Cierra Selby will be presenting a session at The Nonprofit Social Media Summit in November - How Social Media Managers Can Create Effective Internal Comms! It's going to be all about how to communicate with staff, higher-ups, and colleagues on the work of social media - whether they are too involved, or not enough. Sign up here!
It is becoming increasingly apparent to employers that internal communications are essential to overall success. Organizations and their missions can be profoundly impacted by effective communication practices and engaged employees.
Cierra Selby believes effective internal communication perspectives and practices are essential to organizational success. Her experience spans over 10 years in marketing and communication across a variety of missions, including poverty, financial literacy, voter engagement, local government, health research, and arts & culture.
Having conducted extensive research on corporate internal communication strategies, Cierra has developed best practices for mission-driven organizations. She is determined to make these best practices accessible to organizations seeking to improve their efficiency and cultures.
What we discussed:
Connect with Cierra
About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:
Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.
She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.
Julia’s online courses, webinars, and keynote talks have helped hundreds of nonprofits make the shift to digital thinking and how to do effective marketing in the digital age.
Take Julia’s free nonprofit masterclass, 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media That Converts
Take my free masterclass: 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media Content that Converts
Cierra Selby will be presenting a session at The Nonprofit Social Media Summit in November - How Social Media Managers Can Create Effective Internal Comms! It's going to be all about how to communicate with staff, higher-ups, and colleagues on the work of social media - whether they are too involved, or not enough. Sign up here!
It is becoming increasingly apparent to employers that internal communications are essential to overall success. Organizations and their missions can be profoundly impacted by effective communication practices and engaged employees.
Cierra Selby believes effective internal communication perspectives and practices are essential to organizational success. Her experience spans over 10 years in marketing and communication across a variety of missions, including poverty, financial literacy, voter engagement, local government, health research, and arts & culture.
Having conducted extensive research on corporate internal communication strategies, Cierra has developed best practices for mission-driven organizations. She is determined to make these best practices accessible to organizations seeking to improve their efficiency and cultures.
What we discussed:
Connect with Cierra
About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:
Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.
She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.
Julia’s online courses, webinars, and keynote talks have helped hundreds of nonprofits make the shift to digital thinking and how to do effective marketing in the digital age.
Take Julia’s free nonprofit masterclass, 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media That Converts
Take my free masterclass: 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media Content that Converts
Julia Campbell 0:00
The nonprofits Social Media Summit is back and better than ever. This year. The summit is all virtual and coming directly to your screens on November 2 and third speakers include Amy sample Ward, a fool of Bruce Lee's ma Brunson. And of course yours truly, and many more. We're covering everything from tick tock to time management, Facebook ads to influencer marketing, get your free ticket at nonprofits social media summit.com. And I'll see you there. Hello, and welcome to nonprofit Nation. I'm your host, Julia Campbell. And I'm going to sit down with nonprofit industry experts, fundraisers, marketers, and everyone in between to get real and discuss what it takes to build that movement that you've been dreaming of. I created the nonprofit nation podcast to share practical wisdom and strategies to help you confidently Find Your Voice. Definitively grow your audience and effectively build your movement. If you're a nonprofit newbie, or an experienced professional, who's looking to get more visibility, reach more people and create even more impact than you're in the right place. Let's get started.
Julia Campbell 1:22
Hello, everyone, hello, my nonprofit unicorns. This is nonprofit Nation. I'm so thrilled that you tuned in today. I'm your host, Julia Campbell, we're going to be talking about internal communications as a way to unlock your nonprofits potential, because it's becoming increasingly apparent to employers that internal communications are essential, and that organizations and their missions can be profoundly impacted by effective communication practices and engaged employees. And today's guest is internal communications expert Sierra Selby. Sierra believes effective internal comms perspectives and practices are essential to organizational success. And her experience spans over 10 years in marketing and communication across a variety of missions, including poverty, financial literacy, voter engagement, local government, health research and arts and culture. And having conducted extensive research on corporate internal communication strategies. Ciara has developed best practices for mission driven organizations, and she's determined to make these best practices accessible to any organization seeking to improve their efficiency and culture. So Ciara, welcome.
Cierra Selby 2:47
Hi, Julia. I'm super excited to be here.
Julia Campbell 2:51
I'm thrilled to have you here. I know you're an AmeriCorps alumni, and HBCU graduate, you have a wealth of experience. So what are you working on now? And sort of what led you on this path?
