Your Role, and a Second Name on Everything
What the club publicity job covers, your first month, and how to make sure it never depends on one person.
If you look after your club's publicity
This section is for you.
You might be called the Public Image Officer, the PI Chair, the bulletin editor, or simply "the one who does the Facebook page". Whatever the title, the job is the same: make sure what people see of your club is accurate, current and inviting.
What the job covers
- Keeping the club's Facebook page, and any other social accounts, active and up to date
- Making sure your website and your club page on the district website show this year's meeting details and a named contact
- Getting photos taken at every project and event
- Turning what the club did into short stories: who it helped, and what changed
- Sending the best of those to the district for Spotlight and district social media
- Promoting events before they happen, not only reporting on them afterwards
- Reminding members that they are part of the publicity team too
You are not expected to do it all alone. Many hands make light work: ask one member to take photos, another to share every post, another to write up the next project.
A lesson from IT
If it only works because of you, it doesn't work.
Succession isn't something you do when you leave. It's something you do when you arrive.
Put a second name on everything
In IT, a single point of failure is the one part of a system that, if it breaks, takes everything else down with it. In a club it is usually one person and one password: one member holds the Facebook login, the page sits on their personal email, and when they step back the page goes with them. Every July, clubs lose pages, email and files this way.
- Two admins on every club page. Facebook, Instagram and the website: never just one person. Check the admin list at every changeover.
- Accounts on a club email address. Not a personal Gmail that leaves when the member does. Ask the district about a free club email address: Microsoft 365 for clubs.
- A second name on every job. Whoever posts this year brings someone along to learn it.
Your first month
- List every account. Facebook, Instagram, the website, Canva, email lists: who has admin access to each? Write it down and keep it with the club secretary.
- Add a second admin to anything that only has one.
- Check your details are current on your website, Facebook and your club page on the district website: meeting day, time, place and a contact.
- Let the district see what you do. Add publicimage@rotary9660.org.au and districtnewsletter@rotary9660.org.au to your club bulletin list.
- Follow the district on Facebook and Instagram, and share one district post: district social media.
- Ask for a free audit of your club's website and social media: club audit.
- Look three months ahead. Note every event worth promoting and start the first one: promoting an event.
Anything about public image: publicimage@rotary9660.org.au. Not sure who to ask? support@rotary9660.org.au.