A resource by Jayne Cravens
  via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

Updated February 16, 2020

Formal communications avenues

Formal communications avenues are the things you can write into a strategy easily. They are the strategies that get studied in PR and marketing classes. While leveraging informal networks is vital, you also need to be thinking about formal communications avenues - from billboards to murals to public service announcements and on and on. These tactics alone won't work - it's essential that they are supported by well-trained, trusting network engaged in informal interpersonal activities (see earlier section).

Formal communications can include advertising, brochure-distribution, banners and presentations at:

You also want to consult intensively with radio and TV for message delivery through public service announcements, dramas, news delivery, talk shows, etc. Never assume that a reporter understands the facts regarding an activity you are undertaking without someone from your initiative actually briefing that reporter - and telling them upfront how you will be answering certain questions. Also, ask reporters/show hosts what they are hearing from their audiences.

Work to garner public endorsements by famous entertainment or sports figures. For instance, in Liberia in 2008, a pop star created a pop song to allay fears regarding the upcoming census. Remember that "famous" is relative: someone well-known among adults may not be well-known among teenagers, and vice versa, or someone famous in rural areas may be unknown in cities, and vice versa.

Use the Facebook status updates, Twitter feeds and other online social media platforms of all participating organizations to deliver messages and counter misinformation. This bullet point deserves an extensive, detailed strategy of its own, and if I have time (and funding!) I will certainly do that.

Don't just post one message to a social media channel and think you are done, and don't just post text-based messages. Think about photos, artwork and hashtags. Encourage staff and all of your collaborators to share your social media messages as well. Remember that you can re-purpose communications tools from other sources for use on social media. For instance, Craig Manning, a health communications strategist with the Viral Special Pathogens Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was sent to Guinea at the first outbreak of the Ebola crisis in March 2014. When one of his colleagues, Pierre Roland, an expert on Ebola, gave a presentation at the U.S. Embassy in Conkary about mitigating risks of transmission, Manning recorded him, then had the content edited into 30 second snippets translated into 10 local languages and broadcast over local radio stations and TV - these would be great to share repeatedly on social media as well.

What about a rickshaw parade that carries banners with the message you want to deliver? Or a public kaoroke performance with messages in between songs? Think outside the box! Make message delivery fun and something the press would love to cover!  

For examples of how billboards, TV advertisements, social media and other avenues have been used to counter misinformation, try The Communications Initiative, which frequently talks about strategies used by various humanitarian and international development organizations. 

Back to the first page of this resource on preventing misinformation from interfering with development and aid initiatives.

Back to my development resources main page.