Cierra Selby 3:02
Yeah, Julia. So currently, I am working on a set of products and programs specifically for nonprofit organizations when it comes to internal comms. I think that a spin about six years since I wrote a thesis on best practices for internal communications. And since then, I've just seen the need for expertise, the need for trainings and workshops, as well as just events that organizations and their leaders can attend to learn more about the practice in the space. So I've been working on really just honing in on those solutions, and creating products that nonprofits can enjoy and benefit from.
Julia Campbell 3:41
So the focus on internal communications, has that hasn't always been your focus and sort of why this specific focus in terms of the mission driven sector.
Cierra Selby 3:53
Yeah, so I mentioned that I wrote this thesis on best practices for internal comms. It actually came about when I was pursuing my master's degree in public administration, I was a part of a program called National Urban Fellows. And the program is designed to help leaders of color and women become leaders in the public administration space. And a huge piece of that program is they actually partner you with an organization, and you're to work as a consultant with their organs with that organization, as well as full time going to school full time, which was incredibly daunting. But during that time, I was recruited by an organization, a Health Research Institute in DC, to come build out their internal communication strategy. And I was just told that because of my background in marketing and community organizing, that this would be the perfect opportunity for me. And while I was not very excited about that, when I actually got into the role into meeting all of the people at that organization and building out that actual strategy, I fell in love with the work and it's always been my mission to bring this work. In his expertise to nonprofits, because I was able to see in that role, the extreme benefit that information having an A sound internal communications plan, having the advocate there for other employees and organization just to come talk to you about some of the challenges they were experiencing when it came to communications or culture, I just found that work really fulfilling. And since then I've just been on a mission to continue that work in that space.
Julia Campbell 5:28
I really love that. And I think working in AmeriCorps and traveling, I think I know for a fact probably that that has contributed to the interest in learning about communications, you know, not just internally because I know when I served in the Peace Corps, when I lived in Africa, when I lived in Senegal, communication styles and culture were so different than what I had grown up with. But it was still so important to really understand those nuances. And something that really, really stuck with me that I thought was really interesting. Looking at your LinkedIn profile, you wrote that you grew up speaking American Sign Language, and it taught you how to communicate, can you tell us that story and maybe what you've learned?
Cierra Selby 6:16
Sure. So I grew up with both of my parents, my younger brother, as well as one grandparent in my household, and my grandma was deaf and hearing impaired and lacked the ability to speak, I spent a lot of time with my grandma, because, you know, my parents worked full time. And I learned in American Sign Language at a very early age. And it was because of that, that I was able to really pinpoint, like, communicating effectively, and actually, like what that meant for relationships, right? My grandma was just such an inspirational person she was, even though she couldn't speak, she was very boisterous. Right, she had a lot to say, even though she couldn't speak. So I really, over time, I realized, you know, when to communicate what, and at what time, and as well as when to communicate what was important, you know, I didn't have a lot of time to say the things that I, you know, I wanted to say to my grandmother, or a lot of the capacity to do so. So I had to communicate the thing that I wanted to communicate the most. And that really taught me a whole lot about effective communications. And that taught me a whole lot about, you know, culture, when you think about the culture of a group of people, language is a huge piece of that. So bringing that perspective, you know, to organizations, or just that perspective to a leader is really powerful in itself when you think about it.
Julia Campbell 7:40
Absolutely. So this leads me to the next question, what are some ways that internal communication contributes to workplace culture?
Cierra Selby 7:51
Yeah, it goes back into that, you know, thinking about internal comms as a strategic imperative, rather than just the afterthought. Typically, organizations think about internal comms after a communications crisis, or less think about, you know, what just happened with the pandemic, having to communicate with people without being in an actual building or space, I think internal comms became significantly more important over the last couple of years. So for me the value that internal communications brings to organizations, it surpasses technology, it surpasses, you know, strategy. And it really just places emphasis on people, and how communications really just helps people in their roles, along with how information kind of travels to people within their roles, you know, whether they are the fellow at an organization or whether they're the executive director, or just an administrative assistant, right? Everyone needs information in order to do their jobs. And internal communications is what allows that information to get to who it needs to get to at the right time. So for me personally, you know, I've been in a place where I've been at the strategic, you know, in a position where I'm implementing and creating internal communication strategy. And then I've also been at the other end of that, as you know, a social media manager, you know, experiencing anxiety and worry around not having the information that I need to do my job. And that to me, has really allowed me to gain a well rounded perspective of the value internal comms brings to organizations.
Julia Campbell 9:39
Wow, I think that's incredibly important. A lot of my clients are dealing with this struggle around fundraising departments, marketing departments, social media departments, or maybe there's just one or two people, but they have very different abilities, skills, priorities, and strategies for their work. What are some of the biggest mistakes that nonprofits make with their internal communications?
