In addition, just 2 years prior, they hired a full-time Commercial Businesses Stormwater Inspector, but had been disappointed with the progress being made by the restaurants in particular, even with monthly site inspections. Basic stormwater best management practices were not being followed to the City’s satisfaction in the outdoor areas behind the restaurants, causing unknown amounts of pollution to enter local storm drains on a daily basis.

They were interested in finding an innovative way to reach restaurant staff through education and increase the use of stormwater best management practices occurring in the spaces outside of restaurants in the City.

Results: Goldstreet’s Consulting Staff and the City of Oak Harbor worked collaboratively to employ Community Based Social Marketing techniques to gain a solid understanding of the target audience in order to develop a targeted, effective and well thought out plan for inspiring a change in behavior from restaurant staff to improve water quality in the Puget Sound region.

We compiled and analyzed the data and provided a detailed summary of the findings. Background research was also explored to uncover similar projects designed to reach the target audience. The data was then used to identify motivators and barriers to reaching restaurant staff, as well as set project goals and objectives and to develop a marketing strategy. As part of the marketing strategy, we also uncovered existing grant opportunities to provide free spill kits and professional training to restaurant staff in Oak Harbor.

The marketing strategy prompted the development of three different products by Goldstreet’s Creative Design Team:

1. A multi-purpose brochure, which serves as a training tool for restaurant managers, and folds out into an eye catching, yet simple poster, targeting the restaurant staff.
2. A big and bright dumpster sticker, reminding staff how to properly maintain the dumpster area.
3. A training program designed specifically for the local high school culinary school which will focus on the proper outdoor BMPs to follow at any restaurant and the basics of how restaurants can have an impact on water quality.

Evaluation of the products was the final step and provided the City with astounding measurable results for permit reporting. Following distribution of the restaurant poster and dumpster sticker to restaurants in Oak Harbor, the following changes in behavior were observed:

• The occurrence of open dumpster lids was reduced by 76%
• The occurrence of garbage on the ground around the dumpster was reduced by 51%
• The occurrence of uncovered cardboard outdoors was reduced by 30%

The post Success Story: City of Oak Harbor, WA Uses Community Based Social Marketing & Brochures to Reduce Water Pollution from Restaurants appeared first on Goldstreet Designs.

Improper disposal of HHW – such as pouring them down the drain or toilet, onto the ground, into storm sewers, or even into the trash—can – pollute the environment and contaminate septic tanks or drinking water. Most people don’t realize that throwing these items away can result in physical injury to people or pets, but some cities have started campaigns to increase public awareness.

The City of Indio recently teamed up with the Riverside County Department of Waste Resources to double the amount of free hazardous and toxic waste drop off events throughout the year. These events are part of the city’s “Box It and Bring It” campaign, which it has used for the last few years, and which it plans to continue through 2020.

Because this campaign presented a real challenge for creatively communicating a great deal of information and increasing public participation, The City of Indio reached out to Goldstreet for help educating and engaging the community. The city wanted to create materials that contained an explanation of HHW items, a list of acceptable items to bring to the drop-offs, collection dates and locations, and tips for HHW disposal. They needed comprehensive materials that could be used for several years by simply changing the event dates each year.

Goldstreet Designs, the City of Indio, and The Sustainability Commission all worked together to create the HHW campaign. The three organizations started by focusing on a succinct campaign message, along with a tagline. Next, they turned to the design of the materials, using catchy colors and photo illustrations to complement the message. With so many partners collaborating, the campaign approval process went through several rounds of brainstorming, drafting, and change-making. Both the City of Indio and the Sustainability Commission offered Goldstreet guidance as the agency brought the “Box It and Bring It” campaign to life.

Sara Toyoda, from The City of Indio, says, “I’m happy with the way everything turned out. The community is responding to the events. People tend to bring the items on the list and there is less confusion at the events. There are still some questions, but not many, since the outreach material is clear on what to bring.”

