Do you find it hard to reach your citizens with your climate plan? Would you like to know how you can make your communication more attractive? We've got a few tips to lend you a hand, check them out! 👇
1. Make your communication look attractive
Giving the correct information is obviously very important. The amount of people that you reach with that information is dependent on how you present it. Or as they say: 'a picture is worth a thousand words', which is also our first tip.
Use images 📷
Photos catch the eye, which makes people start reading spontaneously. It's important that the photo is related to the article or subject, so the reader knows what to expect or can find the right information he is looking for.
To explain difficult, more complex information, consider using (explanatory) videos. By adding a video, you bring more information and content in your article without it becoming too long. You can find an example of this in the (H)eerlijk Brugge campaign.
💡 Tip: Don't have a lot of pretty images in your archives? Use some beautiful royalty-free pictures from websites such as unsplash or pixabay.
Use clear language 🗣
By clear Language we mean: no lingo or 'difficult' words. Although you often use certain terms on a daily basis, it's perfectly possible that your readers have never heard about it before.
In short: keep it clear for everyone!
💡 Tip: Let an outsider proofread your text.
Show the most important actions first 📑
Of course you want to show off your most impressive actions. Place your favorite actions first. This way you're sure that the readers have seen them.
💡 Tip: Temporarily important actions? Pin them at the top of your public page (and don't forget to unpin them when they're finished).
Show results 📈
By showing the achieved results you create credibility. You show that the action was actually completed and which results it had.
Inspire your citizens to join the action and show what difference they can make. This way you reach more people and you create team spirit. You can find a good example of how to show your results with this action from Bruges.
💡 Tip: Results not entirely as expected? Communicate it to your citizens anyway. Tell them how you plan to do it better in the future and explain how they can help with that. Doing this creates common goals. Even communicating about bad results is still better than no communication at all!
2. Let citizens and companies help
Citizens and companies are essential to the success of climate actions. Communicate and let the topic live: that's how you create unity in your municipality. Why would you do everything by yourself, when you are stronger together?
3. Use the right channels
Besides attractive commucation, it's also important to communicate through the right channels.
Your own city's website 💻
Show your climate plan clearly on your website. Readers often have to click several times before they can see the climate action to take part in. This quickly reduces their interest. You want people to find your actions on your homepage (or maximum 3 clicks into your website).
Other channels 📰
Websites are often only used to look up information. Think about using other channels to communicatie about the climate plan. Share the information on social media (Facebook, Twitter, ...), local newspapers, ..., as well. Don't expect citizens to visit the municipality's website on their own!
Discuss the best channels with your municipal communication services.
The numbers 🔢
Be aware of your reach. Using other channels can be helpful to extend your range, but not everyone uses the same channels. If you can see the channel's statistics, you can check how many percent of your population you're reaching.
4. Let us help you 🤝
Tools can help you by drawing up climate actions and communicating about them.
FutureproofedCities is a monitoring tool for cities and municipalities to manage their climate plans. Communication of these plans is a crucial functionality of our platform.
This article is inspired by the webinar “Communicate about your climate plan”.
Feel like watching more webinars? You can do it here.
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