Cierra Selby 10:09
Yeah, I definitely think one of the biggest mistakes is just around perspective, right? I believe most nonprofits are thinking that internal communications is only up to one person, you know. And while one person may be responsible for creating an internal communication strategy, which can be a consultant, or someone who actually is placed within the organization to manage that function, internal communications is actually everyone's job, right? It calls for everyone to be in the game. And organizations need to do a better job at developing this perspective. It's not up to one person, it affects every single person at every single corner of the organization. And when it's done, right, you're able to see the kind of impact it can make.
Julia Campbell 10:58
Absolutely. And when you say, this should be a strategic imperative, I completely agree, because my entire mantra this year, has been proactive, not reactive. So we spent two years in reaction mode, reaction mode reaction mode. And now we need to get back to planning and strategy. And looking ahead and being a little bit more proactive. Certainly, there's going to be curveballs, there's going to be news events, there's going to be things that kind of throw us off the track and derail us a little bit. But when you're talking about being proactive, and not just reactive, when there's a crisis that really resonates with me, so how do we even start with creating a plan? And how do we? How do we start understanding more about what it means? And what are some of the factors that go into creating a plan? Yeah,
Cierra Selby 11:57
I definitely think internal communications planning, it definitely starts with the conversation. And I believe a lot of organizations, they skip over the conversation part. And they just go right into planning and what happens is they created Yes, right, a strategy or plan that isn't informed by the people who actually work there at the organization. And when I was doing this work at this organization is Health Research Institute in DC, I didn't want to enter the organization without a well developed understanding about what was actually happening. When I arrived at the organization, I was told, these are the communication gaps that we've been able to identify. And we want to build a strategy around that. Well, that was the perspective of leadership. But I wanted to talk to the people on the ground, right, I wanted to talk to the marketing team, I wanted to talk to the custodians, right, I wanted to talk to everyone because I knew that internal communications planning had to be informed by an organization's most important stakeholders. So I really believe starting that conversation with people within your organization, it doesn't have to be a lot of work, right? It doesn't have to be a five hour focus group, it can be a 30 minute zoom call, it can be a 30 minute meeting at your organization where you're actually asking specific questions about internal comms, and focusing more on the perspectives and attitudes that people have around internal comms. So that conversation is key to any strategy. Secondly, I believe, having a list of tactics to go along with some of your overarching goals. So once you have these conversations with people within the organization, you'll start to see the gaps. And then you can start to create those goals. You can work with key stakeholders, you know, whether it be executive leadership, or whether it be the marketing department, it really doesn't matter where this sits, because what's going to be most significant is the partnerships that are formed to really drive this strategy forward. So having that set of tactics to go along with those goals, and also timelines, tactics and timelines are my favorite thing when it comes to internal communication strategy. Because without them, like you just have like a page full of goals that will never get achieved. So for me, just having those tactics, having that timeline, and also being sure to talk to the people who matter the most, before diving in to the planning.
Julia Campbell 14:35
Now how to make the case to an executive director or even a board or even coworkers that say, Oh, we don't have an internal communications problem. You know, we are we're too busy. We've got too much on our plate. We need to focus on issues at hand and just put our heads down. What would you say to make the case that this is something that is very important, and I would say they're proving the point by saying that, but what would you say?
Cierra Selby 15:03
Well, I believe that now in a post COVID world, you know, the case has already been made. There are just so many communication gaps that exist within these organizations. And once you start to have these conversations, you're realized that people already know that, you know, there's something wrong, they already know that there are gaps, they just didn't have the space, right, or someone that they can depend on, they didn't have an advocate to really help them bring these issues in to the forefront. So I believe you're not going to have a hard time with proving the case. I think that most organizations believe that change starts like at the top, so they believe that it has to come from leadership. But the truth is that real change starts from the middle, and then it takes its course in either direction. So I believe that it can be done. And I honestly believe that we don't have the time for ineffective communications anymore. You know, we have to spend our time, our energy and our resources on doing the important work. Society is not being faced with less problems, right, there are only more problems as we continue into the future. So this is something that has to be a priority. And this is something that if you believe in it, and you're willing to put in the work, we can have better nonprofit workplaces, and we can really do our work even more effectively and take on missions further.
Julia Campbell 16:27
I think that the great resignation, you know, we talk about the great resignation, has dramatically affected the way that a lot of workplaces look at their culture. And you know, you've written culture has an impact on employee performance, and even on how well an organization will accomplish its mission. So when you're talking about creating this internal communications plan, who should be involved in this? Is it clients, donors, maybe I don't know who should be involved in this.
