around the country. In short, TUs logos represent a hard-earned brand that must be maintained. Because of TUs reputation and position as the nations largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, TU has earned the respect of countless federal, state and local agencies, organizations and individuals. The organizations public representation must be properly managed to maintain this standing. 4

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Michigan Trout Unlimited is the coordinator and representation for 20 local chapters of TU and over 7,000 individuals, devoted to the conservation, protection and restoration of Michigans coldwater fish and their watersheds. Michigan is blessed with a vast wealth of wonderful and unique trout streams, over 11,000 inland lakes, and the largest source of freshwater in North America the Great Lakes. Michigan TU does whatever it takes for prudent management of these resources, including on-the-ground stream improvements, angler and steward education, research, partnerships and collaboration with other conservation groups and governmental agencies, and policy development. A balance between the two identities is not easily achieved, but is necessary for a successful communication strategy. In the following sections we provide key recommendations to consider when using your brand and how your representation of your brand can be improved, as well as ways to implement these strategies.

Recommendations:
When it comes to branding, you find yourself in a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, you are part of the national Trout Unlimited organization. And on the other, you represent the 20 local chapters in Michigan. Here are some ways that Michigan TU can 1. Build upon your existing brand by appealing to your audiences emotions and the benefits they look for through your organization. With over 50 years of service, MI TU has already established itself and its brand. However, good brands evolve over time to better communicate an organization's identity to the target audience. Todays audiences are bombarded by brands and presented with many deserving nonprofits to give their donations to. By building upon your already established brand you can focus on distinguishing yourself from other organizations. The way to stand out from other nonprofits is to know exactly what benefits your organization brings to people. Find the benefits or values that mean the most to your target audience and associate them with your name. Every brand is a promise that means benefits to the target audience. Good brands are emotional. They evoke feelings about what your organization means to people. Your brand is only as strong as the emotions felt by people when the consider you. Remember, people make decisions based on their feelings first, then logic. Tie your brand to what motivates people most: emotions and benefits. 2. Share your culture through stories, pictures and videos of volunteers and members that show what is meaningful to them. MI TU is responsible for many successful conservation projects, angler and stewardship 5

Tilden Communications education, and policy development. A simple way to tie your brand to emotions and benefits is to share these accomplishments with your audience. Use volunteers stories, pictures, and videos from events to help share your culture. People familiar with MI TU know of your longstanding dedication to conservation, but they may not be as familiar with specific events or projects. Nonprofits can focus so much on their perspective that they leave out the point of view of their intended audience. Build your brand on your customer's needs, not just on your organization's aspirations. You want people to associate your organization with what is meaningful to them, not only on what is meaningful to you. Branding that is beneficial to people is invisible to customers. They notice their needs being met, and not so much your messaging. Donors give because of what giving means to them. Volunteers are happy about the difference they are making. The people you are helping see their lives being transformed. Communities notice the changes your organization is bringing about. And all of these things resonate more with an audience than any logo or tag line ever can. 3. Be consistent with your brand across all forms of communication. MI TU is composed of 20 local chapters and your material is distributed over a variety of channels (michigantu.org, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Your organization needs to make sure that the way your brand is portrayed is consistent. While MI TU is made of 20 local chapters, they are all part of the same whole. By ensuring that your brand is accurately represented across the communications of all 20 chapters you help convey to your audience the unity that exists between the chapters.

Implementations:
1. Appeal to your audiences needs by making personal connections. People don't care about your organization or your cause as much as they care about themselves. Successful strategies appeal to target audiences based on the benefits those people will receive and not on the features of the programs, products, services. Other organizations are trying to motivate people by describing their strategies, reporting distressing statistics, or making urgent fundraising appeals. Audiences are used to this strategy and your results may be less than you hoped for. An alternative strategy is to link your messages to solutions that meet your audiences needs, and thus motivate them to take immediate action. People are motivated by their needs, so your brand must convey how your organization can help them reach those needs. Again, people are familiar with MI TU. They know that your mission is to conserve, protect and restore Michigans coldwater fisheries and their

Tilden Communications watersheds. What they dont know is how that work translates to their lives. Your brand needs to make those connections for the audience. 2. Create a formal style guide which can include fonts that need to be used and how the logo should be used. One way to ensure that your brand is consistently represented across the 20 chapters and media channels is to develop a formal style guide. A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for the writing and design of documents, either for general use or for a specific publication, organization or field. The implementation of a style guide provides uniformity in style and formatting of a document. Style guides generally give guidance on language use (such as tone, diction, etc.). They also consider or focus on elements of graphic design, such as fonts and spacing between paragraphs and sections. Website style guides often focus on visual or technical aspects. This is an important document to have because it is a set of clearly defined rules of how your brand should be portrayed, which will ensure unity across your communication.

II. Fall 2011 Michigan Trout Magazine Analysis:

What Is Working:
Michigan Trout is a very informative magazine that does a great job of keeping readers informed about current issues that Trout Unlimited is dealing with. A major strength of your magazine is that it highlights your organizations work very well. For example, the article Dam removal means Dam Removal in the Fall 2011 edition of Michigan Trout, you very specifically list the actions that Michigan Trout Unlimited has taken against Golden Lotus to ensure the complete removal of their dam. A second major strength of your magazine is that there are many cases where you list a website or document readers can look at if they want more information. This allows your highly-educated audience to make judgments for themselves about the legislation and complex issues you discuss. Your articles are very thorough, informative, and let the reader know how important your organization is in promoting the conservation of coldwater resources.

