How to Keep Open Communication with Your Community as Stay-at-Home Orders Are Lifted
As communication professionals and leaders in our community, it’s our job to stay up to date on the news on a federal, state, county, and local level. In our state of North Carolina, stay-at-home orders are starting to be lifted in phases beginning on Friday, May 8th from the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We’ve been working with our community clients to create signage and written communication sharing the intricacies of the three-phase opening to avoid confusion… and chaos.
Below, we’ve compiled some important tips to keep in mind as stay-at-home orders in your state are lifted.
Share Press Releases Directly from Your Governor’s Website
Each state governor has a website with a page dedicated to press releases. This is written, digestible content that links out to the official orders associated with it. By sharing directly from the source, you avoid any misinformation.
Monitor Social Media Comments More Frequently
Your community will inevitably have questions related to restrictions lifting. Try to answer them as best as you can. Consider compiling these questions and answers on an FAQ page on your community website where you can direct traffic. The lifting of restrictions is also creating some strong division in communities. Monitor comments and “hide” those that contain inappropriate language like curse words or hate speech.
Create Temporary Signage with Guidelines
If you haven’t already, consider creating signage to place around frequently visited areas in your community, or areas where large groups tend to congregate. Include information about social distancing and other best practices for continuing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As stay-at-home orders are lifted and spaces begin to re-open, having this in place will communicate preparedness and prioritize public safety.
Keep Safety at the Forefront with COVID-19 Restrictions
This might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s crucial to keep language about health and safety at the forefront of communication about COVID-19 restrictions and plans for re-opening. It is possible to both support small businesses re-opening and care for the health and safety of your community. It’s crucial to include factual information in your communication, but don’t forget to speak from the heart. Your community needs genuine human connection now more than ever.
If you’re overwhelmed as we approach this important transition in our communities, please contact us today. We’re here to provide hourly graphics, copywriting, and strategy to support you during this time.
Feel-Good COVID-19 Social Media Campaigns
When stay at home orders began in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, communities sprinted to get out the key messaging
and facts, and suddenly everyone was in information overload. In light of the overload, we pitched to one of our clients, Union County Government in North Carolina, that we needed to put the human angle at the forefront to put a face to the statistics.
This led to the launch of three campaigns: UC Heroes, a highlight of first responders and volunteers in the area; Stay Home for Me, a showcase of high-risk individuals in Union County to promote staying home; and UC Cares, an in-progress project to share ways Union County residents can donate and volunteer to help those in need during this time.
In addition to these campaigns, HAVEN Creative designed several infographics and social media posts to accompany Union County’s written communications.
UC Heroes
Perhaps the most heartfelt and widely shared posts of all the series, the Union County Heroes project included logo design and social media template design. UC Heroes celebrates the first responders and volunteers in Union County who are working long hours, putting their lives on the line each day to treat UC residents, and who go above and beyond to serve others.
Stay Home for Me
The Stay Home for Me campaign in Union County included logo design, social media templates, and Facebook “frame” design for users to include the logo on their profile picture. Each post highlights a Union County resident who is immunocompromised in some way that makes them high risk to contract the virus and less able to fight it if they do.
UC CARES
UC CARES stands for Community Assistance and Resources Emergency Support. This landing page on Union County’s website shares local opportunities to get help or give help to those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak. Haven Creative designed a UC Cares logo for the initiative.
Supplemental Graphics
To help illustrate important information, our team designed social media graphics and flyers to create strong visual communication for the Union County community.
If your community needs graphic design support during this time, please contact us today. Our company is passionate about helping communities, and we offer hourly graphic design support so you can get accurate visual information out in a timely manner. We’re in this together.
How to Upload Your Own Zoom Backgrounds
At Haven Creative, one of our core values is to “Have Fun.” While the introvert in all of us is rejoicing at the opportunity to socially distance ourselves from the world, the extrovert in all of us is itching for some interaction! Have no fear, my friends, we have a fun challenge for you.
We’re all about a good social media campaign, and to alleviate some of the cabin fever coming from “Stay In Place” orders, we’re launching our “Stay in PLAY” initiative this week.
To kick us off, we’ve gathered some fun Zoom video backgrounds for you to use with your team to jazz up your calls! Zoom is the most commonly used video conferencing platform right now, and incorporating these backgrounds will keep your team laughing during these trying times.
DOWNLOAD BACKGROUNDS HERE!
