KEY CLUB New York District 2011-2012
Public Relations Guidebook and Resources Complied by the 2011-2012 Public Relations Committee
Winter Edition_
Published by the New York District Key Club All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the New York District of Key Club International or the expressed written/verbal consent of District Secretary Daniel Ivan Lin. Š 2011
Table of Contents
Greetings from Your Committee Chair
4
The Basics of Public Relations
5
Different Mediums of Communication
6
Communications Etiquette
7
Templates- Advertising Key Club
8
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Member Recruitment
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Meetings
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Events
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Resources
20
Contact Information
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Public Relations Committee New York District Key Club International 2011-2012 Daniel Ivan Lin, Committee Chair Nickolas Boroda, Committee Member Emily Gicewicz, Committee Member Amber Lee, Committee Member Oscar Tan, Committee Member
Greetings from Your Committee Chair
Hello New York District, My name is Daniel Ivan Lin and I am your Public Relations Committee Chair for the 2011-2012 service year. As simple as the two words may seem, public relations is an art on its own if utilized properly. This year it is my honor to serve not only as your district secretary, but also your committee chair. This year in the New York district, we have five members on our committee and for the past few months since being placed on the committee, we have been working hard to come up with innovative ideas and ways to help your clubs improve through a stronger knowledge on how to properly communicate on the behalf of your KEY CLUB. All members of this committee are qualified to run Public Relations workshops and answer any questions or concerns you may have. The contact information for our committee has been included in this packet. The role of the Public Relations Committee is to provide information and promote knowledge on how to communicate correctly and strengthen your KEY CLUB. The general aim of the various district committees is to assist and help better the clubs in the district. Therefore, the purpose of the Public Relations Committee is to help clubs improve, specifically in terms of productivity and activity through an increased sense of the importance of effective public relations work. This promotion of goodwill between you, your members, your community, and whatever else will prove to be extremely beneficial to your Key Club. All this being said, this is the reason why the Public Relations Committee has created this publication. Please use this to your advantage as it will help your club in one way or another. Thank you all so much! On the behalf of my committee, I wish you good luck in all your endeavors this year!
Yours in the spirit of service,
Daniel Ivan Lin, Committee Chair
4
The Basics of Public Relations
Public Relations – PR for short – is an essential part of a club’s development and success and refers to any form of outreach or communication made for purposes that include but are not limited to: -
Recruiting members to join your school’s Key Club Promoting a club activity or event to your members, lieutenant governor, etc. Looking for assistance from your school administration, your club’s sponsoring Kiwanis club, etc. Showcasing your club’s achievements Many more
As you can see, PR is utilized in many situations that are common in not just a Key Club setting, but in your everyday life as well. Today in many Key Clubs, aside from the traditional officer positions, you may also have a Public Relations Chair, or committee, or something along those lines. In a club, while the club president, vice-president, and secretary may use more direct communication, the club editor, webmaster, and public relations officer may use more forms of indirect communication. Regardless, there are many things to keep in mind. Public relations involves the promotion and maintenance of your goodwill to others. It is important that you are consistent and strong with your efforts. Here is a list of people and groups that you should contact and why. Club level: The club level should be the group you communicate most with. - Your members are the ones that make your club possible and it is your responsibility to provide them with whatever information necessary. Your club faculty advisor and sponsoring Kiwanis club are always there to help you and for this reason you should always be respectful towards your faculty advisor/ Kiwanis advisor, letting him / her know about your plans and activities. And of course you should constantly be recruiting members. While posters may be for club members, they can also attract prospective members to the club in your school community. Community level: The community level is extremely important for the development of your club. - You should aim to work with organizations and not-for-profits in your community. Establish partnerships and develop relationships with these community organizations. You will be providing service, bringing in support from your community, and making Key Club a household name. District level: - You should keep in touch with your division lieutenant governor. He or she can help you if you have any questions or problems with your club. If an event requires a larger scale of participation, you can always look for your lieutenant governor to gather help within the division. Likewise, you can also keep in touch with your district executive board especially if one or more of the members are from your division or your home club. This may also provide your club with fresh ideas and projects from other divisions.
5
Different Mediums of Communication
(continued from previous page) International level: Though you may rarely come across international officers, it may be helpful at times to contact international officers (trustees, vicepresident, and president). They, along with district officers, may help further establish the legitimacy of your Key Club. ______________________________________________________________________
As you can see, Public Relations is an important element in your club’s success. However, note that it is not the amount of people you communicate with but how strong your communication is, While you build onto your Key Club network, make sure you keep track of who you are communicating with. It’s never right to leave someone hanging if they need help. In having strong communications outreach, it is always helpful to utilize different forms of public relations. This will help you gather a larger audience and also allow people to have an option at what to look at. These mediums include but are not limited to: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Posters / Flyers Newsletters Websites PA Announcements Newspapers Electronic mail Postal Mail Video Pins / Stickers / T-Shirts Advertisements Radio / Television Broadcasts Brochures / informational Booklets Speaking: Public / Phone Many More With the large amount of communication mediums, choose wisely which ones you want to use. Remember that you want to reach out to a large audience in the most appropriate, professional, and suitable manner. Again, be consistent.
