Distributed to Subscribing Volunteers, Members & Directors of the Sustain Group
BASG – Communications Strategy Meeting
Venue Norwich Posterity-IT
Wednesday 7th Nov 2018 15:00 – 17:00
Attendees Kelvin Allen, Tim Coleman, Alan Kirby, David Todd and Andy Link
The meeting was called following the previous sustain committee and members felt that a focused session around the whole CIC and communication was required.
Kelvin introduced what was small focused team to look at the group’s communications and underlying supporting processes to drive engagement.
Tim explained the current position on both the website, Bulk Mailer and facebook. The current administration access is with the following people.
Website Admin Tim Coleman (Posterity-IT)
WordPress CMS Mark Casto
WordPress CMS Kelvin Allen
Mailer Admin Tim Coleman (Posterity-IT)
Editor Kelvin Allen
Facebook Group Admin Tim Coleman
Group Admin Steve Lane
Group Admin Jamie Holmes
Group Admin Kelvin Allen
The current content is lacking and not dynamic to keep people engaged. There is a link from Face Book into the website, but the upward link from the website to Facebook is not working.
AP Tim to investigate and resolve.
Content is currently limited to that generated by the EA on twitter and FB and very little else.
A number of newsletters have been created by Kelvin since we launched, which are distributed using the bulk mail solution to around some 530 people. This follows data compliance in that they have opted in to receive our communications following the survey of rod licence holders last January.
However now that a number of sub committees are functional and running their specific elements of the groups business, we need a process that feeds into what is happening and can be communicated to the wider structure. Clearly this is a link missing currently and something that needs resolving.
It was also felt that there needs to be both an internal set of communications (Meeting Minutes and actions) and an external subset of this for public consumption.
Everybody agreed this requires much more structure and a process to enable stories and activities to be brought together to share across the platform.
In the short term we agreed to create a whatsapp group with the following internal people as members.
Directors, CIC Members and Members of the Sustain Committee, this is around 26 people, not all have access to Whatsapp capability or would want to be part of this. Alan Kirby has discussed a potential role of membership manager and has agreed to take ownership of this group admin.
This would be a trial of both the technology and ourselves to see if this works.
This is all about free speech and allowing members engagement. Lets give it a go and see where it leads us.
Alan also will work with Kelvin to provide the committee officers the lists of members and there contact details, so each chair and sec has access to the relevant data. This should not be shared outside the respective groups, as it would break data compliance.
Alan brought a paper on his thoughts on what a comms plan should be. I thought this was a great example of making us think about the audience and our aims.
Aims: What do you want to achieve with the comms plan?
Audiences: Who are they? Angling Clubs, Casual fishermen, holidaymakers
Messages: For each separate audience decide
What you need to tell them and hear from them
Tools: How you can engage them
Measure of Success:
So for example
Audience A: Angling Clubs
Messages: We need to tell them that BASG represents their interests
Tools: We can engage to tell them via: direct with clubs, wider via traditional media, FB page they have to first like.
Audience B: Tourists, holiday makers (Boating and Fishing)
Messages Broads is a delicate ecosystem and they must play by the rules
Tools: Tourist industry publications etc
Andy agreed to review the current website against the comments above and give us some feedback on structure and content. Action Andy Link by end of November.
A discussion of the management and engagement of a potential BASG task force, led to the issues of H&S and the need to risk assessment and training to be addressed.
A further discussion on the virtues of a potential fishery passport concluded that this remains a very continuous issue for many, even if the group’s ambition is to find a solution. This will require a level of confidence and direction to drive this forward.
Kelvin agreed to discuss these structural issues with his fellow Directors and report back on the next steps.
Regards
Kelvin Allen
Chairman BASG CIC 9th Nov 2018