If you need help figuring out how to use them, we have a quick tutorial below!
Step 1: On your Zoom call, click the “^” symbol next to the video icon in the bottom left corner.
Step 2: Click “Choose a virtual background…”
Step 3: Select from Zoom’s default backgrounds, or upload one of ours by clicking the “+” icon and selecting “Add Image”
Step 4: Voilà! It’s time for you and the whole team to have some #StayInPlay fun!
How to Keep Your Community Calm During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Over the last few days, the nation has been racing against time and the inevitability of human contact to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, known as Coronavirus, in the United States. Some communities have been impacted more strongly than others, reporting more and more new cases of Coronavirus every day, while other communities are bracing for the impact of their first confirmed case.
Local grocery stores are empty, small businesses are shutting down or scrambling to shift their operations to accommodate mandated closures, and community programs and events are being cancelled. From the perspective of containing the outbreak and flattening the curve, these are all good things. But for the local economy and the morale of your community? Not so much.
As the leader or communications contact for your community, these are difficult times. Leading through uncertainty is the biggest challenge now, and for many leaders, this is their first time facing uncertainty on a global scale. We’ve put together some actions you can take to maintain some peace of mind in your community for the coming weeks.
Share a letter from the Mayor or Town Manager
No matter the size of your community, you have an elected or appointed leader. Have them draft a message to the community from a place of empathy, hope, and teamwork. Include information about how to sign up for your community’s most immediate news alert system, and shout out community organizations that are offering supplies or food for those that need them. With all of the cut and dry news being shared to keep facts straight, it’s important that this message feels human, compassionate, and calming.
Share information about the importance of flattening the curve
You may have seen the now infamous graphic of an outbreak curve, showing the importance of taking massive, sometimes extreme action, to keep the potential spread of a virus at a manageable level for healthcare professionals. This phenomenon, called “flattening the curve,” is a strong visual to demonstrate why it’s important that so many beloved events are being cancelled, why businesses are having to make hard decisions to close their doors, and why schools are shut down. By helping people understand the why behind it all, you not only support organizations in justifying their actions, you also emphasize why it’s so important that people practice social distancing.
Create an Information Center on your community’s website
With so much misinformation circulating, you want to be sure residents have the most accurate and up-to-date information, especially in regards to locally confirmed cases of the virus, or local mandates around event cancellations, park closures, curfews, etc. One thing you can do is create a Coronavirus Information Center on your website. This can be one page that is constantly updated with a time stamp at the top of the last update, or a landing page that branches out to several other pages of information. This way you can direct your community to one central location to find the information they need.
Promoting local businesses while social distancing
Small businesses are struggling right now. From having to lay off staff to closing their doors to prevent the virus from spreading, business owners are making really tough decisions that can have a huge impact on your local economy. Help them by encouraging residents to support them in ways that still promote social distancing. To help, we’ve created a caption you can post on social media, along with a photo of your town:
In an effort to support local businesses that are promoting social distancing during this time, our community would like to recognize the businesses offering alternatives to purchase from their business. If you are the owner of a local business, please comment below with ways our community can continue to support you during this time. Maybe it’s a link to your online store, a number we can call to order takeout, or a way we can purchase a gift card to your business to use later. As more businesses comment and this post gets shared, we can all keep track of ways to support our local business owners. Thank you for everything you do for our community. #InThisTogether or #WeAre[TownName]
We understand that many communities are struggling right now, and the HAVEN Mavens™ are here to support you. If you need help with graphics, messaging, or communication strategy, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@havencreativeagency.com.
Additional Resources:
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-response-north-carolina/covid-19-guidance
What Does a Brand Book Include?
Great marketing starts with a story. Do you have all of the chapters you need to tell your story? If not, you need a brand book!
Branding is more than a logo or a tagline – it’s based on perception. Branding is the communication of values, characteristics, and unique attributes of your community or business - the complete story. We implement all of these layers into your brand book through strategic marketing, design, and crafted content. This helps you tell your story through visuals like colors, textures, and fonts.
If you spend any time on our website and social media platforms, you have likely seen us refer to our brand book. Recently, after receiving a call from a potential client, we came to a couple of realizations. One, not everyone knows what a brand book is and two, it wasn’t common knowledge that each and every brand book is completely unique. The size and complexity of each will vary, but we strive to make every book clear and concise. No matter the size of your organization, our brand book can be used as a road map to consistently tell your story.