Recommendations:
In reading the Fall 2011 issue of Michigan Trout, several areas for improvement were identified. These include increasing readability and the appeal of your magazine to a more inclusive audience. Much of the language in your magazine is complex and only appeals to male anglers. By making your language more inclusive, you will appeal to a wider audience. 1. Avoid exclusive language that only appeals to a limited audience. The language in several articles only caters to fishermen. This excludes non-fishermen (or 7

Tilden Communications perhaps women) who are also interested in coldwater conservation. The following are excerpts from the article Importance of Socioeconomic Factors by Dan Keifer: To fishermen, the harm done to trout streams by old, outmoded dams is obvious. Though the damage done by dams is obvious to us, others dont necessarily see it the same way. The idea of removing an old dam, while enthusiastically embraced by anglers, can be just as enthusiastically opposed by these other interests. Talking to fishermen and anglers in this article excludes anyone who doesnt fish and makes them feel like an outsider to TU. To get more members and widen your support base, use language that is more inclusive. Simply replace fishermen with conservationists. Conservationists includes both men and women and is not exclusive to anglers. This simple change takes you from talking only to male anglers to men and women who bird watch, hunt, hike, backpack, or are concerned with the environment. Small changes such as changing fishermen to conservationists can be made throughout your magazine. These will widen your audience and help you retain more members who arent necessarily anglers. 2. Improve readability and organization by avoiding long sentences and redundancies There are several sentences in the magazine that are long and unwieldy. There are also redundancies and areas where the language can be edited to improve readability. The segment State Land Cap Bill from the article Legislative Update by Bryan Burroughs is a technical article that would benefit from improved readability. The original paragraphs, given below in the Implementations section, scored a Flesch-Kincaid grade level1 of 13.1, which is very high for external communication materials such as your magazine. The revised version scores a much lower score of 10.5, making it easier to understand and read quickly. Additionally, it is only 238 words, 37% shorter than the original. An indented list and bolding is also used to improve readability and to make it easier to skim for busy readers.

Implementations:
State Land Cap Bill, an original section from the Fall 2011 Michigan Trout magazine: Senate Bill 248 was introduced by Senator Tom Casperson (District 38 which includes all of the U.P. except for Mackinaw and Chippewa counties in the far-east end) on March 9, 2011. The bill seeks to place a cap on the total amount of acreage the State of Michigan can own.

To enable readability statistics in Microsoft Word, go to Preferences, choose Spelling and Grammar, then check the box for Show readability statistics. Now, at the end of a Spelling and Grammar check in Microsoft Word, a box will appear that will identify readability statistics. For the last statistic (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level), a grade level between 8-10 is best because it will make your communications easier to read and understand quickly. 8

Tilden Communications The bill can be viewed at www.legislature.mi.gov by entering 248 into the bill number search box. The bills impetus comes from three cited reasons; 1) the U.P. has a high percentage of publically owned lands which reduce the amount of taxes paid to local municipalities, 2) problem examples are given from state land acquisitions that did not factor in the desires of local municipalities, and 3) problem examples are given for management strategies employed for certain U.P. state lands that are seen as undesirable by some of the bill sponsors. However, this bill does not offer any language as written that would alleviate the issues cited. Payments in lieu of taxes, or PILTs, are a separate issue governed by the legislature in determining state budgets, and is not addressed by this bill. Also, the bill does not offer language that would necessitate the State factoring in local interests in their state land acquisitions. Rather, this bill simply places an arbitrarily assigned limit on the total number of acres the state can own. This is particularly troublesome given that the citizens of Michigan voted on ballot for the Natural Resources Trust Fund, which permanently endowed funds for the acquisition of lands for use by the public. Also troublesome is the bills lack of recognition for the regional differences in state land holdings across Michigan. Southern portions of the state, where the majority of citizens reside, has limited public lands for its citizens to use, while in the northern L.P., the current availability of public lands is part of the fabric of our state and critical to the economy of much of northern Michigan. The availability of access to the waters of the state is of great concern to coldwater fisheries conservation, and has been directly linked to the number of licensed anglers. Its problematic to limit future acquisition of lands for access to state resources, especially when a constitutionally protected fund exists for this very purpose. Revised version with improved readability and organization: Senate Bill 248 was introduced by Senator Tom Casperson of District 38 on March 9, 2011. The bill seeks to place a cap on the total amount of land the State of Michigan can own for three main reasons: 1.) The U.P. has a lot of publically owned land, which reduces the amount of taxes paid to local communities. 2.) Some state land acquisitions dont consider the needs of local communities. 3.) Bill sponsors believe certain U.P. lands are being irresponsibly managed. The troubling part is that the bill does not alleviate the issues cited. It doesnt make the State consider local interests in their land acquisitions. It simply places an arbitrary limit on the total number of acres the state can own. This is troublesome given that the Michigan

Tilden Communications citizens voted for the Natural Resources Trust Fund, permanently reserving funds to buy lands for public use. The bill doesnt even recognize regional differences in state land holdings. Heavily populated southern portions of Michigan have limited public lands for citizens to use. Public lands in the northern L.P., on the other hand, are part of the fabric of our state and are critical to the economy. Access to state waters is concerning to coldwater fisheries conservation because it has been directly linked to the number of licensed anglers. We shouldnt limit state lands for access to public resources when a constitutionally protected fund exists for this very purpose.