Cierra Selby 17:02
I definitely think that this planning starts internally. I know that nonprofits specifically, which is why I created this set of best practices, because I understood that, you know, nonprofits have a totally different set of stakeholders than corporations, right. But I really believe that internal communications as it relates to nonprofits, there's a lot of creativity that can happen there. There's a lot of partnerships that can be formed internally, to really drive this strategy to the finish line. From my personal experience, I've had been having these conversations with a few interns at my organization. And I was just so shocked and surprised about their level of understanding about how important this work was. And my suggestion is don't overlook anyone, you know, there are things that people have noticed in some of the deepest corners of your organization that hasn't even crossed the leaders mind. Right? So talk to everyone, as many people as you can. And I'm telling you, you will be surprised about the information you're able to gather from some of the most unlikely people. Do you think
Julia Campbell 18:11
that it's effective to do something like strengths finders or Enneagram, to find out someone's communication style? Because I remember, I've had bosses that really encouraged me to ask them every little question. But then I had other bosses that really just wanted me to figure it out until I got to a such a roadblock that I couldn't, I couldn't move forward. So it's totally dependent on someone's communication style. And how do you sort of map that out? How do you how do you come together as a group and understand, we all communicate differently, and we all need to respect that and understand that?
Cierra Selby 18:50
That is a great perspective. And I think just that statement you made in the self is so impactful, you know, I think when you bring a group of people together, that's one of the first things that has to be understood, you know, the organization that I work for is a museum. And when you talk about attitudes, when you talk about personality and communication styles, no other type of organization has to deal with this more than museums, because there are just so many different personalities. You know, they're typically educators, they're so everyone's the teacher, you know. So I think that communication styles is one of the most significant things that you can bring to an organization or even like a work group, right? I'm a huge fan of Myers Briggs. I know people are like, you know, that's a bit outdated. But for me, I started conversations with just telling people, I'm an NF. TJ,
Julia Campbell 19:41
tell people what that means, if they don't know, I'm an Enneagram, eight, and everyone knows that, but
Cierra Selby 19:47
why so I'm not familiar with Intagram. But Myers Briggs has a set of personality styles, and I believe it's five. I can't recall exactly what mine stands for, but I do know that it's more of a philosopher write the person who likes to think into topics. These people are often better communicators, they're more prone to be teachers, you know. So it really tells you and correlates not only your communication style, but your personality, as well as like where you may sit among a group of people. Right? So to me, Myers Briggs has been the most effective when talking about internal communications, because it's something that everyone kind of knows already. And that's one of my favorites.
Julia Campbell 20:31
Does this dovetail with work that organizations are now doing? Hopefully, they've been doing around diversity, equity and inclusion? Could this sort of fit in with that kind of work?
Cierra Selby 20:47
Yes, it definitely does. I believe diversity, equity and inclusion is a huge part of an organization's culture. And a way to get ahead of that is to dig into the communication styles that exist within that organization, one way to get ahead of that is to understand that different people are communicated to in a different way at some organizations. And that's the reality of it. I think communications plays an important role in that topic. So it's a great place to start. In terms of that work.
Julia Campbell 21:20
I think so too, I think it seems like it's something that wouldn't plug in to other aspects of the organization. But now that I'm thinking more about it and reading more of your work, I see how it's not only about knocking down silos and truly effectively being able to get your message across, it's more about how does this improve our external communication? So maybe could you talk a little bit about some of the ways that this work can improve even marketing, and I know you're a digital marketing expert, as well? And how it can, you know, even improve on those initiatives and those projects?
Cierra Selby 21:59
Right? I mean, when you think about deliverables, and how specific groups and specific teams are responsible for, you know, pushing specific projects to the forefront, you know, you have to understand that there's something that has to happen internally, in order for that to be effective. Particularly in my role, I'm tasked with social media, in order for me to get the right information to push out externally, I have to have several conversations with over 50 different stakeholders just to get the correct information. So that when we are presented, and we present our brand externally, it's the right information. It's all concise, you know, it's one voice, and not, you know, the voice of the 1000s of people that work at this organization. So, internal communications, though, it starts on the inside, and it's internal work, it contributes to the way that your organization is displayed externally as well. Even when you think about HR, right, one of the first things a candidate, when going through, you know, trying to apply to a job sees is an organization, you know, the job description, the way in which an organization is communicating their needs, that has a whole lot to do with what's happening internally. So that's the first touch point that you have within any external candidate is that job description? How well is that written? does it communicate the needs? does it communicate what you're actually looking to bring into the organization? What does that tell you about an organization's culture? So all of that has to do with in with communications? And and it's important to adopt that perspective of this affects everything, you know, internal communications is pivotal for organizational efficiency in itself.
