DIY Content Mapping

Amy Sample Ward — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:00:51 +0000

Have you already worked on your Community Map? This is certainly a resource for anyone and everyone, but goes best as the second stage after working on your organization’s Community Map. Things start getting a little bit more complicated at this level but the output here is something your team and organization can then use every day. Creating a go-to resource like this that maps all content and all platforms will help everyone in your organization understand the “where”s and “what”s that make up the entire online presence of your organization.

You can do this by yourself, but I recommend doing it as a team or even as an organization. It is also important that this become a living document and resource that is updated all the time to stay up-to-date with the kinds of content and channels you use.

>> Get the template!

First, start by putting in all your content types – whether it is something your organization creates or something the community creates.
Next, note to the left of each content type what the goals are for that content.
Along the right, list every kind of communications method you have, and be specific. Don’t list facebook, but DO list “facebook page” and “facebook group” separately, or if you have two pages list them as such. You can really use any method you want, but on my team we use X for a confirmed method, a O for a “if it is relevant” method, and blank if it isn’t used.

Step 1: Identify all the content.

Now, for this content map to be as valuable across your organization as possible, you want to be as specific as you can be with this section. I’ve listed some examples to get you started, but really think about all the various pieces of content you have. Instead of listing “blog posts,” instead, list what those blog posts are about: maybe job openings, volunteer opportunities, news about your work, examples of your services or people you have helped. New grants or new programs. There will probably be a lot of things to list. And that’s okay!

Step 2: Goals.

These goals should primarily come from the Community Map where you have two columns’ worth of goals and actions. There will be additional goals as well, but you do want to ensure that the goals you have already identified from the community map are included here. The additional goals could be things like, increase visibility, recruit new funders, find new staff or volunteers, etc.

Step 3: Identify all the possible outlets.

Again, you can draw a lot of these from the community map, but you will probably find that this is an opportunity to be really specific, more specific than you were in the community map. For example, the community map may have identified facebook as a platform that one group uses. And in the content map you may list a facebook page as well as facebook events as you can create an event that’s tied to your page but publicizes and manages RSVPs for a one-time event.

Here’s an example:

>> Get this template!

What next: You now have a chart that can be referred to daily, across the organization! This content map can help everyone know where information flows and where conversations may be taking place. Especially for organizations where only one person or one team engages online, this chart helps everyone know what pieces of content are distributed and how other teams can share what they are doing online (even if it still goes through that one team or one person).

DIY Community Mapping

Amy Sample Ward — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:00:35 +0000

Why map your community? So you know where all your members are, of course! But more than that, this exercise helps identify where you should concentrate efforts, where to distribute messages, and where you have the best chance of successfully engaging the community to support your work.

You can do this by yourself, but I recommend doing it as a team or even as an organization. You’d be surprised at the kinds of conversations that emerge when you start talking about your community, especially as it is understood by various departments in your organization.

>> Get the template!

Create a chart – either on a whiteboard, a flipchart, or even a document on your computer.
The 1st column has all of your groups or segments of the community;
The 2nd column is their goal – try to keep this as general as possible like the examples above.
The 3rd column is your goal for the interaction with that group, and again you want to keep it pretty high level.
The 4th column is for the tools where that segment wants to be interacting with you.

Step 1: Identify all the groups within your community.

To start mapping the community we need to first identify which groups are within it. Do you have volunteers, interns, or adjunct staff? Maybe you work with schools so you have segments for teachers, administrators, parents, students, and then groups outside of the school. Here are some questions that can help get people talking to start sharing the groups they work with.

In my experience, the more diverse group you can get together to have this conversation and work through this planning together, the more complete a picture you can draw of your community. When people who work in services, programs, grant writing and fundraising, for example, all share their view of the groups in the community, not only can you start mapping the network but you can also have really rich discussions about the way different parts of your organization view the community.

Step 2: Define the goals that match each group.

There are two sets of goals to be discussed here: the first are the goals of that group – what do they want from you, why do they want to come to you, what do they get out of it? The second are the goals your organization has for that group – what are you hoping they will do, how will they contribute, what are you asking for from them? Again, this conversation can be really eye-opening as a part of building the community map, but also as far as encouraging dialogue within your organization and providing clarity around the organizational goals and the way they play out with the community engagement.

Step 3: Identify the tools.

This means identifying the spaces, platforms, and applications where each group congregates and where you can communicate with them. Even though much of these will be online social technologies, don’t forget about the offline spaces, too. Identifying the mechanisms you can use to communicate with each group can help you target your efforts, but in many cases illuminates areas where only one or a couple groups use a certain platform, while others use another – not only will this help you figure out where to say things, but can dramatically change what you say where.

Here’s an example:

>> Get this template!

What next: Using this as an exercise for a team or staff meeting, or even retreat, really gets people talking and sharing experiences from different departments and can help the entire group feel better positioned to engage.

map – Amy Sample Ward

DIY Content Mapping

DIY Community Mapping