In the end, the “Box It and Bring It” campaign included several types of materials, including bill inserts and social media snackables. The playful visuals of the materials’ photo illustrations have helped get readers’ attention, while the bright colors and bold fonts are perfect for emphasizing the most important pieces of information. A comprehensive PDF is also now located on the website, serving as a resource for all things Household Hazardous Waste and proper disposal.

Toyoda says, “The colors, taglines and branding are all very recognizable. Now people know what to look for and that this outreach is for the HHW collection.”

Through their collaboration with Goldstreet, The City of Indio was able to create a memorable and educational campaign that they’ll now be able to use for years to come.

The post Success Story: The City of Indio Tackles Household Hazardous Waste appeared first on Goldstreet Designs.

Have a Key Message

Before you get started, be sure that you’re clear about the main point you want the public to take away. Trying to cover too many topics at once can water down your message and make it hard for people to remember. Alternatively, one key message that you support through signage, promotional materials and talking points is more likely to have lasting impact.

Think About Your Audience

Now that your clear about your message, it’s time to think about where to deliver it. Is your information targeted to adults, children, homeowners, pet owners? Think about your audience and make sure you plan your event where they might best be reached. Considering budget vs impact is also important. Because outreach resources are often tight, you want to spend more of your budget on programs that have a wider reach and less on those for a smaller audience.

Get the Word Out

Promoting your event is also crucial to its success. You can start generating interest ahead of time through social media, website posts, media outlets, community calendars, etc. A little buzz can go along way!

Don´t Be a Wallflower

When it comes to the day of the event, it´s either go big or be invisible. So make sure you brand your booth with banners, table covers and other signage that stand out and deliver your key message. There´s no such thing as being too visible!

Make Your Booth the Place to Be

Giveaways are always a great way to attract people to your booth. To make them more meaningful, develop promotional items that tie in with your key message. For example, if you want to teach kids about water conservation, you could consider a colorful activity book with teaching points around the subject. To build the excitement, invite people in for a game with the giveaways as prizes. Educating the public through games and activities brings a sense of fun to the learning process and helps them remember your message. Be sure to follow the activities with a take home handout that reinforces your point.

Put Your Best Face Forward

Preparing your staff is key to making your community event a success. After all, these are the people that will literally be the face of your company. Make sure that they are well prepared with talking points that deliver a consistent message. Just as important is being a good host. Branded refreshments and a smile will make people feel welcome and more apt to listen your message.

Need more help with your community event? Goldstreet has developed outreach programs for utilities and agencies across the country. The activities and communication pieces we create will get noticed and resonate with your customers.

The post Maximize Your Community Event appeared first on Goldstreet Designs.

TIP #1: BREAK IT DOWN

Because brochures contain more copy than many mediums, getting started can feel a little overwhelming. Writing an outline will help you clarify your thoughts and make sure you stick to the point. This means first writing down the MOST IMPORTANT POINTS you want your customers to take away. Try to sum up the major points in just one sentence. For example, a simple outline for a brochure about Fats, Oils and Grease might look something like this:

FOGS ARE FATS, OILS AND GREASE

FOGS CAN CAUSE BACKUPS IN YOUR HOME

FOGS CAN HARM THE ENVIRONMENT

BACKUPS FROM FOGS ARE PREVENTABLE

Once you have the major points, you can then go back in and fill in the supporting details you would like to include in each section. For example:

BACKUPS FROM FOG ARE PREVENTABLE

Don´t scrape food particles into the sink.

Can and recycle cooking oil.

Your outline is not necessarily the final wording you will use. But it does give you a road map to follow so you don’t get lost or bogged down while writing your brochure. Remember, if you’re not sure about what you want to say, your customers won’t be either.

TIP #2: DON’T THROW IN THE KITCHEN SINK

In today’s world of sound-bites and tweets, it can be challenging to keep your readers’ attention. Overloading your audience with unnecessary details may give them an easy excuse to tune your message out. As you write, try to ask yourself if the information you’re relaying is both vital to making your main point and pertinent to your reader. For example, utility customers need to know that throwing oil down a storm drain is illegal. However, they don’t need to know the number and section of that specific city law. Fine tuning your copy in this manner will help you cut the fluff and keep your message on point.