6
Communications Etiquette
It is important that you maintain the reputation of Key Club. Remember that your club is in one way or another representing the entire organization in your community or school. Therefore, you must be professional with your public relations. Below are some tips for communications etiquette. ONLINE / EMAIL / WEBSITES / LETTER 1.
It’s never wrong to be enthusiastic, but remember that you should be using proper punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar. Stay away from web language like LOL or OMG. 2. If you are sending out an email, make sure you are sending it from your Key Club email. You do not want to email a local organization with an email like fairypigs23@gmail.com. Use appropriate salutations. 3. Keep in touch especially after someone has done you a favor. It is a respectful and kind gesture to send a brief greeting to a person / organization that you haven’t spoken to in a while. 4. Don’t be too aggressive and overwhelming. Make sure that you are not making your audience feel uncomfortable. Make sure not to carry too much emotional luggage. 5. Maintain a professional tone. It’s your best bet, because remember, what you may want to say may not sound the same in your writing. 6. While being professional is important, there may be times where you may be asked to refer to someone by their first name instead of Mr. or Ms. so and so. Be respectful to the other person. 7. Make sure that you provide those you are contacting with a way to contact you. 8. Credit your sources if you are using any, whether it be for images or information. 9. Post information on credible sources and remember not to provide too much contact information. Act intelligently. 10. Keep everything short, sweet, and simple.
POSTERS / ADVERTISEMENTS / MERCHANDISE 1. Avoid overwhelming fonts and too much text. You want the person looking at your poster to get the point in a small amount of time. But of course, different rules apply to different situations, so act accordingly. 2. If you are promoting something, make sure not to leave your viewer hanging. Provide a way that you can be reached. 3. Avoid informal or unnecessary word choice. Again, this all goes back to being professional. 4. Try to have a Key Club logo on your posters. 5. This is not required, but try to utilize graphic standards. It’s always a bonus. 6. Make sure that your poster / advertisement / merchandise is visually appealing. 7. Avoid copyright infringement. SPEAKING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Never dominate the discussion. Leave space for others to think and talk. Speak clearly with the appropriate volume Address the person / group in a respectful manner. Make eye contact and be confident. Avoid distracting hand gestures. Don’t speak for too long. Even if your content is amazing, the listener can still get bored.
VIDEO 1. Dress appropriately. Though you do not have to be in business professional attire, dress respectably. 2. Avoid informal language. Remember that this is for Key Club and a professional image should be maintained.
OTHER
For more complicated items which include but are not limited to the following – newspapers, television, radio broadcasts – please consult the appropriate Key Club personnel, your club faculty / Kiwanis advisor.
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MEETING!
DATE: HOW DO YOU FEEL? ___________________________ LOCATION: ___________________________ nydkc.org I keyclub.org
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DATE: I ♥ KEY CLUB! ___________________________ LOCATION: ___________________________ nydkc.org I keyclub.org
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MEETING! DATE: ____________________________________ LOCATION: _______________________________
Join us on Facebook
Go to our website
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EVENT!
Visit us on Facebook.
Visit our website.
EVENT: ______________________________ DATE: ______________________________ LOCATION: ______________________________ nydkc.org keyclub.org
EVENT!!!! Visit us on Facebook.
Visit our website.
EVENT: ______________________________ DATE: ______________________________ LOCATION: ______________________________
nydkc.org keyclub.org
E V E N T !!!!
BEAVER 1, BEAVER ALL! EVENT: ___________________________ DATE: ___________________________ LOCATION: ___________________________ nydkc.org I keyclub.org
EVENT!
EVENT: __________________________ DATE: ___________________________ LOCATION: ______________________ nydkc.org I keyclub.org
Resources
You can also get free material (brochures, posters, and other PR related items) from Key Club International.
Need to use official Key Club images? Easy! Go to
http://community.kiwanisone.org/media/g/kcimages/default.aspx
You can find these resources on the district website at nydkc.org as well as on the international website at keyclub.org. 1. Go to http://store.kiwanis.org/c-145literature.aspx Navigate around the website to find more resources and material. Don’t know about graphic standards? Access the Key Club Graphic Standards Manual at: http://www.keyclub.org/fad/cm/gsm.aspx
2. Then click on the item you wish to receive. For example, if you click on the Key Club poster, it will look like this:
Click on: Key Club Graphic Standards Manual
3. Once you’re ready, you can order it! It should arrive in a few days! Please note the limits on each item. Be resourceful and only order the amount you need.
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Contact Information
Public Relations Committee 2011-2012 Committee Chair District Secretary Daniel Ivan Lin
daniellin.sec@nydkc.org
Committee Members District Treasurer Emily Gicewicz District Editor Amber Lee District Webmaster Oscar Tan Lieutenant Governor Nickolas Boroda
emilygicewicz.treas@nydkc.org amberlee.editor@nydkc.org oscartan.tech@nydkc.org nickolasboroda.ltg@nydkc.org
Daniel Ivan Lin
Emily Gicewicz
Amber Lee
21
Oscar Tan
Nickolas Boroda
New York District 2011-2012
This is an official publication of the New York District Public Relations Committee. Š 2011