A brand book is a multipage, print ready pdf to be used as a guideline for those within your organization who create content and marketing materials. The goal is for all content to have a cohesive look and feel. Although each organization’s brand book is unique, it will include artwork, color story, fonts, and editorial style. There are also examples of how each element should be applied throughout your organization. We find that providing information on how NOT to use a logo and color story is almost as important as the ‘how to’ portion of the guide!
Each of our custom brand books includes the following pieces:
- Brand story
- Logo do’s and don’ts
- Color story
- Fonts
- Design standards for items such as business cards, letterheads, presentations, etc.
We love the process of designing all of these elements for clients, but we really get excited when we can help them bring the brand to life throughout their organization.
Exceptional branding works from the inside out. Our team partners with your organization on every level to help you breathe life into your new brand. From the pitch of your sales team to the inner organizational culture supported by your HR team, your brand book will be the guiding light in your organization.
Are you in the market for a more consistent presence for your organization’s brand? If so, reach out to a Maven today - email us at hello@havencreativeagency.com.
Why Community Event Logos Are Important
Summer events are right around the corner, and most communities are preparing for them in early Spring, if not earlier. If your community's events have had the same logo design for several years, it might be time to consider rebranding them this year. In this episode of the Maven Minute, we dive into the reasons you should rebrand your community event logos.
https://youtu.be/uPXTAnZIcp4
Cohesive Look + Feel
It's crucial for your town event logos to have a cohesive look and feel. What overall brand aesthetic do you want your logos to communicate? Is it modern farmhouse, urban minimalist, or rustic and refined? If your community event logos don't communicate any cohesive design style, it might be time to rebrand them.
Community Brand Recognition
The biggest reason you need to have a cohesive look and feel is for brand recognition. When people see a certain logo style or color story, you want them to think of your community. An outdated logo won't jog anyone's memory, but a new logo design will keep your town at the forefront of people's minds.
Boosting Tourism & Development
With brand recognition, tourism in your community thrives. When you have strong branding that resonates with the public, visitors will plan their weekends around what's happening in your town with minimal effort on your part. This buzz also generates interest from local developers, who can boost the economic development in your community, creating a positive feedback loop for even more tourism and town engagement.
Okay, we know what you're thinking: "All of this from some logo redesigns? No way."
But a strong community brand can reap some serious rewards, and event logo redesigns are a great place to start. Check out our Maven Minute episode on community event logos for more insight.
The Skim on Social Media Analytics
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If you’ve spent a ton of time curating some super snarky, knee-slapping, punny social media content and are wondering why you aren’t getting any “likes,” you might be feeling like the gif on the left.
We might be able to shed a little insight! The reason behind your digital unpopularity boils down to the ever-changing, unbelievably complicated metric, social media platforms use to display content.
In order to understand each social media platform’s unique metric, you must first understand the three elements that comprise it – reach, impressions, and engagement. Measuring the success of your social strategy comes from these three elements. When trying to increase your visibility and influence on social media, it’s all about accurately measuring your metrics and finding areas to increase efforts.
Let’s break the three elements down. By definition, they simply mean:
Reach: the number of people who see your content.
Impressions: the number of times your content is displayed.
Engagement: the number of interactions people have with your content
Social Media Reach
Reach and impressions are similar and often confused. Reach shows how many unique accounts have seen your post and how much awareness and value you’re gaining. If your objective is to increase brand awareness and “reach” the highest number of users possible, you should be focusing on growing your reach. There are several factors that have a direct impact on a post’s reach. This particularly includes the use of hashtags, a call-to-action and certainly publishing when your audience is most engaged, for example.
Social Media Impressions
Digital impressions are the number of times an advertisement, Facebook post, tweet, or any piece of digital content is displayed to your audience. In most cases, you can choose to base your digital spending on impressions alone. The number of times your ad is viewed will be what your budget is based on. Your budget will be based on the number of views on your ad or post. This Cost Per Impression (CPI) will provide you with moment-to-moment updates. This element can help you gauge how users are responding to your ad.
Social Media Engagement
Engagement refers to the number of interactions people have with your content. This includes likes, comments, shares, retweets, or any other measurable interaction with your digital content. There are multiple factors that influence your engagement rate. The time of day a post is made, the frequency of posts, the number of followers, the content and the messaging all contribute.
With this in mind, how do we decide which metric is the most important now? There’s no straight answer. It all boils down to what your marketing goals are. Need help figuring that out? Contact a Maven today to help uncover your needs and develop the best plan for you.