III. Fund Appeal Analysis:

What Is Working:
From looking at your April 2012 and November 2011 fund appeal letters, we have found several areas in which your letters are successful. For example, you provide an incentive (a signed and special edition copy of For the Love of Trout by George Griffith) to your members in your April 2012 letter if they increase their last donation by $50. This is a great way to encourage members to donate more by providing a benefit to them, as well as to you. You also provide a specific number amount of $50 instead of simply asking for them to give what they can, which often leads to smaller donations. This specific ask should be done in all of your fund appeal letters. In these two letters, you also make use of bolding and underlining in order to make these letters quickly scannable for readers and highlighting your key points. This is a great way to make it easy for your members. You also use the word you to make a personal connection with members, and this type of connection can be made even more apparent, as explained in our recommendations below.

Recommendations:
1. Make fund appeal letters more personal for members by using personal stories, testimonials, and pictures. As stated in your April 2012 fund appeal letter, The truth is, coldwater conservation wont happen without your support, and this of course refers to your members. Although you do thank members in your letters for their past support, the rest of your letters are formal and the reading level is high, scoring at 12. By not creating a personal connection with members through these letters, your members may not feel the need to contribute as much as you were hoping for because you may seem like more of a business. Speaking like you would to a friend or someone you know well in your letters will help you appeal to more members. 10

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One way to create more of a personal connection with your members is to include their first name at the beginning instead of simply using, Dear TU Member. However, the time needed to do this may not be available. Another way to create a personal connection would be to include personal stories or testimonials from other members or those who participate in MITU events in order to show the value of these events and programs. Adding captions to any pictures used to explain who the people are and what they are doing can also create a very quick story for members reading this letter. Using pictures that appeal to a variety of audiences, such as including men, women, and children, will also help create a personal connection through inclusion. A fund appeal letter that is longer than one page can also show members that MITU is doing many things to be involved in communities and to continue working on your mission. Also, ending the letter with one signature instead of two will help make the letter feel like it is coming from a friend, making a connection between you and that specific member. 2. Create urgency by highlighting specific programs and issues, and using direct asks to increase donations. In both your April 2012 and November 2011 fund appeal letters, you ask your members to keep supporting your coldwater conservation efforts to protect these resources for future generations. This is a great way to appeal to the emotional side of members by focusing on their children or grandchildren, or any young relatives. However, this appeal could be more urgent in order to increase your donations now. When an event or program is coming up that needs financial support, you could include that in your fund appeal to show that this program will not happen without the help of your members. For example, you could say, Next month is MITUs annual Fly Fishing School, which teaches the skill of fly fishing from beginner to expert. Without your most generous support, this program will not be offered! Donate $50 today to help us continue to teach a new generation about fly fishing and conservation. This appeal would then create urgency for a donation, and also gives a specific donation amount to make it easy for members. 3. Make fund appeals scannable and quick to read. Your November 2011 fund appeal letter makes great use of bolding, underlining, and italics to highlight the key points in your letter. This makes it easy for members who are busy to scan the letter and see the main points. Using this technique in every letter will make them consistently easy for members to read.

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Tilden Communications Another way to make your letters scannable is to add a P.S. at the end of your letters. This can be used as a summary of the main message of the letter, and includes the urgent ask, or how much money you are hoping to get from each member. The P.S. is also another opportunity to thank members for their support, and to offer a benefit of donating now. An example of a P.S. you could use is given below.

Implementations:
1. Use a P.S. at the end of your fund appeal letter: For example: P.S. Michigan TU will gladly send you a signed copy of For the Love of Trout by George Griffith, founder of Trout Unlimited, when you increase your 2011 gift by $50. With your generous continued support, we will be able to increase the number of schools we visit for our Trout in the Classroom program. Help us teach children from a young age to conserve our coldwater fisheries! 2. Improve readability by using sentences that are shorter and less complex. One way to make your letters easy to read is to decrease the reading level. Shorter and simpler sentences will make the letter quicker to read than more complex sentences, and also allow readers to quickly comprehend the information. For example, here is a sentence from your April 2012 fund appeal flyer: Michigan TU is doing the science work and building the logistical capacity to build the framework that our local chapters use to do their own projects in their home rivers and watersheds. This sentence could be revised in this way: Michigan TU is building the framework for the collection of scientific data. Our local chapters use this to do their own projects in their home rivers and watersheds. 3. Re-design your donation form to improve organization and make it easy to donate This is a copy of the donation form from your April 2012 fund appeal:

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Tilden Communications To improve the readability of this form, consider revising the middle section to: Yes, I support the efforts to conserve, protect, and restore Michigans coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Enclosed is my contribution in the amount of: $____________. Please make checks payable to MITU. You can also donate by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or Discover) online at www.michigantu.org using a secure service offered by PayPal or by entering your information below. Besides the amounts given here for donations, you could also include sections for monthly, quarterly, or yearly planned giving to make it easy for members to donate beyond just when you are sending out fund appeal letters. You could even name the levels of giving that you offer on your form, such as using names of popular fishing streams in Michigan or names of fish. This is another way you could appeal to your members, and giving the different amounts of donations names could also encourage them to donate more if they want to have the title given for a higher amount of giving.

