June 18th PNSMA Forum- The Traffic Safety Guy on the Communications Funnel-

Please join the Pacific Northwest Social Marketing Association in welcoming Doug Dahl to present on the Communications Funnel.

Does your communications strategy include your biggest fans? You might have an untapped audience waiting for you to go deeper on your key issues. Many of us engaged in social marketing are great at crafting a simple and easy-to-understand message – something even the least interested person can quickly absorb. But we might not be developing content for our biggest potential allies. 

The communications funnel is inspired by the sales funnel concept, commonly used in product sales and marketing, paired with an alignment of communications strategies. It’s a tool to help develop and evaluate content for all our potential audiences, from the person who hasn’t given the issue a thought, to the one who, with a bit of prompting, is ready to become an advocate for our cause.

But the content of our communication has to get deeper as our audience gets more invested. When we pair our current communications strategies with the levels of audience investment, we can see where we’re strong, and where we have gaps. By developing a continuum of communications we’re set up to move people from awareness and consideration to action and advocacy.

Doug Dahl is a Communications Lead for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and a self-confessed traffic safety nerd. He authors a weekly traffic safety column in Newspapers across Washington and at TheWiseDrive.com. Doug’s passion for traffic safety began during his previous career as a deputy for the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, and his fascination with driving began much earlier; at age five he dreamed of becoming a race car driver as he slept in pajamas covered with Indy cars. He’s been to racing school, but he spends most of his recreational time on a bicycle.