Announcing the Maven Minute Series
At HAVEN Creative®, our mission is to “make mavens of our peers and partners.” A maven is an expert or connoisseur. As marketing mavens, that means we are committed to sharing our expertise with you so that you can be an expert too! From industry jargon to tools for success, we'll cover it all in our quick tip videos.
We are excited to launch our Maven Minute video series featuring your very own HAVEN Mavens™! In this series, we will be sharing inbound marketing tips and tricks with you, so stay tuned!
We hope you enjoyed the series trailer! If you have a topic you'd like us to cover in a future Maven Minute episode, please leave us a comment or email us at hello@havencreativeagency.com! We love to create content that helps you move the needle in your day-to-day.
4 Tips for Successful Web Design
“Google it.”
“Search it up.”
“YouTube it.”
These are all things we hear and say on a daily basis. We can quite literally research just about anything we want to know. Information is available at our fingertips.
This is awesome, right?
Let’s turn the tables from searcher/consumer to informer/sales. We all want the world to know about our business or organization, but we have to compete with every other website on the internet. Fun fact, users take only 50 MILLISECONDS to form an opinion about your website. 50 MILLISECONDS! In that moment, do they have the capacity to read and understand what makes your organization uniquely awesome? The short answer is “no.” They will quickly determine during that brief time whether they will stay or leave.
Does your website make viewers want to say, "bye Felicia?" If so, here are a few essential qualities of a great website that will allow you to quickly invite visitors in and convince them to stay awhile.
4 Tips for Successfull Web Design -
Responsive Design – In short, this means your website can be viewed easily on whatever device you are using, mobile, tablet, desktop. This will continue to be a basic requirement of a great website. With new and improved mobile devices coming to the market on a regular basis, having a responsive website design is a must.
Minimalism – Keep it simple. Websites are featuring fewer pages, with simple designs and more blank space. Some websites are also implementing what’s referred to as “Flat Design.” Flat web design uses two-dimensional/flat images which are aesthetically pleasing to look at, in combination with lots of open space, and bright colors. Another design concept is card-based design which provides simple bursts of information that can be easily digested. This is ideal for users with mobile devices and varying screen sizes because they can be adjusted to each screen.
User Experience (UX) - Simple, intuitive, and functional navigation is an important feature to focus on. Websites with an intuitive design, and with images and aspects that are pleasing to the eye will attract consumers. If visitors cannot easily navigate your website, they are likely to exit as quickly as they came. Speed is also a factor, quickly loading pages and ease of information are critical components when standing out against the competition.
Format Variety – Providing useful information on your website important as is the format in which you deliver it. Websites that communicate in a variety of formats such as video and imagery vs. text will have a higher success rate. Video is a great way to communicate your brand story and viewers find it especially engaging.
Does your website encompass all the elements of quality website design? If not, have no fear; the HAVEN Mavens™ are here for all your branding needs!
Why YOU Need a BHAG For Your Organization
We firmly believe everyone needs a BHAG. We have one. President John F. Kennedy had one. Microsoft had one. BHAGs have led to some of the biggest successes in American history.
Our BHAG is to impact one million lives through communication and branding efforts. When we first decided this, it seemed impossible. Just a few years later, we’ve already impacted over 665,000 lives… and we’re just getting started.
I guess I should tell you what a BHAG actually is, huh? In our Maven Minute video series, we broke down what this is, how it unifies the community, and how to come up with one for your own organization.
If you need help creating a BHAG, give the HAVEN Mavens™ a shout. As Jeni Bukolt says in the video, "We LOVE this stuff!" We’re here to share our knowledge with our peers and partners to create better communities around the globe. Contact us today!
How to Write a Community Branding Request for Proposal
As a government entity, requests for proposals (RFPs) are a great way to help ensure your company procures the most competitively priced services you need to complete your project. In the marketing agency world, however, requests for proposals are often seen as a necessary evil to get work because the process is often complex and lengthy.
If you are seeking to obtain proposals from professional firms to provide services related to community branding and advertising, you will want to be sure to include the following:
Background
An RFP should include the background on the issuing organization and its lines of business, a set of specifications that describe the sought-after solution, and the desired outcomes for the project.
Guidelines
Define how you would like to receive the proposal submissions. Do you prefer them in printed format or digital? Some organizations request that proposals are within a certain page count and are organized in the same manner, (for example: Section A, B, C, D, etc.) Defining the submission format gives a clear picture for the vendor and is extremely helpful during the review process, essentially allowing you to compare “apples to apples.”