IV. Michigan TU Website Analysis:

What Is Working:
Your current website has a lot of great features to build upon. The following are three features that we believe do an excellent job of helping you achieve your outreach plan. 1. Provide access to all 20 TU Chapters and showing viewers information specific to their own Chapter and area. By clicking on the Michigan Chapters tab you give the user access to all 20 chapters of TU in Michigan. This allows users to catch up on what their local chapter has been doing, as well as see what the other chapters across the state are up to. Another helpful aspect of this feature is the map that shows the user where the chapters are and the areas they represent. This is an important feature to maintain because it helps the user visualize where they can volunteer and areas their time and gifts will be helping. One thing to consider is adding markers on the map for current conservation projects. This minor addition can have a very large impact, because it would help users visualize the projects and make them more willing to take action. 2. Connect with members by showing upcoming events and projects on the calendar. Having an online calendar that users can use to view upcoming events and projects is a great way to stay connected with your members. By including the date and time for meetings and camps, members can quickly identify when and where Michigan TU events are happening. We also provide recommendations below for this feature. 3. Keep members informed through news feed of current and past stories. The combination of your Twitter feed and other relevant news from various news outlets 13

Tilden Communications does a great job of keeping members informed. The news feed feature allows the user access to both current and past news stories. It helps show both what you have accomplished in the past, and the status of issues on your current agenda.

Recommendations:
1. Update website frequently and repair any broken links. Like Facebook and Twitter, your website needs to be updated frequently. On the home page, the posts a user views currently are from March 27th, 2012 and Sep 23rd, 2011 (2 posts). There is a fair amount of time between March 27th and Sep 23rd. Not having any posts between these makes it seem like you havent done anything significant between the posts. Any story, whether it was a small weekend event or a relevant news article, can go a long way to showing users that you are active and dedicated to your work. Long periods of inactivity between posts can suggest otherwise. Also, some links on your website are broken. Either they dont properly navigate to the selected content or the content is nonexistent. The most notable of these issues for us was the Press Release tab. When you click on the Press Release tab, you expect examples of your press releases to come up, but nothing does; there is just a blank page with Press Release at the top. 2. Use consistent navigation to avoid confusing visitors Overall, your navigation is easy to use. However, depending on which link the user clicks on, the side navigation has some differences. This subtle difference can be frustrating to a user as they expect the navigation to remain constant throughout the pages. We believe this decision was made to prevent the user from being overwhelmed by too many choices, but this inconsistency is something to be avoided. One way you can address this issue is a drop-down menu similar to the one deployed in your main navigation. Using a drop-down menu with the side bar navigation will allow you to limit the overwhelming effect of the links, while at the same time keeping the navigation constant across the various pages. 3. Organize calendar of events by Chapter and add any other relevant information such as upcoming legislative votes To help organize your calendar of events, consider using some sort of system (color coding or otherwise) that can be used to differentiate between the 20 chapters as far as meetings and events go. Secondly, incorporate dates for votes and other relevant news or events to your agenda. By having these items on your calendar, members will be able to know in advance and will be more likely to take action.

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Implementations:
For implementations of our recommendations, please see our suggestions on pg. 28.

V. Social Media Analysis:

What Is Working:
Social media is an excellent way for a non-profit to reach out to its audience. Michigan Trout Unlimited has so far taken advantage of this with a Facebook and Twitter page, since 2009 and 2010 respectively. In that time, these pages have grown to 1,114 Facebook likes and 611 Twitter followers. This is a great start, and makes it clear that this organization is of interest to a large audience. In order to keep these numbers high or improve them, there are some things that could be changed to make this social media use more effective.

Recommendations:
1. Social media posts should be made on a consistent basis. What this means is that right now most of the Facebook posts and tweets on Twitter are made at seemingly random times. With Twitter especially, there are points in the timeline when there were 2-3 tweets in one day, and at other times theres only one tweet for an entire month. It is important to keep a continuous flow of posts and tweets going through both social media sites, if for no other reason than to keep either page from becoming outdated or stagnant. 2. More interaction is needed between Michigan Trout Unlimited and its audience. Right now, the majority of the posts on Facebook and Twitter consist of Michigan Trout Unlimited talking *at* their audience, not *with* their audience. This includes tweets with links to web articles, posts with workshop schedules and photo albums. These are good things to post, but the way in which they are posted doesnt encourage interactions with fans or followers. It is essential that these sites be used to create and maintain conversations with Michigan Trout Unlimited supporters and colleagues.

Implementations:
1. Use a program such as HootSuite to line up posts and tweets ahead of time and to create a schedule to make these updates more consistent. HootSuite is a social media monitoring site that allows users to monitor multiple feeds of social media at once, and to also schedule and draft posts and tweets in advance. This would make it easier to create a consistent flow of information for the Facebook and Twitter pages. It would also help fill in times when it is not always possible to have someone monitoring each page on a regular basis. 15

Tilden Communications 2. Have someone on staff whose job is solely to monitor social media in order to create conversations with audience members. If there is not already someone at Michigan Trout Unlimited that is overseeing the organizations use of social media, consider appointing someone from the board or finding an intern or volunteer. This way, even if a program like HootSuite isnt put into place, it will be easier to see what is being said on either social media page. This person (or persons) would also be tasked with creating conversations with their fans and/or followers. Some examples might be promptly answering any questions or comments that are posted by audience members, re-tweeting an organization with goals that are similar to Michigan Trout Unlimited, or posting questions and inquiries for audience members, such as trivia or suggestions for how Michigan Trout Unlimited might better serve the community. This will encourage more interaction and help spread the word about the work being done by this organization, making it easier to reach out for other things such as fund appeals and petitions.

