The Communications Committee focuses both on connecting with our members and on getting the word out about what we can do for other genealogists focused on Vermont and this region (New England, Quebec, New York). It transmits print and digital documents, manages our Facebook page, produces all advertising, sends emails, and handles bulk mailings.
Varied Roles
Many projects involve routine, ongoing efforts throughout the year (distributing our weekly email, writing a monthly blog post). Others are episodic – they’re focused on specific, near-term deadlines (an open house, fall conference, or a booth at a local fair). And some are just advisory roles, where we can use your experience and training to help us make decisions on tools, projects, or purchases.
Priorities
Our most pressing needs at the moment are:
- help with advertising our classes and other events
- coordinating our social media presence
- upgrading our email platform
General Needs
On an ongoing basis, we can use help setting up online event registration forms, running Zoom webinars, posting on our Facebook page, setting up onsite classes (projector, sound system), and processing bulk mailings.
With the pace of technological change, we could also use advice/help upgrading our communications methods— better online marketing, enhanced email tools, and developing new advertising copy.
Specific Tools
The following list provides specific areas or tools that we’re using or hope to use in the future:
Communication Tools
- Email systems (standard emails; help upgrading to Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc.)
- Social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest)
- Video Marketing (YouTube, Vimeo, video editing)
- Blog coordination (WordPress)
- Online Forms & Polls (Jotform or other tools)
- Phone coverage (handling off-hours phone calls to the library)
Document transmission
- Handling first-class and bulk mailings
- Press releases
- Coordinating with local newspapers & magazines
- Interfacing with TV and radio stations
We’re glad to answer questions or provide specifics about these and any other ideas that can help us to communicate our presence, resources, and value to family historians. It is likely that whatever amount of time you can volunteer would contribute to many of these tasks.
You can contact us at: mail@vtgenlib.org or call us at 802-871-5647.