Evaluation Criteria
Determine the criteria you will use to evaluate the proposal and be sure to include it in the RFP. For community branding RFPs, you’ll likely want to consider whether or not the agency has community branding experience, how long they have been in business and where they are located.
Communication
Another important component of the Request for Proposal is determining the communication strategy. The way you will receive questions from vendors and how you will provide responses should be communicated within the Request for Proposal. Let the vendor know if an in-person presentation is required. You should also include a timeline with key dates such as RFP release, when finalists are notified, and timeline for interviews, presentations and vendor selection.
Budget
It is extremely helpful for potential vendors to know the budget for the project. If you don’t have a set budget, or aren’t comfortable revealing the budget, providing at least a range is helpful to potential vendors.
Now you know what elements to include in a community branding Request for Proposal, but if you have never managed a branding project before, how do you know which questions to add? To ensure potential marketing vendors understand exactly what you are in the market for, we’ve put together this Community Branding RFP Checklist.
Still have questions? Phone a Maven! We are happy to give advice on how to best structure your community branding RFP.
How Our 8 to Great Maven Method ® Helps You Connect the Dots
Fun fact: We have exactly eight dots in our HAVEN Creative® logo for a reason. They represent the "8 to Great Maven Method ®", our proprietary process for building brands and helping our customers “connect the dots” in their organization… like how the eight dots in our logo complete the solid semicircle around our name. We’ve really thought this through!
By utilizing the 8 to Great Maven Method®, our customers have been able to:
- Build trust among their community
- Preserve and protect their community identity amidst rapid expansion
- Develop appropriate consumer messaging and sales strategy to reach their ideal demographics
- Build team culture within their organization
So, how do we do it?
Unlike a typical creative marketing agency, we don’t just create a logo, drop the mic, and walk away. Our process includes all of the elements your team will need to create a successful brand (or rebrand). Our brand books establish clear messaging, identity development, colors, fonts, interior design and more. Once we finish those, then we drop the mic and walk away. Just kidding! As a brand marketing agency, we’re by your side through the brand launch and beyond.
Here’s the Breakdown
Each individual step in the Maven Method® process serves a specific purpose. Below, we’ve broken down each step. If we are submitting an RFP for a community branding project, steps one through three are covered in that RFP and recapped in a kick-off meeting before step four. Otherwise, there are no funky exceptions to the steps below.
Step 1: DESIGNATE THE TEAM
Who should be involved in your rebrand process? This crucial first team includes a kick-off meeting where all the key project players are introduced and expectations are set. In this kick-off meeting, we also complete steps two and three.
Step 2: DESIGN THE DREAM
We’re all about KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). They help us measure the success of the rebrand project as a whole when it’s all said and done. In this step, we set goals and intentions for your branding.
Step 3: DECIDE THE DOLLAR
This one’s all about the money, honey. Depending on the goals, we help you determine the ideal budget to reach your goals. Know this, HAVEN Creative was founded by a scrappy entrepreneur who doesn’t like wasting money, so we treat your budget as if it were our own. We will do our best to ensure you don’t spend money on things you don’t need to build a successful marketing plan.
Step 4: MONITOR THE MARKET
We conduct a market audit including surveys and interviews with key stakeholders to discover what makes your brand unique. This creates buy-in from key stakeholders and informs a lot of the creative elements.
Step 5: DEFINE THE DIFFERENCE
Once we have identified the unique attributes, we write the story and begin the foundational elements of building the brand book.
Step 6: INVENT THE IDENTITY
This is where the fun begins! It’s no secret that we love to create, it’s in our name! This stage is where we combine the story with visual elements to bring the brand to life.
Step 7: SHARE THE STORY
This is the stage where most creative agencies leave you hanging, but not the HAVEN Mavens™! We develop a plan of action and provide training to ensure your brand launch goes off without a hitch.
Step 8: REPORT THE RESULTS
Remember those KPIs we created in stage two? Now is their time to shine! Six months after the brand launch and rollout, we report back on those key metrics to ensure the goals we set out in step two are staying on course.
Any Questions?
The Maven Method® is just one of the many processes at HAVEN Creative® that we utilize and refine to create amazing community branding efforts for our clients. If you have any questions about our 8 to Great Maven Method®, please contact us here!