Communication Tactics:
Although we have provided many recommendations on how to improve your communication materials and branding, and ways to implement these recommendations, we also felt we should summarize communication tactics that Michigan TU can use across all communications. These include the following tactics:

Update much more frequently across everything

1. Update your website on the front page and on your calendar every week 2. Update Facebook 2-3 times a week 3. Update Twitter ideally everyday, or at least 2-3 times a week 4. Use all of these to communcate and make connections with your audiences 5. Post pictures frequently to showcase your work and the work of your volunteers and members

Improve readability and consistency of communication materials and brand

1. Use sentences that are shorter and less complex in all materials 2. Use bullet lists or formatting (bolding, underlining, etc.) to make materials easy to skim 3. Be consistent in the use of brand across all materials, and the organization of all materials, such as the navigation of the website 4. Use a style guide to encourage consistency of brand across all forms of communication

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Find out who your current audience is and try to appeal to a variety of audiences
1. Use an online survey and other methods to find out who your current audience is and what their needs are. 2. Be less inclusive in your communications in order to appeal to a variety of audiences by using language that is understand by everyone, not only those who are anglers. 3. Include pictures across all communications that have men, women, and children

Recommended Timeline:
The following is an example of how communication could be layered in a month when there is a big event and a legislative vote coming up. As you can see, your website, Facebook, and Twitter should all be updated regularly, and especially when a big event is approaching to keep your members and any others interested informed. You could also use an event as a time to recruit members who could write letters to the editor about an upcoming vote, or give them a sample letter (such as the one we have provided at the end of this report) to add their information to before sending it to a newspaper. For these letters to get published on a Monday, consider sending them (or having others send them) a week in advance as shown in the calendar above. In this way, it is more likely that the letters could be published on the 17th and 24th of the sample month, and thereby creating awareness of the upcoming vote.

Example Month
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Notes:

Sat Example 7: Update website 1 Example 10: Update Facebook and Twitter
Example 10: Send in Letter to Editor 1

2 9 16
Event

3
10 10

4 11 18 25 1
Vote

5 12 19 26 2

6 13 20 27 3

7 14
Event

8 Example 13: Update Facebook and Twitter

Example 14: Update Twitter

15 Example 14-16: Big Event

Event

Example 17: Update Facebook and Twitter Example 19: Upload pictures to Facebook

17 17

21 28 4

22 Example 17: Send in Letter to Editor 2 29 and the website

Next Month 1: Legislative Vote

23 30

24 31

Color Code:
Update Facebook Update Website Update Twitter Send Letter to Editor

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Tilden Communications Ideally in every month, your website, Facebook, and Twitter should be updated regularly with any important or interesting information for your members and followers. If possible, Twitter should be updated everyday, Facebook should be be updated 2-3 times a week, and your website should also be updated 2-3 times a week. Everyone should be updated more frequently when a big event is happening as well, especially to add pictures and to thank those who may have donated or who participated. The following is a calendar for 2012 which includes all of the events you have posted on your website calendar, as well as the addition of when you could use the sample documents we have created. Our additions have been added in blue.

January 2012
Sun 1 8 15 22 29 Mon 2 9 16 23 30 Tue 3 10 17 24 31 Wed 4 11 18 25 Thu 5 12 19 26 Fri 6 13 20 27 Sat 7 14 21 28 Notes: Jan 3: SWMTU Board Meeting Jan 4: Education Comm. Mtg. Jan 5: Awards Committee Meeting Jan 11: KVCTU-Youth Camp Conference Call Jan 12: EXCOM Conference Call Jan 17: Chapter Development Committee MTG. Jan 18: Council Chair Call Jan 21: Michigan Trout Unlimited Quarterly Meeting Jan

February 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed 1 8 15 22 29 Thu 2 9 16 23 Fri 3 10 17 24 Sat 4 11 18 25 Notes: Feb 1: Education Comm. Mtg. Feb 1: Conservation Committee Conf Call Feb Feb 2: MITU EXCOM Conference Call Feb 7: SWMTU Board Meeting Feb 8: KVCTU- Youth Camp Conference Call Feb 20: Rogue River Watershed Council Home Rivers Update Feb 21: Chapter Development Comm. MTG

5 12 19 26

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

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March 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu 1 8 15 22 29 Fri 2 9 16 23 30 Sat 3 10 17 24 31 Notes: Mar 6: SWMTU Board Meeting Mar 6: MITU EXCOM Conference Call Mar 7: 2011-Awards Committee Meeting Mar 10-11: 2012 Midwest Fly fishing Expo Mar 13: MITU- 2011 Awards Comm. Mtg. Mar 17: KVCTU Banquet Mar 20: Chapter Development COMM. MTG. Mar 22: 48th Annual Paul H. Young Chapter Banquet Mar 22: SWMTU Banquet Mar 24: Clinton Valley Banquet

