Communications Corner: Make Life Easier, Use Templates

Press releases, flyers, social media posts, oh my! You have several communication tools at your fingertips to get out important messages but covering all your bases can be overwhelming. Make the process of delivering messages more efficient and effective with templates.
 
Taking time to develop templates that you can use over and over again means you can grab what you need when you need it and fill in the details. Plus, the communications will have a consistent look, feel, and voice that your customers will begin to recognize as yours.
 
Here are a few templates that you might want to create. With each, be sure to include your utility’s logo and color scheme.
 

• Press releases: Use Word and add the standing elements that you would find on any release.
  • The words Press (or Media) Release in ALL CAPS under your utility’s logo
  • Contact name and information
  • A designated area for a headline and subhead (if needed). Center this element below the contact block
  • Boilerplate language that you will include at the end of the release. Boilerplate language is a few sentences about your utility. For example, IAMU’s boilerplate is “Organized in 1947, IAMU represents 754 municipal broadband, electric, gas, and water utilities statewide, and maintains a marketing relationship with a large number of associate member businesses.”
• Flyer and social media posts: Create a frame that you can use with both pictures and text. Incorporate your utility’s color scheme and logo. You may need a design program for this, or you can use online services such as Canva, which makes it easy to design professional-looking flyers, social media posts, and more without any experience.