You know you need more help with your nonprofit’s communications.
Your management team is listening and thinking about whether to add another person to your communications team. But they want to know what this person would do, and in turn, what else the comms team could do.
So now it’s back in your court to formulate your promise for what you can deliver as your team grows.
Don’t worry, we have data-based answers!
Here’s what we see based on data from many years of the Nonprofit Communications Trends Report and our experiences coaching nonprofit communications directors for more than 10 years.
Teams of one juggle it all. They often do website updates and email newsletters monthly. They may update one or two social media channels weekly or several times a week (typically Facebook, plus either Instagram or Twitter). Direct mail and media relations work may happen once or twice a year.
Teams of two most often invest the additional staff time into adding a second or third social media channel, often adding Instagram and/or Twitter to Facebook. They also increase their posting frequency to several times a week or daily in at least one of those channels. Teams of two are also more likely to build graphic design expertise and to begin experimenting with video.
Teams of three reach what we call the “effectiveness sweet spot.” They can more easily manage multiple communications channels at a frequency that produces results. For example, we see more emphasis on regularly updating their websites or blogs and starting to experiment with additional social channels like Instagram Stories or LinkedIn. They may also increase their use of direct mail and media relations to quarterly or monthly. Teams of three are more likely to develop database expertise, allowing them to segment their messaging better.
Teams of four or five are likely to manage a more robust set of communications channels and to further increase their publishing frequency. For example, they might blog and send an email newsletter weekly rather than monthly. They may use Instagram Stories or LinkedIn more regularly while also maintaining a daily (or close) presence on Facebook, the Instagram Feed, and Twitter. At this size, team members are more likely to begin specializing in certain types of content or managing certain channels. For example, one team member might manage social media, and another might manage email. Teams of four or five are likely to build web development expertise internally.
Teams of six are more likely to update their websites and blogs and to send emails several times a week. They are also much more likely to do media relations work weekly and direct mail monthly or weekly. Like teams of four or five, teams of six or more are also likely to have highly skilled specialists. We also see these larger teams investing in building staff expertise in video, posting new content several times a month or weekly. Teams of six or more are also likely to have data analytics expertise.
Let us know your proposal to grow your team works out!