4 11 18 25

5 12 19 26

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

April 2012
Sun 1 8 15 22 29 Mon 2 9 16 23 30 Tue 3 10 17 24 Wed 4 11 18 25 Thu 5 12 19 26 Fri 6 13 20 27 Sat 7 Notes: Apr 3: SWMTU Board Meeting Apr 5: MITU EXCOM Conference Call 14 Apr 10: Awards Committee Follow-Up Meeting Apr 12: Ann Arbor-Banquet 21 Apr 14: Michigan Trout Unlimited Quarter Meeting Apr 17: Chapter Development Comm. Mtg. 28 Apr 19: C.A. Fellows Banquet Apr 20: W.B. Mershon Banquet Apr 21: Headwaters Banquet Apr 21: Fred Waara Banquet Apr 24: Chapter Dev. & Education Comm. Conf. Call Apr 24: Leon P. Martuch Banquet

May 2012
Sun Mon Tue 1 8 15 22 29 Wed 2 9 16 23 30 Thu 3 10 17 24 31 Fri 4 11 18 25 Sat 5 12 19 26 Notes: May: Add Survey to website ASAP May 1: SWMTU Board Meeting May 3: MITU EXCOM Conference Call May 8: MITU Awards Criteria Conference Call May 8: Awards Committee Follow-up Discussion May 12: Pine River Banquet May 12: Adams Chapter Banquet May 15: Chapter Development Comm. Mtg. May 18: Start Broadcasting Commercial May 19: Mason Griffith Banquet May 31: Mail Fund Appeal

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

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June 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 1 3 10 17 24 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 8 15 22 29 Sat 2 9 16 23 30 Notes: Jun: Broadcast Commercial all month Jun 7: MITU EXCOM Conference Call Jun 8-10: MITU Fly Fishing School Jun 11: Thank donors who helped with Fly Fishing School on website Jun 16: Michigan Trout Unlimited Quarter Meeting Jun 19: CD&EDU. Comm. Mtg.

July 2012
Sun 1 8 15 22 29 Mon 2 9 16 23 30 Tue 3 10 17 24 31 Wed 4 11 18 25 Thu 5 12 19 26 Fri 6 13 20 27 Sat 7 14 21 28 Notes: Jul 1-20: Broadcast Commercial Jul 5: MITU EXCOM Conference Call Jul 8-12: KVCTU Michigan Youth Trout Camp Jul 13: Thank donors who helped with Youth Camp on website Jul 15: Trout Unlimited founded in Grayling, Mich. 1959

August 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed 1 8 15 22 29 Thu 2 9 16 23 30 Fri 3 10 17 24 31 Sat 4 11 18 25 Notes: Aug 2: MITU EXCOM Conference Call Aug 21: MITU Communication Committee Meeting

5 12 19 26

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

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September 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 9 16 23 30 3 10 17 24 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 8 15 22 29 Notes: Sep 6: MITU EXCOM Conference Call Sep 14-16: Annual Meeting, Asheville, N.C. Sep 29: MITU Quarterly Meeting

October 2012
Sun Mon 1 8 15 22 29 Tue 2 9 16 23 30 Wed 3 10 17 24 31 Thu 4 11 18 25 Fri 5 12 19 26 Sat 6 13 20 27 Notes: Oct 16: MITU Communication Committee Meeting

7 14 21 28

November 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu 1 8 15 22 29 Fri 2 9 16 23 30 Sat 3 10 17 24 Notes: Nov: Send end-of-year Fund Appeal letter on a Thursday 2 weeks before a major event 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28

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December 2012
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 7 14 21 28 8 15 22 29 Notes: Dec 18: MITU Communication Committee Meeting

2 9 16 23 30

3 10 17 24 31

4 11 18 25

5 12 19 26

6 13 20 27

Conclusion and Contact Information:

To further help Michigan Trout Unlimited, we have created four sample documents that could be used by your organization in the future. These include: 1. Storyboard for a Commercial 2. Fund Appeal Letter 3. Letters to the Editor 4. Michigan TU Website Suggestions 5. Michigan TU Demographics Survey These documents can be found on the pages following this. If you have questions regarding any aspect of this report, please feel free to contact one of us using the information below. Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. Kevin Marheine Email: kevmarheine@gmail.com Joe Parzych Email: jpparzych@gmail.com Noelle Sciarini Email: sciarin3@gmail.com Jennifer Ismirle Email: jismirle@gmail.com

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Pollutants from Grand River dumping into Lake Michigan

The future of our water resources is at stake.

Golden Lotus Dam failure kills thousands of trout in Pigeon River, 2008

Through damming our rivers, polluting our water, and exploiting our fisheries,
Stream restoration in Grayling

we have harmed our coldwater resources, but the damage is reversible.

Michigan Trout Unlimited is at the forefront of conserving, protecting, and restoring our coldwater resources.
Golden Lotus Dam removal, Pigeon River

Trout Creek fish sampling

From mapping the distribution of Brook Trout in the Great Lakes basin,

to advocating for removal of dangerous malfunctioning dams 23

Golden Lotus Dam failure kills thousands of trout on Pigeon River, 2008
Pigeon River, Ostego County

Michigan Trout Unlimited Fly Fishing School

to improve our fisheries,

to passing on our love of angling and outdoor recreation

Pollutants f Golden Lotus Dam removal, Pigeon River Grand River dumping in Michigan
to our children and grandchildren. Michigan Trout Unlimited is involved in all aspects of coldwater conservation

Conserve, Protect, Restore. To make a difference visit

Michigantu.org

Trout Creek fish sampling

Join your community in making a difference in coldwater streams in your backyard. Get involved with your local chapter, donate, or visit Michigantu.org to learn more. 24

