Larkhall and District Volunteer Group
Our Communications Strategy 2022-2026
Background
Larkhall and District Volunteer Group (LDVG) is a registered charity based in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire. Our aim is to promote and increase levels of health and wellbeing within Lanarkshire. We do this by providing core services and group activities; offering a wide variety of volunteering opportunities; and operating a community transport fleet to support our activities and the wider community. Our facility is open to all, with a focus on older people and those who are lonely, vulnerable, isolated, housebound and/or living with a disability.
We want to make sure that people in South Lanarkshire know who we are, what we can do for our community, how they can get involved and how they can support us. That’s why we think it’s important to introduce our communications strategy. It will set out how we will communicate to further our aims and objectives as a charity. It will kickstart the creation of several new documents which will be key to the strategy. It will focus on the main disciplines within communications and set new standards.
Period of Review
Authors: Sandra McCrory and Grant Riley.
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Version number 1 approved by LDVG board of directors on Tuesday 15 March 2022.
Informally reviewed annually with a full review in 2025. To be republished in 2026.
Our Vision
Anne Alston, Chair
Communication has moved from word of mouth, which is still an effective tool, to the introduction of ever-increasing social media platforms. Communicating the vision and work of the charity to staff, volunteers, community and all interested parties is important. Receiving feedback and acting upon it helps the charity to build better relationships throughout the community we serve.
Sandra McCrory, Charity Manager
Developing our use of communication tools and social media over the last few years has enabled us to stay connected with our members, volunteers, and the wider community. It's important to the staff team that we keep up to date with current trends and continue to communicate in a manner that is effective and suitable for our audiences. This strategy will provide us with a clear road map as to how we evolve and improve.
Grant Riley, Board Member – Communications
The platforms we use to communicate are continually evolving and at a very fast rate. It is becoming increasingly evident that communications must be fluid and adapt for different groups of users. This strategy, the first of its type to be implemented in the charity, will allow us to achieve our commitments and be innovative in our approach to communications going forward.
Our Current Position
LDVG has stayed current, with a presence on a handful of social media channels; all of which have seen steady growth. We have continued to maintain our digital shopfront (the website) and improve our outreach (community engagement and physical marketing).
Our brand is visible in the community and further afield. We don’t have a communications-based role within the charity at the present time, and so communications tasks are regularly overseen and carried out by our Charity Manager and our Activities Assistant.
Where we regularly communicate
• Events and in-person
o Community engagement
o Public events
o Partnership working
• Digital Media
o Website
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Instagram
o LinkedIn
o Youtube
• Written
o Reports
o Policies and strategies
o What’s been happening updates
Our Commitments
We will continue to work legally and ethically when creating and delivering communications content.
Accessibility
1 in 4 people in Scotland have a disability or other impairment. This can present issues with understanding and accessing content for these users. We will:
• Carry out a digital media audit each year, which will monitor how accessible our content is
• Encourage staff and volunteers to embrace accessibility as a principle
• Include elements of accessibility in the supporting documents, like our best practice guide
Privacy
It is important that we keep data and confidential information safe. Currently, there isn’t a need for any user to input their information on our digital channels, but we will continue to ensure compliance across all other methods of communication. We will:
• Introduce a new privacy notice for the website
Consistency
Consistency has a part to play in allowing people to identify and relate to our communications output. We want people to recognise our content not just through the logo, but because of design principles, tone of voice and more. We will:
• Create standardised templates including presentation slides and policies
• Introduce a new branding guidelines document, which will tell people how we want our brand to be used
Authenticity
In the new age of fake news and misinformation, it is crucial that we as an organisation remain authentic. We will only share content from trusted sources, and we owe it to our audience, volunteers, and members to always be honest. Social media in particular gives us the opportunity to build trust. We will:
• Provide guidance on sharing from third party sources within the supporting documents
Our Strategy
• Advertising and marketing
• Media and public relations
• Design and multimedia
• Web and social media
Our Approach
Advertising and Marketing
• Sponsorship opportunities (both inbound and outbound) will be explored
• A link building plan will be created which will identify places for ads and marketing
Media and Public Relations
• Continue to liaise with local media contacts and send out frequent media releases
• Supporting documents and templates will ensure our good reputation continues
Design and Multimedia
• Use more video and photo content to promote our services
• A new branding guidelines document will be introduced
Web and Social Media
• New social media policy and best practice guide will be introduced
• We will devise a new monitoring and evaluation solution
This strategy can be made available in a range of formats. Please contact the office to discuss.
Document written and produced by:
Larkhall and District Volunteer Group
Registry House,
55 Victoria Street,
Larkhall,
ML9 2BL
Contact number: 01698 888893
Contact email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.ldvg.org.uk