Julia Campbell 23:50
Exactly. I think that too. I believe that being able to communicate ideas and talk with each other efficiently and effectively starts internally, because I actually have, I've said this to clients when I start working with them. If they have a separate fundraising and marketing department, I will say how well do you work together? Because if you are at complete cross purposes, or you don't work together, then this engagement is not going to be helpful to you. Yeah, you've got to get your house in order before you can really work on getting other people involved. So I believe in totally getting your internal house in order. And I think that I think that's really great. So let's talk about something that you offer comms and culture.com. You can get the one page internal communications plan totally for free. Can you give us like a little sneak peek into what's in that plan?
Cierra Selby 24:52
Yeah, so it's actually just a one page of it has a few sections with different questions in each box. And what that is it's designed to just ignite that conversation, you know, about internal communications, and helping to pull out those perspectives and those attitudes from individuals within an organization so that you can then look at these different perspectives and attitudes, and really start to think about you know, where those gaps are, and how can we move forward. So that one pager really helped me to start these conversations when I work with organizations is totally free for you guys. And I suggest giving that worksheet to three people in the organization that you work in that you trust, start there, start that conversation in that dialogue. And I guarantee that it will spark some curiosity around what internal communications can do for your organization, or even just your team. It's a great resource, so I encourage you to go download it. And as well, when you download the one page communication plan, you're also signing up for the newsletter. So you'll get updates about what I'm working on, and the different products and programs that I'll be rolling out over the year.
Julia Campbell 26:05
What are some of your favorite tools? So do you recommend slacks your I mean, I guess it depends on the organization. But what are some of your favorite tools for for internal communications?
Cierra Selby 26:15
So currently, at my, my organization, we use Basecamp, which has been, you know, really, really up powerful for me, because I have a social media role. So a lot of those digital assets, you know, we communicate about through Basecamp. But one of my personal favorites, that I think that anyone who's building, you know, trying to build out internal communications plan can start working with is Trello. I think Trello is highly underrated. I love the tool, it's so much that you can do with Trello, it's everything in one place, you can invite different stakeholders to take a look, if you download that one page, internal communications plan, you can put your responses into the Trello page, right, and then start to collect data there and invite maybe some organizational leaders to take a look at that. So Trello, to me is probably one of my favorite tools right now.
Julia Campbell 27:10
I think that this has huge implications for social media managers, because we need effective internal communication. In order to do our work, we have to get the stories, we have to get the news, we have to get photos, we have to get content assets, we have to get approval, probably on what we're posting. So if there's a blog, if there's not effective communications in the organization, then social media kind of stagnates like do you see that?
Cierra Selby 27:39
I definitely see that in. Personally, I've experienced a lot of anxiety around my social media role, because I don't have the information or the support that I need sometimes to do what my organization expects to be done. So is this internal communications, I've realized is not more needed than in any other space than the Social Media Manager space, we have to communicate with so many different people. And guess what, Julia, do we have a lot of time to do that. The least amount of time to do almost anything. So internal communications, I think the reason why I'm so effective in the role that I'm in right now is because of that internal communications expertise and knowledge. It's the only way I'm surviving, because I know how to communicate with people to get exactly what I need when I need it. That's amazing. That's a topic for a completely different episode, because that is a huge pain point.
Julia Campbell 28:38
But for right now, how can people work with you? How can they find you and get in touch?
Cierra Selby 28:43
Yeah, so I'm in I'm on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is one of my favorite platforms. Right now I know I work across all of the social media platforms. And LinkedIn will always be my favorite favorite. So you can reach out to me via LinkedIn and Cierra Selby. And also, I can be contacted at info@commsandculture.com. That is my personal email. So if you want to have a conversation around internal communications, or you know the value that can bring to your organization, you can reach out either way. I look forward to it.
Julia Campbell 29:13
Perfect. Well, thank you so much for being here. And look forward to having you on again. Thanks, Sarah. Thanks, Julia. Well, hey there. I wanted to say thank you for tuning into my show, and for listening all the way to the end. If you really enjoyed today's conversation, make sure to subscribe to the show and your favorite podcast app, and you'll get new episodes downloaded as soon as they come out. I would love if you left me a rating or review because this tells other people that my podcast is worth listening to. And then me and my guests can reach even more earbuds and create even more impact. So that's pretty much it. I'll be back soon. With a brand new episode, but until then, you can find me on Instagram at Julia Campbell seven, seven. Keep changing the world you nonprofit unicorn