 DearFriend[insertfirstnamehere], Summerisalmosthere!WiththegorgeousMichiganweatheralsocomeschildrenwhoare freeofschoolandhavealotoffreetimeontheirhands.Doyourememberspendingyour summersexploringyourbackyardsortakingtripsupnorth?Orheadingtoalakewith friendstoenjoyarefreshingswimortogofishing?Summerbringsaperfecttimetodoall oftheseactivitieswithyourchildrenandgrandchildren,andwewouldlovetohelpmake opportunitieslikethesepossible. Intodaysworldtherearenewandexcitingformsoftechnologyeveryday,likecellphones, computergames,tablets,etc.Whilethesecanbeagreatformofentertainmentandaway toconnectwithfamilyacrossthenation,thissometimesleadschildren,andevenadults,to forgetabouttheendlessformsofentertainmentintheoutdoors. ThatswhyMichiganTroutUnlimitedfocusesontheeducationofchildren,aswellas adults,whilewealsocontinuetoworkveryhardonconservationandadvocacyissues.We areworkingtoensurethatfuturegenerationsofMichigandersknowtheimportanceof conserving,protecting,andrestoringournaturalresources.Wealsoprovideopportunities tohavefunandexploretheoutdoorsofMichiganwithyourfamilyandfriends.But,we cantdothiswithoutyourhelp! Thissummerwehavemanyprogramsplannedthatfocusoneducatingchildren,andalso thoseofallages.Wesponsorprogramsrunbyotherorganizationsthatfocusonthisvital educationtoo.Ifeachofourmembersdonates$100,wecanvastlyincreasethenumberof schoolsourprogramsreachbeforethesummerevenbegins,andthenumberoftimeswe offeroursummerprogramswilldouble!Withyourdonationof$100,MichiganTUwillalso send you a signed copy of For the Love of Trout by George Griffith, who is the founder of Trout Unlimited.

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Herearesomeoftheprogramsyourgeneroussupportwillmakepossibleforchildren: OurMichiganYouthTroutcampisafourday campdesignedtoeducate1216yearoldboys andgirlsabouttheimportanceofprotecting ourcoldwaterresources.Throughthis program,wehelpchildrenbecomethenext generationofconservationleaders,andhave funoutdoorswhilewedoit!Takingplacein July,thiscampwillbeheldnearHigginsLake, intheheartofNorthernMichigantrout country. TroutintheClassroomisanenvironmentaleducationprograminwhichstudentsin gradesK12raisetroutfromeggstofry,engageinstreamhabitatstudy,learntoappreciate waterresources,begintofosteraconservationethic,andgrowtounderstandecosystems. Andherearesomeprogramsforchildrenandadults: OurMichiganTUFlyFishingSchoolisindeedoneofthecountrysfinest.Beginnersare instructedinthebasicsofflycastingandflyfishing,andareintroducedtoawidevarietyof anglinginterests.Experiencedflyfisherswillimprovetheirskills,technique,and knowledgeofthesporttoo. OurRiverStewardsprogramisavolunteer leadprogramusedtocollectdatathathelps guidefutureconservationandrestoration effortsofcoldwaterstreams.Thehighest qualitycoldwaterstreamsarealsoidentified throughthisprogram,whichthenallows MichiganTUtofocusonprotectingthose streamsfromdegradation. MichiganTUurgentlyneedsyourhelpto continuetomaketheseeducationalprograms possible.Weareproudtorepresentyourvoiceandthevoicesofallofour7,000members throughthiseducation.WeknowhowimportanttheconversationofMichigansnatural resourcesistoyou,andespeciallytheprotectionandrestorationofourcoldwater resources.Supportoureducationaleffortstodaywithyourgenerousdonation. Sincerely, P.S.Michigan TU will gladly send you a signed copy of For the Love of Trout by George Griffith, founder of Trout Unlimited, when you donate $100. Your generous support of our many education programs will help us continue to teach children from a young age to conserve our coldwater fisheries now and for future generations! 26

Tilden Communications Gaylord Herald Times Letter to the Editor Example Help Save the Pigeon River At Michigan Trout Unlimited, we are all about the conservation of the trout's natural habitat. When that habitat, in the form of the Pigeon River, was harmed by the continual failures of the Golden Lotus Dam, we took it upon ourselves to petition the removal of this dam. Recently, when Golden Lotus tried to dispute a circuit court order to remove the dam, we made sure their appeal was struck down and that they had to remove the full dam, not just a portion of it. This is another victory in our work for Michigan's trout population, but the fight is not over. It is only with the continual support of our volunteers and donors that we can truly make a difference. Help support the removal of the Golden Lotus Dam and help us to use this victory toward our goals of saving the trout population and ensuring the safety of Michigan's beautiful fresh water supply. You can start by visiting our website: http://www.michigantu.org. Dr. Bryan Burroughs Michigan Trout Unlimited (insert address/contact info here) Lansing State Journal Letter to the Editor Example At Michigan Trout Unlimited, we are all about the conservation of the trouts natural habitat fresh coldwater rivers and other bodies of water. When this habitat is threatened, we do what we can to make it right. We did this with the Pigeon River in Northern Michigan, when the Golden Lotus Dam began to fail, and we will do it again no matter in the state it happens. However, we cant do this work alone. We implore everyone with an interest in conserving Michigans freshwater resources to become a member of Michigan Trout Unlimited. Even if you choose not to be a member, you can still go the advocacy page on our website to find out how you can help: http://www.michigantu.org/index.php/advocacy. Together, we can keep Michigans freshwater resources and the ecosystems that depend on them safe and thriving. Dr. Bryan Burroughs Michigan Trout Unlimited (insert address/contact info here)

