What is Media & Messaging?

Do you want to make your group, event or action more visible and reach more people?

M&M (for short) is all about public comms: promoting XR's work, actions and events, using social media and traditional media such as newspapers. It's about raising awareness of XR with your target audience - particularly in your local area; it's about presenting a narrative of XR that people will find compelling

Even though we all say "Media and Messaging", it's really the other way round. "Messaging" comes first, then you put that message out on various "media" channels...

Messaging

A message is a clear, easy-to-understand sentence that sums up what you’re trying to achieve with your action.

The M&M team's job is to come up with this message, and then communicate it consistently on all media platforms.

There's a book about Messaging.

Media

Media are the communication channels we use to spread our messages. They break down into traditional media (press) and social media.

📰 Press

Traditional media use various mediums to propagate news: printed (newspaper), video (TV), audio (radio)... but also digital supports (website, social media).

Most local and regional media are happy to run our stories, that's why it's important to learn how to write a press release.

Read more about press.

💻 Social Media

Many people get their info from social media, especially in the younger generations. Social media platforms are free to use and easy to access (from your computer and/or smartphone).

That said, they can be time-consuming to use as they require you to post regularly to build your audience on your chosen platform(s), and keep it.

Social media platforms are not reliable for propagating your news to all your followers at all times but they offer a simple, visible and searchable approach, from which new members can find you and contact you.

Read more about social media

Other channels

XR also uses email and messaging apps to spread its message. These blur the line between "internal" and "public" comms (everything you put out on any channel will be read by existing rebels and members of the public!).

Email is probably the most reliable way to share news with people who want to hear from you.

Read more about using email and messaging apps (Mattermost, Signal, Telegram, Whatsapp), including "broadcast channels", in the Internal Comms book.