TIP #3: CUT THE SHOP TALK

As with all industries, the utilities sector has its own specific terms and jargon. For your average reader, however, using overly technical language can be confusing. Be sure to review each section of your brochure and ask yourself if somebody outside the utility industry would get what you’re trying to say. If not, try to re-write the section in a way that a friend or relative would easily understand. This exercise is vital to keeping your copy understandable and your readers engaged.

TIP #4: SPICE UP YOUR SUB-HEADS

One of the pitfalls of writing technical copy is that it’s easy to fall into a flat, boring tone. Incorporating personality may seem challenging, but a little can go a long way. A great place to start is with your subheads. To keep your readers attention, try making them a little unexpected or humorous. Including a benefit for your customers in a subhead is also a good way to keep them reading. Don’t be afraid to play with your copy a bit. It could make your brochure more fun to write and to read!

TIP #5: WALKING AWAY CAN BE A GOOD THING

While working on a brochure, it´s easy to get “too close” to the copy and lose your objectivity. If your schedule allows, it’s important to walk a way for an hour or even a day and then read what you wrote with a fresh eye. You may find that a message you thought you were relaying clearly is actually confusing. Or that certain details aren’t pertinent to your main point. Giving yourself a little breather can help you see things you missed and may even give you fresh insights!

Feeling mentally blocked after focusing for a long time? Sometimes a mini-break can help. Try getting up, walking around or even doing a few stretches. A little physical activity can loosen your mind up and help you get back into the flow again!

The post Is Your Brochure Copy Muddled Or On Message? appeared first on Goldstreet Designs.

Good for you! You’ve made big steps toward engaging with your community on Facebook, Twitter and other popular social media channels.

Do you know if your efforts are paying off?

If you answered “no” to that question, you’re not alone. Despite all the information out there about how to determine social media “success”, few utility communicators are clear about whether their social media efforts are working.

Here are some tips that will help you figure whether your social media activities are performing effectively.

Begin with the basics.

Do a simple cost / benefit analysis.

Once you’ve determined that your posts are performing as intended, it’s a good idea to see if the promotion you’re doing is cost-efficient. Do your best to track the hours you spend preparing, tracking and managing posts. If you are boosting or advertising, look at how much you’re paying for clicks (cost-per-click or CPC). Ask yourself: Is it efficient compared with other marketing techniques, such as banner advertising, email communications and direct mail?

In most cases, the answer to this question is yes. Social media is generally the most cost-effective way to get the word out to people in the area you serve, comparable with email and other digital marketing and communication techniques.

If you’re finding your social media promotion costs are too high, consider different types of targeting or leveraging a broader mix of social channels. Many utilities start out by promoting on Facebook. However, they may be able to more efficiently reach younger customers on Twitter or Instagram, which are generally lower cost ways to reach Millennials.

Don’t stop with social media.

It’s great to know that people are clicking on, liking and sharing your social posts and that you’re paying a fair price for those actions. However, are you monitoring what happens once they come to your blog or website?

It’s important to check that the visitors who arrive from social campaigns spend a reasonable amount of time with your content and move on to explore more of your site.

Check with your IT department or use Google Analytics or other similar website monitoring tools to find this out. They allow you to track the social media traffic to your site and see how much time they’re spending on individual pages. Thirty seconds or more, on average, is a sign that they’re engaging with your content and reading a significant amount of it.

If you’re seeing a high bounce rate (people spend less than ten seconds on a page and are not clicking to check out other pages), that means they are having a bad — or unexpected — experience. You can usually fix this by double checking your posts and the content they link to see if the content pays off on the promises you made in the post.

If you see a disconnect, try using a new post or revising your headline and the opening section of your web content. This should remedy the issue and improve your time-on-page results.

Note: It’s critical to fix social campaigns and web pages with high bounce rates. Google will penalize websites with high bounce rates because it’s a sign that the site is delivering a negative user experience. A penalty will make it harder for the people you serve to find your site when doing a Google search.