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Tilden Communications

Michigan TU Website Suggestions:

Screen Capture of current homepage:

Positives
+ The navigation of your website is generally easy to use. + The layout is clean and simple, while remaining professional and functional. + Your webpage does a good job of collecting all the relevant news about Michigan TU and displaying it to your audience. + The combination of your Twitter feed and other relevant news from various news outlets does a great job of keeping members informed. It helps show both what you have accomplished in the past, and the status of issues on your current agenda. + Having an online calendar that users can use to view upcoming events and projects is a great way to stay connected with your members. By including the date and time for meetings and camps, members can quickly identify when and where Michigan TU events are happening.

Negatives
- There are a lot of items that are competing for the user's attention. It's hard to tell where they should start. - On the home page, the posts a user views currently are from March 27th, 2012 and Sep 23rd, 2011 (2 posts). There is a fair amount of time between March 27th and Sep 23rd. Not having any posts between these makes it seem like you havent done anything significant between the posts. - The site's navigation is generally easy to use, there is one concern. When the user clicks on any of the "Conservation Agenda" links the side navigation of the page is distinctively different than 28

Tilden Communications it is on any other page. It is important to keep navigation consistent throughout. Changes can be frustrating to users and hamper their ability to navigate your site. - Some links on your website are broken. Either they dont properly navigate to the selected content or the content is nonexistent. The most notable of these issues for us was the Press Release tab. When you click on the Press Release tab, you expect examples of your press releases to come up, but nothing does; there is just a blank page with Press Release at the top. - While including your Twitter Feed on your site can be an effective way to tie together all your digital presences, it is rather ineffective in your current layout. The Twitter Feed is thrown in at the bottom of the page and as a result, easy to overlook.

Proposed Layout Changes & Recommendations (Wireframe):

Layout:
1. One way you can address both the side navigation issue and cut back on the objects competing for the user's attention is an accordion menu (which can be seen depicted in the above wireframe). Using an accordion menu with the side bar navigation will allow you to limit the overwhelming effect of the links, while at the same time keeping the navigation 29

Tilden Communications constant across the various pages. 2. A second feature of the proposed design (featured above) is that your Twitter Feed has been moved from the bottom of the page to the side, just below the navigation. This subtle change in location will drastically improve the visibility of the Twitter Feed on your site and make it a more valuable asset to your webpage. 3. All your social media and sharing icons have been consolidated. Your current design has multiple links to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. While it is important to include these features, they are slightly overwhelming in your current layout and help add to the competition for the user's attention. By limiting your social media icon use to one area you help alleviate that feeling. 4. In the wireframe, the "Upcoming Events" section has been removed. While this section was an effective way to communicate important dates to members, there are a couple of problems with its implementation. The first is having multiple "upcoming events" contributes heavily to the competition for the user's attention. The second is that the positioning of the "Upcoming Events" section varies from page to page. Again, consistency is important for a successful website. A possible solution to this would be to use your site's scrolling "MITU News" feature to advertise upcoming events. This would both help clean up the layout and keep the location consistent across the site.

Maintenance:
1. Update your webpage frequently. When your homepage features and bunch of old posts, and doesn't have any "new" content the user is lead to the conclusion that your organization isn't very active. Any story, whether it was a small weekend event or a relevant news article, can go a long way to showing users that you are active and dedicated to your work. Long periods of inactivity between posts can suggest otherwise. 2. You should also limit the amount of posts that you have on your homepage. If you have too many posts it can overwhelm the user and emphasis inactivity. Your homepage is like the front page of a newspaper. It is coveted space reserved for important, current news. 3. Your event calendar is a great tool for communicating your upcoming events to your members, but it is hard to decipher the calendar by just looking at it. To help organize your calendar of events, consider using some sort of system (color coding or otherwise) that can be used to differentiate between the 20 chapters as far as meetings and events go. Secondly, incorporate dates for votes and other relevant news or events to your agenda. By having these items on your calendar, members will be able to know in advance and will be more likely to take action. 30

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Michigan TU Demographics Survey:

(Note: These are questions you could use for a survey to learn who your members are and what is important to them. There are many ways this survey could be distributed, such as through a pop-up window on your website. We also created an online version of this survey that you could use as well that can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NJCMVFG) As we continue to find the best ways for Michigan Trout Unlimited to succeed, we are conducting some research on our current members. Please answer the questions below as best as you can the results will be kept confidential. 1. a. b. c. d. How long have you been a member of Michigan Trout Unlimited? Less than a year 1-5 years 6-10 years 11 years or more

2. How did you first learn of Michigan Trout Unlimited? (check all that apply) a. Website b. Social Media c. Word of Mouth d. Newsletter e. Fund Appeal f. Other:_______________________________ 3. Why did you join Michigan Trout Unlimited? 4. What do you think Michigan Trout Unlimited does well? 5. What can Michigan Trout Unlimited do to improve? 6. What kind of information or services can we provide to make your membership to Michigan Trout Unlimited better? 7. Male or Female? 8. Age a. Less than 10 b. 11-20 c. 21-30 d. 31-40

e. 41-50 f. 51-60 g. 61-70 h. 70+

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