Free online communications guides launched for non-profits as part of Stronger Voices project

Stronger Voices is (apart from the reason why I jump out of bed to cycle into work) a two-year programme that aims to strengthen the voices and communications capacity of 30 organisations -15 organisations in year-one and 15 more in year-two – working across London’s equality sector. Over the course of the programme, participants learn best practice in communicating for change, marketing and campaign planning, social media and media relations. They also receive advice and mentorship from professionals within the media industry.

London’s equality sector

Having spent the last three months personally getting to know each and everyone of our year-one charities and their team members, I really can say that their work across the equality sector is truly invaluable to the capital. From organisations like Communities Empowerment Network, who advocate against unfair expulsion from mainstream education to Galop, an LGBT+ anti-violence charity, I consider myself incredibly lucky to have a job that enables me to spend time around such inspiring and committed people.

‘Framing’ and influencing opinions

Training kicked off in June with a session called ‘Communications for Change’ – a full-day immersion into the strategic communications theory of ‘framing.’

What is framing? To put it simply, framing is recognising that when we – as communicators – use words and phrases, we trigger unconscious associations, values and emotions amongst our audience. Most importantly, framing is an understanding that we can influence people’s opinions on certain issues by the way we communicate certain pieces of information surrounding an issue.

If this brief definition of framing has spiked your curiosity then we have good news…

Media Trust is releasing a series of five online guides as part of the Stronger Voices programme. The goal of the guides is to build upon the content covered in each of the Stronger Voices sessions and to open up the learning to everyone. The guides are free to download and can be found on our website in the resources hub.

Download the first of five free guides

You can now download the first guide, ‘Communications for Change’. The guide will provide you with advice on how you can use ‘framing’ and other techniques to communicate to evoke change. It contains advice from Kathryn Quinton, Communications Director at the Equality and Diversity Forum  and Caroline Holmes, Account Director at global media agency, Weber Shandwick. You’ll also hear from Simon Rayner, Head of Marketing and Communications at Crisis on how they effectively challenged existing perceptions of homelessness in the UK.

Marketing and social media guides

We’ll be releasing the next two guides, ‘Marketing Campaigns’ and ‘Social Media’ later this month so make sure you come back to our website to check them out.

The final two guides, which will focus on PR and media skills, will be available later in the Autumn as the Stronger Voices 2018 programme wraps up for our first cohort.

What you can expect

Upcoming guides will include case studies from Amnesty International UK’s Football Welcomes campaign and Rethink Mental Illness’s Time to Change campaign. You’ll also get more expert advice from Media Trust’s corporate partners Weber Shandwick and MediaCom. On behalf of the Media Trust team, I’d like to send a huge shout out to all of the lovely people at these organisations for their input.

I encourage you to download the first guide, have a read, share it amongst your own network and have a chat about implementing some of the tips into your own communications practice.

One last thing, I’d love to hear from you with any feedback on the guides or questions in general about the Stronger Voices programme. Drop me an email on aimeedb@mediatrust.org

Happy reading!

Aimee Dorsett – Browne
Stronger Voices Project Manager