Need help developing and promoting your social media posts and monitoring their success? Contact Goldstreet. We have unique experience creating successful communication campaigns for utilities across the United States and we can advise you on how to take yours to the ultimate level.

The post How Do You Know Your Social Media Campaigns are Working? appeared first on Goldstreet Designs.

The utility sector has always been viewed by the public as “boring”, but we all know the utility sector is not only vital to our customers’ daily lives, but sometimes even interesting! Utilities are made up of interesting and innovative infrastructure, operated by dedicated and talented employees, and built upon a mission to provide essential services to the communities around us.

Like anything that is “new” and “different” integrating Social Media into utility communications can seem challenging when you start to consider all the necessary elements and policies, however, thousands of utilities are utilizing social media to communicate with their customers. Some of these utilities have seen very positive results: increased customer interaction, improved image in the community and repaired customer trust and relationships. These are all really important to have on your side when a storm or other disaster hits, when a rate increase is proposed or another potentially hot issue needs attention.

Those utilities that experienced such positive responses have several things in common. Consider the following when integrating Social Media into your communications plans:

1) Have a Plan!

Every Plan should have goals and objectives. A social media plan is no different. Why are you doing this? What do you hope to accomplish? Are you hoping to improve customer image? Communicate weather related issues and outages? How will you measure your success? Conduct surveys? Number of followers or likes? Change in number of phone calls received versus handled on your social media platform(s)?

2) Tell a Story

Customers do not connect with the utility, they connect with the stories that you share.

• Employee stories: Your employees are already dedicated and talented, but your customers don’t know this. Share short little stories that make your employees “just as human as your customers”. Consider grouping your stories into types of positions – a day in the life of a… “wastewater operator”, “lineman”, “meter reader”, “councilman”… etc.

• Customer stories: Every little pat on the back from your customers is worth sharing through Social Media. Or maybe you have those few customers who are actively engaged in your daily operations you could highlight. Maybe they show up to every council or other public meeting, maybe they take advantage of your rebate or other utility programs, or maybe they are always first to report any infrastructure issue in the community.

3) Photos, Photos, Photos

Studies show that people are spending less time reading and more time looking at photos. If you get a “tltr” (too long to read) response to one of your posts, you really need to consider integrating photos! Social Media platforms like Instagram (400 million active users upload 80 million photos each day) are built on the sole use of photos to tell stories.

• Photos of storm/weather related damage are always popular (only during or just after though, timing of photos is crucial). Posting photos during a storm also reminds your customers that you are aware of the issues out there (on the street level) and are working on them!

• Infrastructure photos. You might be surprised about how many photos your “on the ground” staff take with their smart phones while they are working. Keep them on your radar and work in a process to get a hold of some of those photos. Not everything will be applicable, but photos of infrastructure that has failed, has been fixed, is really innovative, saves water/energy/water quality, are all different views you could share—remember to mix it up. Sharing only failed infrastructure might send the wrong message.

• Beautiful views of the community. Create a “sense of place” for your customers. Mountains, sunsets, parks, flowers, spring, winter…some utilities have been successful holding “contests” to solicit local photos from their customers through Social Media.

4) Work Weekends

Ok, not really, but your customers spend more time on Social Media on the weekends, so you should try to schedule your posts to go out on the weekend when it makes sense. Social dashboards can help you do this efficiently, or if you are using Facebook, take advantage of the “scheduling” option. You can spend a couple hours in one day posting a month’s worth of posts, and schedule them to go out at a later date and time. If you can have someone monitoring those posts during the weekend, to generate quick responses, that would be ideal. Otherwise, just make sure you are only posting the higher profile issues at a time when you do have dedicated staff to respond to posts.

5) Give Thanks

If one of your customers takes the time to respond to or share one of your posts, or shares a positive message about the utility, take a few seconds to thank them. This small act of thanks with this one community member will be seen by and transferred across your followers, helping the utility gain that “human” element needed to become a trusted resource.

Resources:

https://www.brandwatch.com/

http://smartgridcc.org/

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