Be Prepared by Celebrating Awareness
Most of you likely have family members or friends who are nurses or teachers, and this week is a big time of recognition for them.
Facebook or a similar social media platform likely alerted you to the fact that it’s National Nurses Week (May 6-12) and that Tuesday was Teacher Appreciation Day. There are millions of nurses and teachers employed in the U.S., and I saw people this week sharing articles on everything from preferred teacher appreciation gifts to restaurants offering discounts to people in both of those fields.
The internet will tell you there is a special celebration for nearly every day (feel free to celebrate National Eat What You Want Day on Friday), so it’s easy to go overboard. But integrating bigger awareness campaigns (think American Heart Month in February or American Education Week in November) into your marketing and communications plans helps tie your organization and your community to bigger initiatives. Keep some of the following tips in mind when planning how to get involved.
#Recognition. One of the easiest ways to participate in various awareness celebrations is to post about it on your social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You can start by blogging about your personal connection or story on your website and repurpose that link. The various national associations almost always have great resources that can be used by members and even the general public. Those resources typically include banners and graphics for social media, posters to hang around your office, school or organization, and hashtags so your content can be categorized with other relevant news.
Pitch an interesting story to the media. Maybe one of your teachers recently won an award or is doing a creative project or research. Maybe a nurse formed a special bond with a patient or celebrated a milestone work anniversary. These are all ideas that can be pitched to your local media outlets as part of the awareness day, week or month. Realize that you might not be the only organization pitching this type of story, so try to make your pitch unique and interesting to a broad audience and pitch the story early.
Plan for it. Worried that you missed the awareness month or week related to your industry? Then be sure to plan for it next year. After working with clients to perfect their messages, Chartwell Agency often develops yearlong integrated communications plans that include relevant celebrations with suggestions on how to maximize outreach in those areas. These awareness events typically fall around the same time each year, so even if you don’t have the specific dates for next year, make a note on the calendar to check back and update the information.
Be reasonable. While there are professional associations for many fields, some jobs don’t have the representation power of an American Nurses Association or a National Education Association. If you’re going to commit to recognizing team members on social media, for example, do your best to research awareness opportunities for a variety of staff. Doing so will make you more prepared.
